Nighthawk Energy Regulatory News (HAWK)

31 May 2007 07:03

Nighthawk Energy plc31 May 2007 NIGHTHAWK ENERGY PLC DRILLING AND PROJECT UPDATE The directors of Nighthawk Energy plc ("Nighthawk" or the "Company") (AIM: HAWK)are pleased to announce a significant expansion of the appraisal and developmentdrilling programme at the Devon oil field (formerly known as the VogelBartlesville project). The Company holds an 80 per cent. interest in thiswaterflood project and the operator, Running Foxes Petroleum Inc. ("RunningFoxes"), a 20 per cent. interest. The Devon oil field is located in Bourbon County, Kansas, within the CherokeeBasin, a prolific shallow oil and gas producing area. The current drilling istargeting Bartlesville channel sandstones located from 350 to 500 feet. Nighthawk has previously announced the results of the first four wells of thecurrent appraisal and development programme, all of which confirmed the presenceof oil saturated sandstones. These wells have been completed, logged and casedas future producers. In addition, the original project area of 160 acres hasbeen extended through land acquisition to 960 acres. A further 11 wells have now been completed, logged and cased as futureproducers. The net oil pays of the new wells range from 8 to 20 feet. Five ofthe recent wells were drilled on the Graham lease to the north of the original160 acre Vogel lease, demonstrating the extension of the reservoir. No waterzone has been encountered in any of the wells drilled to date. Two wells on the recently acquired acreage to the south of the Vogel leaseindicated the reservoir is present and is thicker than on the Vogel lease. Due to the drilling success on the recently acquired acreage, the originalprogramme of 12 appraisal wells has now been increased to 40 with the objectiveof delineating the extent of the reservoir. Drilling is expected to beconcluded in July 2007. Following the conclusion of the appraisal programme, a pilot production projectof five test wells, including both injectors and producers, will commence in thethird quarter of 2007. The oil in place over the original 160 acres of the project when acquired inMarch 2007 was estimated 3.1 million barrels of oil (gross). Following therecent land acquisition and appraisal drilling on the new acreage, Running Foxesnow estimates the oil in place to be in excess of 10 million barrels of oil(gross). David Racher B.Sc (Hons) Geology, who is a consultant to Nighthawk, has reviewedand approved the technical information contained in this announcement. For information in respect of the waterflood process. please visitwww.nighthawkenergy.net where an animation of the process can be viewed on theVogel Bartlesville page. For further information please contact: Nighthawk Energy plc 01271 882160David Bramhill, Managing Director office@nighthawkenergy.netwww.nighthawkenergy.net Hanson Westhouse Limited 0113 246 2610Tim Feather tim.feather@hansonwesthouse.comMatthew Johnson matthew.johnson@hansonwesthouse.com Bishopsgate Communications Limited 020 7562 3350Dominic Barretto dominic@bishopsgatecommunications.comFran Read fran@bishopsgatecommunications.com Notes for Editors Nighthawk is a hydrocarbon production and development company focused onbuilding a portfolio of assets in the US. Nighthawk floated on AIM in March2007 having raised a total of £10 million. Nighthawk also holds a 37.5 per cent. working interest in the producing CiscoSprings oil and gas project in Grand County,Utah. Running Foxes, a privatelyowned Denver-based company, is the operator and majority owner of the project. At the time of Nighthawk's admission to AIM, Oilfield Production ConsultantsLimited ("OPC"), estimated the following reserves, net to Nighthawk, in theCisco Springs project: P90 P50 P10 Gas (BCF) 74.9 94.2 116.2Oil (MMBBLS) 0.3 0.6 1.1 The Cisco Springs project area presently covers approximately 18,000 acres. Amajor drilling and development programme is in progress with 390 well sitesidentified on the current acreage. Approximately 60 new wells are planned inthe next two years. In addition, Nighthawk holds an 80 per cent. interest in the Devon oil fieldwaterflood project in Kansas. An appraisal and development programme is inprogress to determine the reservoir characteristics in preparation for floodingthe reservoir and production. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange