Spudding of first well

20 Apr 2007 09:00

White Nile Limited20 April 2007 White Nile Ltd / Ticker: WNL / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil & Gas 20th April 2007 White Nile Ltd ('White Nile' or 'the Company') Commences Drill Programme with First Well in Southern Sudan White Nile Ltd, the AIM listed oil and gas exploration company, is pleased toannounce the commencement of drilling operations with the spudding of theKedelai exploration well in Block Ba, 200 km due north of Juba, in the JongleiState of Southern Sudan. Kedelai was spudded at 13.15 hrs. local time on 19 April 2007 and is beingdrilled to determine the hydrocarbon bearing potential of the south-easternextension of the Muglad basin. The well will be drilled to a total depth ofcirca 2,400 metres (7,850 ft.) with completion targeted for mid May. Following the interpretation of high-density 2D seismic shot in the last 12months, the Company gained a clear understanding of the prospectivity of theJonglei sub-basin of the Muglad Basin. A sedimentary section of up to 7 km inthickness and rift structures suitable for forming hydrocarbon traps wereclearly shown, which are analogous to the producing South Sudanese Thar Jath,Mala, Heglig and Unity oilfields of the Muglad Basin to the northwest of BlockBa. In this way the geological conditions pertaining to the formation ofoilfields in the Muglad Basin (Blocks 1, 2, 4 and 5A) have been extrapolatedinto the Jonglei sub-basin in Block Ba. Blocks 1, 2 and 5A host the knownUnity, Heglig and Thar Jath oilfields that have estimated oil in place of circa600 million, 550 million and 1 billion barrels respectively. The interpretationof the seismic data also allowed White Nile to identify numerous structures ofwhich a number were prioritised, with the Kedelai well targeting one suchstructure. White Nile Chairman, Phil Edmonds, said, "This is a major milestone in thedevelopment of White Nile. The seismic revealed a number of exciting targets oneof which we are now drilling. In spudding this well we are entering into thenext phase of our development aimed at bringing Block Ba into its productivephase. It is not only a key moment for White Nile but it is also a milestonefor the people of Southern Sudan. Through the equity holding in White Nile bythe state owned oil company of the Government of Southern Sudan, Nile PetroleumCorporation, the people will be major beneficiaries in the development of BlockBa. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners for theirsupport and look forward to what I believe is a bright future for White Nile." * * E N D S * * For further information please visit www.whitenile-ltd.com or contact: Phil Edmonds White Nile Ltd Tel: 0845 108 6060 Jonathan Wright Seymour Pierce Ltd Tel: 020 7107 8000 Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange