MXP.L Regulatory News (MXP)

31 Jan 2006 07:01

Max Petroleum PLC31 January 2006 MAX PETROLEUM PLC (AIM:MXP) OPERATIONS UPDATE Max Petroleum Plc ("Max" or "the Company"), an oil and gas exploration anddevelopment company with an initial focus on Kazakhstan, today provides anupdate on its Kazakhstan operations. Max has separated its development programme into 4 different asset groups underthe Management Team: • Deep structures on the Astrakhansky Block• Sub-salt structures on East Alibek• Pre-salt deep structures on the A&E Blocks• Shallow new wells and well re-entries on A&E Blocks Seismic, Exploration & Production Programme The initial seismic programme is in its seventh month and will be completed inFebruary 2006. The programmes on East Alibek and A&E Blocks are at an advancedstage of evaluation and the technical team is particularly encouraged by theclear indications of deep structures in the pre-salt on E Block that areanalogous to the Tengiz oilfield in western Kazakhstan. The interpretation ofseismic data and its integration with gravity and magnetic data for purposes oflocating sub-salt leads is expected to be finalised in Q3 2006. Astrakhansky The acquisition of the Astrakhansky asset was announced on 12 January 2006. Theexisting data is in the process of being inventoried and sent for digitisation,and a programme for further seismic data gathering for Astrakhansky is beingprepared. The block has been inspected by the Company's technical staff and theImashevsky South well located. The Company expects to be able to assess theexisting well by the end of Q2 2006 in order to determine the physical state ofthe well and to assess whether it is fit for re-entry and deepening. East Alibek 152 km of 2D seismic was completed at the end of November 2005. The processingof the good quality data has been finalised and the interpretation is ongoing,alongside that of old data which will be incorporated as it is obtained from therelevant authorities. Maps have been prepared based on the completed gravityand magnetic surveys and complex interpretation has been initiated. The locationof the first new exploration well will be determined by early April 2006 and thewell is expected to spud in Q3 2006. A&E Blocks In the shallow zones on A&E Blocks, 898 km of high-quality 2D seismic has beenshot. A total of 1,074 km 2D seismic shoot is planned and the programme shouldbe completed by mid-February 2006. Maps have been prepared based on thecompleted gravity and magnetic surveys and complex interpretation, includingseismic lines, have been initiated. There are 14 possible candidate fields forre-entry and two have been identified by the Company's technical staff asparticularly promising. A decision on which wells to re-enter is now expected inApril 2006 and, subject to the timely availability of data, re-entry of wells isnow expected to commence no later than May 2006. Max is targeting productionfrom re-entered wells by Q2 2006. The Company has also identified 13 named leads for shallow exploration drillingand a decision on which of these to drill first will be made by early April2006. Kazakhstan Management Team Max is pleased to advise that its Management Team in Kazakhstan has now beenfinalised and consists of the following: • Ole Udsen, Country Manager• William L. McClure, Finance Manager• Henrik Busk, Petroleum Engineering and Geology Manager• Timothy Whittaker, Drilling Manager• Henrik Groenne, Production and Well Services Manager• Jesper Tarp Joergensen, Engineering and Facilities Manager The following other key senior executives have been appointed and have eithercommenced already or will join Max within the next 5 weeks: • Stuart E. Munro, Chief Geophysicist• Mikkel Laurentzius, Senior Drilling Engineer• Denis Saidov, Purchase and Logistics Manager• Talgat Abdullayev, Senior Petroleum Engineer• Irina Rutkovskaya, Office Manager/Human Resources• Askar Dalbayev, Senior Drilling Engineer• Anuar Bitanov, Senior Reservoir Engineer Max will have 50 staff members based in the Almaty office by 1 March 2006. Thiswill be adequate to handle all aspects of the initial work programme. Additionalemployees will be recruited during the second half of 2006 to handle productionoperations in the field. Jim Jeffs, Chief Executive of Max Petroleum, commented: "Initial analysis of the data gathered to date has been extremely encouraging.By the end of the 2006 operations programme, Max will have a detailedunderstanding of the geology and prospectivity of its existing assets, includingthe potential of the deep structures on the A&E Blocks and Astrakhansky. TheCompany is also targeting the re-entry of existing wells to enable it to achieveproduction within a year of its admission to AIM." "The Company has made substantial progress in a short period of time, and withall the key staff now in place in Kazakhstan, Max is positioned to drive itsoperations forward." 31 January 2006 Enquiries:Max Petroleum PLC James A. Jeffs T: +44 (0)20 7514 1490 Chief Executive Officer Steve Kappelle T: +44 (0)20 7514 1490 Chief Operating Officer Pelham Public Relations Charles Vivian T: +44 (0)20 7743 6672 E : Charles.vivian@pelhampr.com Alisdair Haythornthwaite T : +44 (0) 20 7743 6676 E: Alisdair.haythornthwaite@pelhampr.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange