Jolly Ranch Well Acquisition

24 Feb 2009 07:00



Nighthawk Energy plc

Jolly Ranch Well Acquisition

The directors of Nighthawk Energy plc ("Nighthawk" or "the Company") (AIM: HAWK), the US focused hydrocarbon production and development company, are pleased to announce the acquisition of a well located in Lincoln County at the Jolly Ranch Group project which covers 370,578 gross acres (281,069 on a net basis) in Colorado. Nighthawk holds a 50 per cent. interest in the project and the operator, Running Foxes Petroleum Inc. ("Running Foxes"), holds the remaining interest.

At the request of the State of Colorado, Nighthawk and Running Foxes have taken control of the Williams 10-27 well at no cost to the partnership. The well, which is in Township 14S R56W on land already leased by Nighthawk and Running Foxes in the south of the Jolly Ranch area, had been abandoned by the previous operator.

The Williams 10-27 well is part of the Manassas oilfield which was discovered in 1976 by Petro-Lewis. The well was completed in a sandstone within the Atoka formation and produced oil and several hundred thousand cubic feet of gas per day from 7,296 to 7,304 feet.

Evaluation of historic data shows there to be a full suite of Atoka and Cherokee shales present and indicates their prospectivity. As the well is located approximately four miles to the south of the current core project area, the confirmed extent of the Jolly Ranch Group shale play has been considerably increased through the acquisition. In addition, there are 10 feet of Marmaton reservoir present within the well bore which appear to be potentially productive.

The well bore is in good condition with significant pressure at the wellhead. The well will be re-entered and the Cherokee and Marmaton zones stimulated for production.

David Racher B.Sc (Hons) Geology, who is a consultant to Nighthawk and has over 37 years of experience in the hydrocarbons industry and previously managed the Lasmo plc onshore US portfolio in Kansas, Louisiana, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, has approved the technical information contained in this announcement.

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