Drilling Update

22 Aug 2005 06:00

Embargoed : 07:00hrs Monday August 22nd 2005 Northern Petroleum Plc ("Northern") PRESS RELEASE LOGGED OIL IN SANDHILLS-2 LEADS TO DECISION TO DRILL SANDHILLS-2Z Northern Petroleum Plc, announces that in conjunction with partners theSandhills-2 appraisal well has encountered continuous 100% oil shows over a 62ft. interval of true vertical thickness with calculated oil saturations up to38%.The reservoir formation was intersected at a greater depth than anticipated andis now considered to be within the oil-water transition zone. Calculations madefrom the electric log data have established a significantly deeper calculatedoil-water contact than that previously calculated from the Sandhills-1 welldata.It has been decided to undertake a sidetrack drilling operation, Sandhills-2Z,to drill out from under the 9 5/8 inch casing shoe further to the north towardsSandhills-1 to a location where the main oolitic reservoir unit is projected tobe within the oil zone.The operating programme will be to drill an 8‚½ inch hole to the top of theGreat Oolite formation, set the 7 inch liner casing, change over the mud-systemand then to proceed to core the reservoir unit. Testing will take place in theopen hole below the 7 inch casing. It is anticipated that these operations willtake a further ten to fifteen days.Following the completion of operations at Sandhills-2Z the rig will bemobilised to the Bouldnor Copse-1 exploration well site further west on theIsle of Wight.SUMMARY OF DRILLING OPERATIONS TO NOON ON 21ST AUGUST 2005The Sandhills-2 well was drilled to a measured depth of 4185 feet and due tothe intersection of the Great Oolite formation at a lower elevation thanprojected the decision was taken to reserve operational flexibility and not torun a 7 inch liner casing or change the mud-system. These are now available forthe drilling of Sandhills-2Z which now has the benefit of being started in openhole.An attempt was made to core in the open hole but the curvature of the deviateduncased hole proved too great and drilling was recommenced to a final measureddepth of 4320 feet following which the well was logged and a velocitycheck-shot survey taken.Participants in the Sandhills-2 well are:Northern Petroleum (GB) Ltd 57.5% Magellan Petroleum (N.T) Pty Ltd 22.5% Oil Quest Resources Plc 7.5% Black Rock Resources (UK) Ltd 5.0% Montrose Industries Ltd 5.0% Oil and Gas Investments Ltd 2.5%For further information, please contact:Northern Petroleum PlcDerek Musgrove, Managing DirectorTel: 020 7743 6080Hansard CommunicationsChris Roberts/Ben SimonsTel: 020 7245 1100ENDNORTHERN PETROLEUM PLC