Nighthawk Energy Regulatory News (HAWK)

13 Feb 2008 07:00

Nighthawk Energy plc13 February 2008 Nighthawk Energy plc Acquisition of Acreage at Cisco Springs, Grand County, Utah The directors of Nighthawk Energy plc ("Nighthawk" or "the Company") (AIM:HAWK), the US focused hydrocarbon production and development company, arepleased to announce the acquisition of a further 5,977 acres of land adjacent tothe Company's currently held acreage at Cisco Springs, bringing the total areaheld to approximately 24,000 acres. Nighthawk holds a 50 per cent. workinginterest in the project. Denver-based private energy company Running FoxesPetroleum Inc. ("Running Foxes") holds the remaining 50 per cent. and is alsothe operator of the project. The 5,977 acres were successfully bid for in the recent Utah School andInstitutional Trust Lands Administration Sale, held in Salt Lake City. RunningFoxes, acting jointly with Nighthawk, was among the top four bidders for acreagein the sale. Oilfield Production Consultants Limited ("OPC") conducted a Competent Person'sReport ("CPR") in respect of the Cisco Springs project in March 2007. At thattime the acreage evaluated was approximately 16,500 acres and Nighthawk held a37.5 per cent. interest in the project. The net reserves of natural gasattributable to Nighthawk were P90 (proven) 74.9 bcf (billion cubic feet) andP50 (proven + probable) 94.2 bcf. OPC concluded that an NPV10 of US$192.3million, net to Nighthawk was attributable to the project. The Company'sinterest in the project has subsequently risen to 50 per cent through theacquisition of a further 12.5 per cent. interest from Running Foxes in December2007. OPC made the following comments on the purchase of this additionalinterest: "We are advised by the directors of Nighthawk that since the March 2007 OPCevaluation a significant number of new wells have been drilled on the project.We have inspected the data from several of these wells and confirm that theresults are in line with the OPC parameters assumed in the CPR, while in somecases they have significantly exceeded expectations. Furthermore, additionalacreage to that evaluated in the CPR has been acquired and this could beexpected to increase pro rata the NPV of the project. "Given this information, OPC is of the opinion that any revised and updatedevaluation of Nighthawk's interest in Cisco Springs may well reflect a valuematerially higher than that originally calculated." The Company has instructed OPC to conduct a further evaluation of the CiscoSprings project as the first stage in OPC's review of all of Nighthawk'sprojects. The work on Cisco Springs, which will result in a standalone reporton the project, will commence as soon as practicable for OPC. David Bramhill, Managing Director of Nighthawk said: "The partnership of Running Foxes and Nighthawk has continued to add value toCisco Springs by successful drilling, the commissioning of new production andgathering facilities and focused land acquisition. We expect this progress tobe reflected by OPC in the new evaluation of the Cisco Springs project." Enquiries: Nighthawk Energy plc 01271 882160 David Bramhill, Managing Director www.nighthawkenergy.net office@nighthawkenergy.net Hanson Westhouse Limited 0113 246 2610 Tim Feather tim.feather@hansonwesthouse.com Matthew Johnson matthew.johnson@hansonwesthouse.com Bishopsgate Communications Limited 020 7562 3350 Dominic Barretto dominic@bishopsgatecommunications.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange