Leed Resources Regulatory News (LDP)

17 Mar 2008 07:03

Leed Petroleum PLC17 March 2008 Leed Petroleum PLC ("Leed" or the "Company") Drilling update and future drilling plans Leed Petroleum PLC, the oil and gas exploration and production company focusedon the Gulf of Mexico, announces an update regarding the Eugene Island A-6 welland also announces its upcoming drilling programme. Eugene Island A-6 well update The Company has announced previously that the A-6 well is a substantial economicsuccess, and the Company can now confirm that 2P* audited reserves are more thanthree times the pre-drill estimate, as opposed to the more than two times thepre-drill estimate announced previously. Progress continues to be made on thecompletion of this well, and it is expected to begin producing in April 2008 ata rate of approximately 6 million cubic feet of gas and 600 barrels of oil perday. Upcoming drilling activity Leed intends to commence drilling the Eugene Island A-7 well immediatelyfollowing the completion of the Eugene Island A-6 well. The drilling rig is onlocation and is presently engaged in completion operations on the A-6 well. TheA-7 well will test one development objective and one exploration opportunity.This well will be followed by a third well at Eugene Island. Following completion of work at Eugene Island, the Company plans to drill twowells at Ship Shoal block 201,the first of two leases Leed acquired at the lastMinerals Management Service ("MMS") lease sale held in October 2007. These wellswill target one development objective and three exploration sands. After the drilling of the Ship Shoal wells, the Company plans to drill two lowerrisk exploration wells at Main Pass block 115, the second lease acquired by Leedat the last MMS lease sale. The Company also plans to drill one development well onshore in the SorrentoDome field. The Company will fund this drilling programme from cash generated fromoperations and from borrowings on its existing credit facility. Drilling plansare subject to change as technical analyses progress and as the Company acquiresadditional drilling inventory. Howard Wilson, President and Chief Executive of Leed Petroleum PLC, commented: "Leed has a compelling growth opportunity in front of it this next year. We arehappy with our drilling line up because it provides us with a great mix ofhigher and lower risk exploration objectives as well as low risk developmentplays. After executing this programme, we expect to have increased the Company'sreserve base, production rate and operating income dramatically. This is anexciting time in the Company's history." 17 March 2008 For further information: Leed Petroleum PLCHoward Wilson, President and Chief Executive +1 337 314 0700James Slatten, Chief Operating Officer +1 337 314 0700 Matrix Corporate Capital LLPAlastair Stratton +44 20 7925 3300Tim Graham +44 20 7925 7852 Pelham Public RelationsAlisdair Haythornthwaite +44 20 7743 6676Evgeniy Chuikov +44 20 3008 5506 NOTES TO EDITORS Review by a qualified person The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved byChris Thompson, Manager of Business Development at the Company, BSC GradDip, whois a reservoir engineer (SPE) with over 15 years experience within the sector. Reserve Estimates The reserve estimate stated in the announcement is made in accordance withguidelines published by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and is based on theCompany's independent reserve auditor's, Collarini Associates, interpretation ofthe available data. Reserve Definitions* 1P - Proved Reserves 2P - Proved and Probable Reserves 3P - Proved, Probable and Possible Reserves Proved Reserves are the estimated volumes of crude oil, condensate, natural gasand natural gas liquids which, based upon geologic and engineering data, arereasonably certain to be commercially recovered from known reservoirs underexisting economic and political/regulatory conditions and using conventional orexisting equipment and operating methods. When probabilistic methods are used,reasonable certainty means there is a 90% probability that the quantitiesproduced will exceed the estimate of proved reserves. Proved reserves arelimited to those quantities of hydrocarbons which have been evaluated either byactual production or by analytical tools and methods which demonstratereasonable certainty of future recovery. Probable Reserves are those reserves which geologic and engineering datademonstrate with a degree of certainty sufficient to indicate they are morelikely to be recovered than not. When probabilistic methods are used, there isat least a 50% probability that the quantities actually produced will exceed thesum of proved and probable reserves. Possible Reserves are those reserves which geologic and engineering datademonstrate are less certain than probable reserves and can be estimated with alow degree of certainty, insufficient to indicate whether they are more likelyto be recovered than not. When probabilistic methods are used, there should beat least a 10% probability that the quantities actually produced will exceed thesum of proved, probable and possible reserves. Operations Leed Petroleum PLC is an AIM quoted independent oil and gas exploration andproduction company. The Company's operations are concentrated in the Gulf ofMexico region where Leed has established a significant portfolio of producingand development assets. The Company has interests in 15 offshore fields and 1onshore field in the region. Leed's strategy is to grow the Company's portfolio through organic developmentof its existing assets and to utilise its regional expertise to identify andpurchase value adding assets. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange