Pantheon Resources plc Regulatory News (PANR)

15 Aug 2007 07:00

Pantheon Resources PLC15 August 2007 August 15, 2007 PANTHEON RESOURCES PLC Active Drilling Programme Commences With Spudding of La Playa Deep DevelopmentWell • Active drilling programme has commenced on Pantheon's portfolio. Scheduled to extend into first quarter 2008. • First well spudded on August 11, 2007. Development well on La Playa Deep discovery. • First of two development projects on Padre Island; La Playa Deep and Wilson. • Drilling on high-impact exploration ventures scheduled to commence late third quarter 2007 with testing of White Castle prospect on South Louisiana. • Testing of shallower zones on Plum Deep scheduled to commence by end August. • Expanded asset portfolio through series of strategic farm-ins with local partners • Created diverse portfolio with potential for major growth in reserves and production • Ventures are mix of moderate and low risk prospects. • Two prospects have significant oil reserve potential • Maintaining strategic focus on hydrocarbon exploration and production onshore/near shore Gulf of Mexico Drilling Programme The Board of Pantheon resources plc ("Pantheon") is pleased to announce thecommencement of an active drilling programme expected to continue into firstquarter 2008. The spudding of the La Playa Mid-Frio Unit #2 well ("La Playa Deep#2") on August 11, 2007 instigated the programme. This is the first well onPantheon's two development projects; La Playa Deep and Wilson. A seconddevelopment/appraisal well on Wilson is planned following production testing onthe original discovery well. Separately, a testing programme on the shallowerzones encountered during the drilling of Plum Deep is scheduled to commence byend-August 2007. Drilling on Pantheon's high-impact exploration ventures is scheduled to commencein late third quarter 2007 with the spudding of the first well on the SouthLouisiana venture, White Castle. This is currently expected to be followed bythe drilling of the Bullseye prospect on the separate Bullseye venture alsolocated in Louisiana. The following table provides a preliminary well schedule as currently indicatedby the operator for each venture. Pantheon - Scheduled Drilling ProgrammeVenture Prospect Potential Gross WI (%) Scheduled Spud Date Est. Dry Hole Reserves Costs Net to Pantheon (US$ mn)Bullseye Bullseye 18 mmboe 15.0% (1) 4Q 2007 0.81Padre Island La Playa Deep #2 7.50% (2) August 11, 2007 0.54 development Plum test 25.0% By end August Wilson appraisal Up to 20 bcf + 31.77% 4Q 2007/1Q 2008 2.50 /developmentSouth Louisiana White Castle 35 mmboe 7.5% (3) late 3Q 2007 0.50Project Wharton Zebu #2 0.4-1.28 bcf 9.375% 4Q 2007/1Q 2008 0.02 Mohawk #2 0.5- 2.24 18.75% 1Q 2008 0.05Source: Operator (1) to casing point when farm-out company may elect for 25% back-in (2) Pantheon does not have an interest in the original discovery well currently in production (3) carrying the farm-out companies for a 25% back-in after project payout It should be emphasised that this programme remains preliminary. The wells arestill in the process of being finalised. It also assumes suitable rigavailability. In addition, in the event of success, drilling programmes mayalter. It should thus be regarded as a guide only. It should be noted that theProject Wharton drilling schedule has also been included. This is a lower riskventure for Pantheon. Development Projects La Playa Deep #2 is a development/appraisal well of the shallow La Playa Deepdiscovery. The operator is BNP, a private Texas-based company. La Playa Deep #2 is scheduled to take 30 days to drill on a trouble-free basis and has a plannedtotal depth of 10,500 feet. A successful development well would be easilyconnected to the sales grid as the well is being drilled from an existing site. Drilling on the Wilson #2 development/appraisal well is scheduled to commenceonce production data from Wilson #1 has been collected and analysed. Accordingto the Operator, Wilson #1 is still on track to come on-stream by end-August2007. It is intended that a few months of production data will be collectedprior to the drilling of Wilson #2. This data will be used to assess thereserves in the bottom zone of Wilson. At present, the Operator has indicatedthat this first zone alone is capable of producing at a gross rate between 2.5to 3.5 million cubic feet a day ("mmcfd"), once tied-into the sales grid. Thisequates to a rate of 0.79 to 1.11 mmcfd net to Pantheon on a working interestbasis. Exploration Prospects The White Castle prospect is the first to be tested on Pantheon's SouthLouisiana venture. This is scheduled to be a 15,000 feet test takingapproximately two months to drill. This structure has a potential for 35 mmboein the Oligocene section. On the separate Bullseye venture, also located in Louisiana, an exploration wellis currently scheduled to commence in November 2007. It is estimated to takeapproximately 30 days to reach total depth. The Bullseye prospect is testing twotargets with one well. These have combined gross best estimate potentialreserves (previously described as "P50 potential reserves") of 12.5 millionbarrels ("mmbo") of liquids and 33 billion cubic feet ("bcf") of natural gas. In accordance with the AIM Rules, the information in this report has been reviewed and signed off by Mr RobertRosenthal, (BSc Geology, MSc Geology), Technical Director at Pantheon Resources Plc, who has over 30 years relevantexperience within the sector. For further information on Pantheon Resources plc, see the website atwww.pantheonresources.com Contacts: Pantheon Resources PlcSue Graham, Chairman +44 20 7379 0118Oriel Securities LimitedScott Richardson Brown +44 20 7710 7600 Forward Looking Statements This announcement contains forward looking statements that are subject to riskfactors associated with oil and gas businesses. It is believed that theexpectations reflected in these statements are reasonable but they may beaffected by a variety of variables and changes in underlying assumptions whichcould cause actual results or trends to differ materially, including but notlimited to: price fluctuations, actual demand, currency fluctuations, drillingand production results, reserve estimates, loss of market, industry competition,environmental risks, physical risks, legislative, fiscal and regulatorydevelopments, economic and financial market conditions in various countries andregions, political risks, project delay or advancement, approvals and costestimates. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange