Acquisition - Jolly Ranch

19 Jun 2007 07:01

Nighthawk Energy plc19 June 2007 Nighthawk Energy plc Acquisition of Land at Jolly Ranch Project, Lincoln County, Colorado The directors of Nighthawk Energy plc ("Nighthawk" or the "Company") (AIM: HAWK)are pleased to announce the acquisition of a further 15,000 acres of land at theJolly Ranch project, Lincoln County, Colorado. As announced on 7 June 2007, Nighthawk and its partner Running Foxes PetroleumInc. ("Running Foxes") have each acquired a 50 per cent. working interest inJolly Ranch. Running Foxes is the operator. Jolly Ranch is located within the Denver Basin in eastern Colorado whereproduction is drawn from Carboniferous Pennsylvanian, Permian and Cretaceousreservoirs. Primary targets are the Marmaton and Cherokee carbonates andsecondary objectives are the Morrow, Atoka and Cretaceous sandstones. The newly acquired acreage is adjacent to the south of the existing 25,000 acresheld at Jolly Ranch and brings the total project area held to 40,000 acres. Thetotal consideration is US$525,000, of which Nighthawk will pay 50 per cent. The new acreage includes two oil fields, Bolero and Craig Ranch, which wereabandoned in the late 1980s due to poor completion practices and low oil prices. The Bolero field produced oil from the Cherokee carbonates and the Craig Ranchfield produced oil and gas from the Morrow and Atoka sandstones. As a result of the acquisition, Nighthawk and Running Foxes are adding a further9 square miles of 3-D seismic, covering the Bolero field, to the existing 12square mile programme over the Jolly Ranch project area. In addition, are-entry well on the Bolero field is planned for the third quarter of 2007 withthe intention of re-completing and placing on production. Depending on theproduction test and seismic survey results, a further two wells are planned tobe re-entered and re-completed in the fourth quarter of 2007. The Bolero field main pay horizon, the Cherokee B zone, is present over theentire project area, containing approximately 1,000 drilling locations on 40acres spacing. In addition, a further ten known oil producing horizons will betested during drilling. The source rocks for the Pennsylvanian reservoirs are also known to begenerating hydrocarbons within the project area and represent a potentially highimpact shale gas target. David Bramhill, Managing Director of Nighthawk commented "We are delighted toacquire further acreage at Jolly Ranch. The project is located in an area withexcellent services for the industry and a strong market for oil and gas. Webelieve it has the capability of being a large potential resource for Nighthawk." David Racher B.Sc (Hons) Geology, who is a consultant to Nighthawk, has reviewedand approved the technical information contained in this announcement. For further information please contact: Nighthawk Energy plc 01271 882160David Bramhill, Managing Director office@nighthawkenergy.netwww.nighthawkenergy.net Hanson Westhouse Limited 0113 246 2610Tim Feather tim.feather@hansonwesthouse.comMatthew Johnson matthew.johnson@hansonwesthouse.com Bishopsgate Communications Limited 020 7562 3350Dominic Barretto dominic@bishopsgatecommunications.comFran Read fran@bishopsgatecommunications.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange