25 Jun 2015 07:00
25 June 2015
NIGHTHAWK ENERGY PLC
("Nighthawk" or "the Company")
Company Presentation
Operations Update
Nighthawk, the US focused oil development and production company (AIM: HAWK and OTCQX: NHEGY), announces that at its Annual General Meeting being held this morning at 9.30 a.m., Rick McCullough, Chairman of Nighthawk, will give a short presentation providing an update on the Company's operations as well as providing a discussion around the market outlook for U.S. onshore oil and gas production and demand.
The presentation will be available from the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.nighthawkenergy.com.
Operations Update Highlights
The principal highlights from the presentation are as follows:
· Monarch and El Dorado Joint Development Agreements
o We initially saw six to seven potential pop-up features on structure in Monarch based on regional 2D seismic
o Early 3D seismic results indicate as many as nine such features with potentially 40-50 Spergen drilling targets
o At least one structure appears from initial 3D interpretation to have potential to be similar in nature and size to the Arikaree Creek field
o 3D seismic is being fully interpreted and should be ready to pick initial drilling locations in July 2015, with drilling anticipated to begin in September 2015
· Drilling economics
o Vertical well drilling and completion costs now estimated at $1.5-1.7 million per well
o Highly economic Spergen type curve with NPVs of approximately $4.0 million at NYMEX-WTI oil prices of $60/bbl and IRRs in the range of 130% to 160%
· De-risking process
o Nighthawk has progressed from use of regional 2D seismic to the point where now we have over 162 square miles of 3D seismic on the regional Mississippian structure covering over 35 miles in length
o We have identified approximately 70 potential Spergen drilling locations, including approximately 30 to 50 of which are in the Monarch JDA
o While we have proven that we can drill these Spergen locations with a great deal of success once we have 3D seismic, the well results do vary depending on various rock characteristics and location on the structure
o We are now high grading the selection of locations to drill first based on a seismic inversion analysis and reservoir modelling
o We seek to determine seismically constrained reservoir properties and fracture reservoir characterization
o This combines seismic and well data to develop predictive models for success
o We have completed a reservoir model of the Arikaree Creek field and see a secondary recovery (waterflood solution)
o This continued application of geophysical science techniques reduces our risks of drilling and enhances our economics
· Arikaree Creek field waterflood opportunity
o Our reservoir model estimates that there is a total of 12-15 million barrels of oil in place in the deeper zones in the Arikaree Creek field
o Estimates of recoverable oil could be as high as 25% of oil in place which would imply up to another 1,000,000 barrels above current estimates
o Study confirms that more oil can be recovered based on development of a waterflood project in the field
o Possibly a 2016 capital project
Rick McCullough, Chairman of Nighthawk, commented:
"The initial 3D results from the Monarch and El Dorado JDAs are very encouraging. We plan to complete our processing of the results and will be picking actual drilling locations with plans to begin drilling in September. Our team continues to use advanced geoscience techniques to reduce drilling risk and enhance production. The recently completed Arikaree Creek reservoir model is a good example of this. We believe that through the use of a waterflood project, we may be able to recover another 1,000,000 barrels of oil above current estimates."
Chuck Wilson, Chief Operating Officer of Nighthawk, who has over 33 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and meets the criteria of qualified persons under the AIM guidance note for mining and oil and gas companies, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.
Enquiries:
Nighthawk Energy plc | |
Rick McCullough, Chairman | +1 303 407 9600 |
Richard Swindells, Chief Financial Officer | +44 (0) 20 3582 1350 |
Westhouse Securities Limited | +44 (0) 20 7601 6100 |
Alastair Stratton | |
Robert Finlay | |
Canaccord Genuity | +44 (0) 20 7523 8000 |
Manuel Santiago | |
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor | |
FTI Consulting | +44 (0) 20 3727 1000 |
Ben Brewerton | ben.brewerton@fticonsulting.com |
Ed Westropp | edward.westropp@fticonsulting.com |
Definitions and Glossary
Bbls | Barrels of oil |
IRR | Internal Rate of Return |
JDA | Joint Development Agreement |
Mmbbls | Million barrels of oil |
NPV | Net Present Value |
Spergen | A geological horizon within the Mississippian age formation |