Highlands Natural Resources Regulatory News (HNR)

29 Mar 2005 08:31

Hardman Resources Limited29 March 2005 STOCK EXCHANGE / MEDIA RELEASE RELEASE DATE: 29 March 2005 CONTACT: Simon Potter TELEPHONE: Within Australia: 08 9261 7600International: +61 8 9261 7600 RE MARLOO-1, TIMOR SEA, AUSTRALIA,WEEKLY DRILLING REPORT Hardman Resources Limited (Hardman) on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiaryHardman Oil and Gas Pty Ltd provides the following report on its drillingoperations in the Timor Sea, Australia. Talbot-1 and Talbot-2 Abandonments Hardman has elected to plug and abandon Talbot-1 and Talbot-2 as a commitment tothe Joint Authority (Northern Territory and Federal Government) in RetentionLicence AC/RL1 (Hardman 100%). Talbot-1 and Talbot-2 were drilled by Santos in1989 and 1990 respectively. Both wells flowed oil on test before being cased andsuspended, but are now considered too old and inadequately positioned to beutilized in any potential development of the Talbot field. This work had alreadybeen included in Hardman's 2005 budget. Abandonment operations began at 06.00 hrs CST on 25 March 2005 with the rigmove. The Talbot-1 abandonment was completed at 09.00 hrs CST on 29 March 2005. The current operation is moving the Ocean Bounty semi-submersible rig to theTalbot-2 location. The forward program is to abandon Talbot-2 and then move to the Marloo-1location. Marloo-1 Exploration Well The Marloo-1 well is located in AC/P26 in the Timor Sea and will spud directlyafter the Talbot-2 abandonment. Geology and Hydrocarbon shows:Hydrocarbon shows will only be reported when wireline logs have been run andevaluated at total depth of the well. Well Location:Marloo-1 is being drilled by the "Ocean Bounty" in Exploration Permit AC/P26 inthe Timor Sea some 660 kilometres west of Darwin and 52 kilometres southeast ofthe Challis Field. Water depth at the well location is 89 metres and the plannedtotal depth is 2,039 metres. Prospect Details:The Marloo-1 well is testing a Late Jurassic structural/stratigraphic trap. Themain targets are the Lower Vulcan Formation and the Montara Sandstones. Participants:Hardman Oil and Gas Pty Ltd 100%(Lonman Pty Ltd 1.25% Carried to Production Interest) Figure 1: Location Map, Hardman Drilling Operations, Timor Sea (available onwebsite) Simon Potter, CEO and Managing Director, Hardman Resources, commented: "theseare the first offshore drilling operations that Hardman has conducted as the"operator" and shows how Hardman has grown its organisational capabilities inrecent times". SIMON POTTERMANAGING DIRECTOR Note: In accordance with Australian Stock Exchange Limited listing requirements,the geological information supplied in this report has been based on informationprovided by geologists who have had in excess of five years experience in theirfield of activity. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange