3 Jan 2012 07:00
3 January 2012 CAMBAY-76H WELL OPERATIONS UPDATE
Further to its release of 6 December 2011, Oilex Ltd provides the following update on operations to recover the stuck milling assembly from the Cambay-76H horizontal well in the Cambay Field, onshore Gujarat, India.
The retrieval operations had been proceeding satisfactorily with 246 metres of coiled tubing recovered in four sections over five days, indicating that the specialised tools were working as anticipated. An estimated 123 metres of coiled tubing and the milling assembly (12 metres) remain to be recovered.
Retrieval (or fishing) operations were interrupted after the fourth section of coiled tubing was recovered, when high bottom hole pressure conditions and an influx of gas and fracture stimulation fluids made it necessary to undertake well control operations to stabilise the well.
Well control operations were initiated on 17 December 2011, which involved the mobilization of additional equipment and chemicals to counter the abnormal pressure in the well bore. Gas and condensate, nitrogen (that had been injected in the early stages of attempting to free the milling assembly) and fracture stimulation fluids have been circulated to surface and the hydrocarbons have been flared.
Since 22 December 2011 the well bore pressure has steadily been reduced and it is currently estimated that by further increasing brine density to ~14.6 ppg (pounds per gallon) the well could be controlled within the next few days enabling retrieval operations to resume.
Further releases will be made upon completion of significant events.
The participating interests in the Cambay PSC are:
Joint Venture Party Participating Interest Oilex Ltd (Operator) 30% Oilex NL Holdings (India) Limited 15% Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd 55%
For further information, please contact:
Oilex Ltd +61 (0)8 9485 (Western 3200 Australia) Bruce McCarthy Managing Director oilex@oilex.com.au Ben Clube Finance Director oilex@oilex.com.au Ambrian Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser and AIM Broker) Matthew Einhorn matt.einhorn@ambrian.com +44 (0) 20 7634 (UK) 4860 Anthony Rowland anthony.rowland@ambrian.com +44 (0) 20 7634 (UK) 4858 Read Corporate Nicholas Read nicholas@readcorporate.com.au +61 (0)8 9388 (Western
1474 Australia) Tavistock Communications +44 (0)207 920 (UK) 3150
Ed Portman eportman@tavistock.co.uk +44 (0)7733 363 (UK) 501 Paul Youens pyouens@tavistock.co.uk +44 (0)7843 260 (UK) 623
This document may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not necessarily limited to, statements concerning Oilex Ltd's planned exploration program and other statements that are not historic facts. When used in this document, the words such as "could", "plan", "estimate" "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "should" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although Oilex Ltd believes that its expectations reflected in these statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.
XLON