MTA.L Regulatory News (MTA)

15 May 2006 07:03

Matra Petroleum PLC15 May 2006 PRESS RELEASE For immediate release: 15th May 2006 Matra Petroleum plc Matra Petroleum updates progress on Blue Topaz-9 Testing operations on the Triassic interval of Blue Topaz-9 have now beencompleted and recovered only formation water. The well is now being plugged andabandoned. Commenting on the well, Matra's Managing Director Peter Hind said, "The thicksand section in the upper section and combination of high permeability and oilshows in the Triassic are very encouraging for the future prospectivity of theblock. Of course we would have liked our first well to be successful but we haveconfirmed a working hydrocarbon system and thick reservoir sections. The datagathered from this well are invaluable as we apply new processing technology tothe existing seismic data and prospect inventory. There are a number of exploration prospects on the Inke Concession and theCompany is also studying the current economic potential of several existingdiscoveries." Matra will incorporate the new data gathered from this well in the ongoingexploration and engineering review to define the future drilling programme onthe block and expect that drilling will resume later this year. For further information, please contact: Matra Petroleum www.matrapetroleum.comPeter Hind, Managing Director +44 (0) 7990 807 855 Aquila Financial Limited www.aquila-financial.comPeter Reilly +44 (0) 20 7202 2601Yvonne Fraser +44 (0) 20 7202 2609 For the purposes of AIM Rule 11, this announcement has been reviewed by MatraPetroleum's Managing Director, Peter Hind BSc, a Petroleum Engineer of more than30 years standing and a member of the SPE. Background to the Inke Concession The Inke Concession covers 2297 sq kms some 120kms to the south-west of Budapestand to the south of Lake Balaton. •Blue Topaz-9 was the largest of a series of 9 Blue Topaz prospects within the area of 3D seismic acquisition. The other 8 structures remain valid independent prospects yet to be drilled. Blue Topaz is also to the east of and on trend with the Savoly oilfields that produce from the Triassic. •The block contains several known hydrocarbon discoveries. The most significant are the Somogysamson - 3 well that produced gas form the Miocene and lies within the general Blue Topaz area, and the Nagyatad oilfield that was discovered in the 1960's. Preliminary investigations suggest that formation damage seen in these wells can be avoided with more modern drilling practices and commercial production rates may be achieved. The Nagyatad oilfield remains a likely option for re-drilling this year and is the subject of ongoing engineering studies. •Reprocessing of the 3-D seismic data has now been completed and interpretation is underway. The data acquired in the Blue Topaz -9 well will allow AVO techniques to be used more effectively to aid hydrocarbon identification. •Reprocessing of the 2-D seismic is also underway and will allow further refining and ranking of exploration drilling prospects. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange