Szolnok Drilling Update

25 Apr 2008 07:01

Ascent Resources PLC25 April 2008 Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas 25th April 2008 Ascent Resources plc ("Ascent" or "the Company") Szolnok drilling update Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and productioncompany, announces the abandonment of the TIK-1 exploration well in Szolnok,central Hungary, in which the Company has a 27.5% interest. The well, drilledunder the Company's farm-in agreement with Toreador Resources Corporation ("Toreador"), found a thicker than expected gas reservoir however the gascomposition was approximately 90% CO2 with only traces of methane. The TIK-1 well was drilled to a depth of 2,003m and penetrated 40m of reservoirquality gas saturated sands between 1,918m and 1,967m. Logging and the analysisof wireline samples confirmed the presence of a high percentage of CO2 in thelower Pannonian formations. Following the plugging and abandonment of TIK-1,the rig will move to the second exploratory location, Nko-Ny-1, where drillingis expected to commence in the first week of May. Ascent Managing Director Jeremy Eng said, "This is a disappointing result as thegas reservoir discovered by the TIK-1 well was substantially larger thanpre-drill estimates. The location of the second well in this programme, theNko-Ny-1 in the northern part of the Szolnok permit, is away from the deep faultsystem that is thought to contribute to CO2 migration." The technical information contained in this announcement has been reviewed andapproved by Gavin Ward, Ascent's Exploration Manager (member of the AAPG) whohas 20 years relevant experience in the oil industry. * * ENDS * * For further information visit www.ascentresources.co.uk or contact: Jeremy Eng Ascent Resources plc Tel: 020 7251 4905Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7236 1177Max Hartley Cenkos Securities plc Tel: 020 7397 8924 Notes Ascent Resources plc has a diversified portfolio of some 20 hydrocarbonexploration and development projects across six countries in Europe: Italy,Switzerland, Hungary, Spain, Slovenia and Netherlands. Ascent's portfoliocontains a solid base of field redevelopment projects with selected exposure toexploration upside. The portfolio is focussed on gas and with the exception ofthe shallow water Netherlands project, all of its projects are located onshorewhere operating and development costs are substantially lower than they areoffshore. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange