Highlands Natural Resources Regulatory News (HNR)

15 Feb 2005 07:01

Hardman Resources Limited15 February 2005 STOCK EXCHANGE / MEDIA RELEASE RELEASE DATE: 15 February 2005 CONTACT: Simon Potter TELEPHONE: Within Australia: 08 9261 7600 International: +61 8 9261 7600 RE: MAURITANIA DRILLING PROGRAMME WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT Hardman Resources Ltd ("Hardman") provides the following progress report on theMauritania offshore drilling programme: Tiof-6 Appraisal Well - PSC B Progress and Current Status:Since the last report on 8 February 2005 the West Navigator commenced productiontesting operations on the Tiof-6 appraisal well and at midnight on 14 February,an extended flow period was underway. The maximum rate the well has been flowed at was approximately 12,400 barrels ofoil plus 11.0 million standard cubic feet of gas per day constrained by a 104/64inch choke. The well test is currently in the main flow period and the well isflowing at a stable rate of approximately 9,150 barrels of oil per day in themain flow period constrained by a 72/64 inch choke. Note: The gas production isof gas dissolved in the crude oil - no free gas was observed in this well. Well Location:The Tiof Discovery is located approximately 90 kilometres west of Nouakchott,the Mauritanian capital and 25 kilometres north of the Chinguetti Field. TheTiof-6 well is located 3 kilometres west of the Tiof-1 discovery well and 1kilometre east of Tiof-3. Water depth is approximately 1,165 metres. Well Details:The Tiof-6 well is intended to further appraise the Tiof oil discovery and willcontinue the evaluation of the Miocene channel sand system within the Tiof Fieldarea as interpreted with 3D seismic. Simon Potter, CEO and Managing Director, Hardman Resources, commented: "This is a very encouraging first oil flow from Tiof. The Tiof reservoir sandstested in this well are considered to be of poorer quality than those atChinguetti and we therefore expected significantly lower production rates thanthose achieved in the Chinguetti Early Development Well. The flow rates we haveachieved at Tiof-6 exceed our pre-test expectations. The results of the appraisal programme to date have upheld our initialassessment of the volume of oil-in-place in Tiof, of approximately 1,000 millionbarrels. The assessment of potentially recoverable oil (i.e. reserves) is moredifficult in these types of reservoirs and will ultimately depend on the chosendevelopment project. The results of this test will form a critical part of theassessment of the Tiof development." Chinguetti Development Drilling Since the last report on 8 February, the Stena Tay continued operations on theChinguetti Development wells. Hardman does not intend to provide detailed weeklyreports during the course of the development well drilling programme but willcontinue to report significant matters as appropriate and in accordance with itscontinuous disclosure obligations. Other information: All reported depths are referenced to the rig rotary table (except water depth). Times and dates refer to Mauritania time (GMT), 8 hours behind Western StandardTime, Perth. A map showing the location of the 2004/05 wells is available on the Hardmanwebsite (www.hdr.com.au) and will be updated during the course of the 2004/2005drilling programme. The joint venture interests in the Chinguetti Field and PSC B are: Company PSC B Chinguetti Field (Remainder)Woodside group companies (operator) 53.846% 47.384%Hardman group companies 21.6% 19.008%BG group companies 11.63% 10.234%Premier group companies 9.231% 8.123%ROC Oil group companies 3.693% 3.250%Groupe Projet Chinguetti (Govt. interest) - 12.000% 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