Highlands Natural Resources Regulatory News (HNR)

5 Dec 2006 07:00

Hardman Resources Limited05 December 2006 STOCK EXCHANGE / MEDIA RELEASE RELEASE DATE: 5 December 2006 AUSTRALIAN CONTACT: Richard O'Shannassy Hardman Resources Ltd +61 8 9261 7600 LONDON CONTACT: Patrick Handley Brunswick Group +44 207 404 5959 RE: MAURITANIA DRILLING UPDATE Hardman Resources Limited ("Hardman") provides the following update on itsdrilling activities in Mauritania: Block 7 Aigrette-1 Exploration Well Since the company's last report, the Atwood Hunter has drilled the Aigrette-1exploration well to a total depth of 5,152 metres in a water depth ofapproximately 1,358 metres. A comprehensive programme of wireline logging,pressure measurement, fluid sampling and sidewall coring was undertaken tomaximise the information from the well. Aigrette-1 discovered oil in the targeted Cretaceous sandstones, and downholepressure measurements and fluid samples confirmed a 20 metre oil column waspresent in good quality Cretaceous age reservoir sands. The discovery of an oilbearing reservoir horizon led to the decision to deepen the well beyond itsoriginal planned total depth of around 4,900 metres. Although further sands wereencountered in this deepened section, these were not found to be oil bearing atthis location. As of midnight 4 December, preparations were underway to plug andabandon the well. Simon Potter, CEO and Managing Director, commented: "The discovery of oil in the Cretaceous zone in Block 7 extends the oil fairwaywithin the northern region of Mauritania, and while not likely to becommercially significant at this location, it offers encouragement for futureexploration within this still relatively new oil province." Equities in Block 7 are: Dana Petroleum (Operator) 36.00%Gaz de France 27.85%Hardman Resources Ltd 16.20%Woodside 15.00%Roc Oil Company 4.95% Chinguetti Field Infill Drilling On completion of Aigrette-1, the Atwood Hunter drilling rig will undertake ashort planned maintenance period and will then relocate to the Chinguetti oilfield in PSC B to drill the C-18 infill production well. C-18 is being drilledas a deviated well from the existing SW manifold and will target the CN2 and CN3sands. The well has been accelerated from the initial development plan, giventhe lower-than-predicted production rates of the field in 2006, and is expectedto contribute to production from around the end of January 2007. Chinguetti production averaged around 27,700 bopd for October 2006, and iscurrently around 23,000 bopd following significant disruptions to production inNovember related to unplanned facilities shutdowns during the month. Equities in PSC B are: Woodside (Operator) 53.846%Hardman Resources 21.6%BG Group 11.63%Premier Oil 9.231%Roc Oil 3.693% Times and dates for Mauritania wells refer to GMT (Mauritania time), 9 hoursbehind Western Summer (Daylight) Time, Perth. All reported depths (except waterdepth) are referenced to the rig rotary table (RT). RICHARD O'SHANNASSYGeneral Counsel & Company Secretary Note: In accordance with the ASX Listing Rules and AIM Rules, the hydrocarbonreserves and/or drilling update information in this report has been reviewed andsigned off by Mr Andrew Patterson, B Eng., Technical Manager at HardmanResources, who is a member of The Society of Petroleum Engineers and has atleast 5 years relevant experience within the sector. He consents to thatinformation in the form and context in which it appears. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange