Dublin
23 May 2016
Petroceltic International Plc
Ain Tsila Development Drilling Update
Petroceltic International plc (AIM: PCI) ('Petroceltic' or the 'Company'), the oil and gas exploration, development and production company focused on North Africa, the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, issues an operational update on development drilling on the Ain Tsila gas and condensate field in Algeria.
Development well AT-13, the second well of the Ain Tsila development drilling campaign, is located in the north of the field approximately 1.8 km from the appraisal well AT-8, and 6.1 km from the original discovery well AT-1. AT-13 is the second of up to 24 new development wells on Ain Tsila expected to be required to establish and maintain the currently approved annual average wet gas plateau rate of 355 MMscfpd.
The well began drilling on 20 April 2016 and on 14 May 2016 it reached a total depth of 2020m MD, having penetrated 73m of fully gas and condensate bearing Ordovician formation. Wireline logging results from the well indicate excellent reservoir quality, in line with the pre-drill prognosis, and similar to that encountered at AT-8. Well test results will be confirmed later in 2016 when planned batch completion, stimulation and testing activities are undertaken. The well was drilled within scheduled time estimates and under budget.
The Sinopec Rig will now move to the AT-11 development well, located in the north of the field approximately 4.2 km from AT-8 and 1.8km from the AT-1. AT-11 is targeting the Ordovician reservoir and will be drilled as a vertical well to a planned total depth of 2050m MD.
Petroceltic holds a 38.25% interest, Sonatrach a 43.375% interest, and Enel an 18.375% interest in the Isarene PSC. Petroceltic continues to benefit from a carry of its development costs in respect of Ain Tsila following the completion of the sale of an 18.375% interest to Sonatrach in July 2014.
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Brian O' Cathain /Tom Hickey, Petroceltic International Tel: +353 (1) 421 8300
James Henderson / Rollo Crichton-Stuart, Bell Pottinger Tel: +44 (20) 3772 2500
Douglas Keatinge / Joe Heron, Murray Consultants Tel: +353 (1) 498 0300
John Frain / Roland French, Davy Tel: +353 (1) 679 6363
John Naismith, Head of Technical, Petroceltic International plc, and the qualified person as defined in the AIM Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies June 2009, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement. John holds an MSc in Petroleum Reservoir Engineering from Imperial College London. He has 27 years' experience in the oil and gas industry gained with Shell, Enterprise Oil, Canadian Natural Resources and Petroceltic. His experience includes reservoir engineering, integrated subsurface studies, asset management, commercial and operations.
Notes to Editors:
Petroceltic International plc is a leading Upstream Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Company, focused on North Africa, the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, and listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market and the Irish Stock Exchange's ESM Market. The Company has production, exploration and development assets in Algeria, Egypt, Bulgaria and Italy.
GLOSSARY
MD: Measured depth
MMscfpd: Million standard cubic feet per day