Last checked at 23 Feb 2015 07:00
Tower Resources plc
Badada-1 Well Drilling Update
23 February 2015
Tower Resources plc (the "Company" or "Tower" (TRP.L, TRP LN)), the AIM-listed Africa-focussed oil and gas exploration company, provides the following update with respect to the Badada-1 well, Block-2B, onshore Kenya.
Tower has received formal notification from Lion Petroleum Inc. ("Lion"), the wholly-owned Kenya-based subsidiary of Taipan Resources Inc. ("Taipan")(TSX-V:TPN), and Operator of Block-2B (Tower 15%, Premier Oil 55% and Taipan 30% working interests) that the Badada-1 well has been drilled to a total depth of 3,500 metres MDBRT (Measured Depth Below the Rotary Table) and following completion of logging operations will be plugged and abandoned as a dry hole.
The well has taken a total of 46 days to date, compared to the Operator's expectations of 70 days in total and is expected to have been drilled under the gross budget of $25.8 million.
The well encountered a thick and previously untested Neogene age succession in the Anza Basin, of similar age to that encountered in the Lokichar and Albertine Basins, confirming the pre-drill geological model for this part of the basin. Excellent quality reservoirs of Neogene and possibly older Tertiary age have been drilled. Although the well has failed to find commercial hydrocarbons, minor gas shows and traces of heavier gas molecules indicate the presence of a thermogenic source rock.
The Operator has proposed seeking additional time from the Government of Kenya in order to complete its evaluation of the remaining prospectivity of what is a very large 5,458 sq km Block, prior to a decision on entering the next phase of exploration.
Graeme Thomson, CEO commented "This was the first well to drill the thicker undisturbed Tertiary section in the Anza Basin, close to the basin-bounding faults and potentially analogous to Tullow Oil's Ngamia discovery in the South Lokichar Basin. Drilling results suggest that the section here is sandier than had been expected and the development of sealing claystones is less than had been hoped. This was always the principal risk for the play. We shall be evaluating the results of the well to assess the remaining prospectivity in this very large area."
Contacts
Tower Resources plc
Graeme Thomson (CEO)
Nigel Quinton (Head of Exploration)Andrew Matharu (VP - Corporate Affairs)+44 20 7253 6639
Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)
Richard Crichton/Charles Batten+44 20 7418 8900
GMP Securities Europe LLP (Joint Broker)
Rob Collins/Emily Morris+44 20 7647 2800
Vigo Communications
Chris McMahon/ Peter Reilly+44 20 7016 9572
Notes
In accordance with the guidelines for the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Nigel Quinton, BA, MA, FGS, Head of Exploration for Tower Resources plc, who has over 30 years' experience in the oil & gas industry, is the qualified person that has reviewed and approved the technical content of this announcement.