MTA.L Regulatory News (MTA)

9 Jul 2007 07:01

Matra Petroleum PLC09 July 2007 Matra Petroleum plc PRESS RELEASE For immediate release 9th July 2007 Matra Petroleum plc ("Matra" or the "Company") Matra reports successful gas test on Horvatkut-1 well in Hungary(Matra 40%) Following indications of gas whilst drilling through the prospective zones,drilling was halted at 1640m in order to conduct an open-hole drill stem testover the entire section below the 7" casing shoe at 1461m. This interval tested at a stable rate of 3.9 mmscfd on a 12 mm choke with awellhead pressure of 1015 psi. This rate was limited by the capacity of thesurface testing equipment at the wellsite. On conclusion of this test the well was drilled to a total depth of 1700m andfinal electric logging conducted. Preliminary log analysis indicates gas in morethan one interval, however the complex lithology encountered in the well and thenature of open hole testing makes it difficult at this stage to define theextent and nature of the productive intervals. A 4.5" liner has been set across the entire interval and the well will besuspended. This will allow the well to be preserved for further testing in casedhole and as a potential production well. The rig will now be moved to the Marcali -1 location to drill the second well ofthe 2007 programme in Hungary allowing future operations on Horvatkut-1 to beconducted using a less expensive workover rig. Peter Hind, Matra's Managing Director said "We are delighted to get this resultwith the first well of our 2007 programme. The flow rate encountered isexcellent and the well has the potential to flow at even higher rates. We willbe carrying out a further review of the data obtained in order to define ourfuture plans for the well and this discovery." Matra has a 40% interest in the well and the Inke Concession. A subsidiary ofAspect Energy has a 60% interest in the well and the Inke Concession. AspectEnergy's main Hungarian subsidiary is Hungarian Horizon Energy. 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. mmscfd - million standard cubic feet per daypsi - pounds per square inchmm - millimeter For further Information, please contact: Matra Petroleum www.matrapetroleum.comPeter Hind, Managing Director +44 (0) 7990 807855Neil Hodgson, Exploration Director +44 (0) 7973342822 Aquila Financial Limited www.aquila-financial.comPeter Reilly +44 (0) 207 7202 2601Yvonne Fraser +44 (0) 207 7202 2609 Matra's nominated Advisor is RFC Corporate Finance Ltd -Contact: Steve Allen +61894802500 Background to Horvatkut-1 Horvatkut-1 is Matra's first well of the 2007 programme in the Inke concessionin Hungary. The Horvatkut well is drilling within the area of 3D seismic,approximately 400m northeast of the 1983 Som-3 gas discovery well. There are three targets in the Miocene section of the well lying between 1500and 1650m. The Primary Badenian Sand target at 1622m was tested at 1.27mmscf/din the adjacent Som-3 discovery well, and the underlying zone flowed at0.54mmscf/d. Improved seismic resolution shows the section to thicken at the newlocation and test interpretation concluded that previous flow rates wereinhibited by formation damage. Horvatkut-1 will be followed by Marcali-1, also within the 3D area of Inke, andcomprising an exploration well targeting a seismic anomaly at Pannonian level,overlying an oil prospect in a Triassic fault block. In late June a 3D seismicsurvey will commence in the east of the block targeting Pannonian stratigraphicplays. The Inke Concession extends over 2300 sq km and is located some 120kms to thesouthwest of Budapest and to the south of Lake Balaton. The concession containsseveral small oil and gas discoveries, and surrounds an existing producing gasfield. Earlier in June Matra announced that it had concluded an agreement with AspectInternational LLC of USA such that Aspect will pay the next $5.5 million ofcosts to earn a 60% interest in the Inke Concession. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange