LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Oct. 5, 2011) -
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Heritage Oil Plc (News - Market indicators)(LSE:HOIL), an independent upstream exploration and production company, announces that it has completed testing of the oil bearing Upper Cretaceous reservoir in the Miran West-3 well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq ("Kurdistan").
Highlights
- Maximum flow rate achieved from the Upper Cretaceous reservoir was 1,950 bopd, restricted by surface equipment
- Confirmed gross in-place P50-P90 contingent volumes of 53-75 MMbbls of oil in the Upper Cretaceous reservoir in the Miran West structure
- Results from the well confirm that development wells could produce 8,000-10,000 bopd per well from this reservoir
- Drilling operations continuing ahead as planned
Heritage has successfully completed testing of the Upper Cretaceous reservoir in the Miran West-3 well, after drilling to a depth of 876 metres. During testing the maximum measured rate achieved from this reservoir section was 1,950 bopd. Attempts to flow the well at higher rates were severely restricted by the capacity of the surface test equipment. The oil produced on test is estimated to be 15 degree API with very little associated gas, similar to that tested from the same interval in the Miran West-1 discovery well.
Pressure data has allowed the depth of the oil-water contact to be determined and this has confirmed previous gross in-place contingent P50-P90 volumes, estimated by management, of 53-75 MMbbls of oil in the Upper Cretaceous reservoir of the Miran West structure. This information will be incorporated into the ongoing interpretation of the newly acquired 3D data. In addition, based on management's interpretation of these results, it has been confirmed that future development wells in this reservoir section should be able to achieve 8,000-10,000 bopd per well on production.
Drilling operations are continuing on prognosis to test the deeper reservoirs discovered by previous drilling.
Tony Buckingham, CEO, commented:
"We are encouraged by the results of our first test in the Miran West-3 well which has confirmed the contingent resource in the Upper Cretaceous reservoir of the Miran West structure. Drilling of this well is demonstrating the ability to intersect the productive fracture network associated with multiple faults identified on recently acquired 3D seismic data. We are drilling ahead with a view to conducting the next test in the Lower Cretaceous reservoir."
Heritage Energy Middle East, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heritage, is operator and holds a 75% interest in the Miran Block and Genel Energy International Limited the remaining 25%, although there are third party back-in rights. The Miran Block has an area of 1,015 square kilometres and is located west of the city of Suleimaniah. The Miran Block contains two large structures, Miran West and Miran East, which have been mapped from 2D and 3D seismic programmes conducted by Heritage.
Notes to Editors
- Heritage is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The trading symbol is HOIL. Heritage has a further listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (News - Market indicators)
- Heritage is an independent upstream exploration and production company engaged in the exploration for, and the development, production and acquisition of, oil and gas in its core areas of Africa, the Middle East and Russia
- Heritage has a producing property in Russia and exploration projects in the Kurdistan, Malta, Pakistan, Tanzania the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mali
- Heritage Energy Middle East, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heritage, is operator and holds a 75% interest in the Miran Block. There are third party back-in rights which could reduce the holding to 56.25%
- All dollars are US$ unless otherwise stated
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FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:
Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this news release – including, without limitation, statements regarding production estimates and future plans and objectives of Heritage – constitute forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results include risks and uncertainties such as: risks relating to estimates of reserves and recoveries; production and operating cost assumptions; development risks and costs; the risk of commodity price fluctuations; political and regulatory risks; and other risks and uncertainties as disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in its Prospectus and elsewhere in Heritage documents filed from time-to-time with the London Stock Exchange and other regulatory authorities. Further, any forward-looking information is made only as of a certain date and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management of the Company to predict all of these factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking information.