Exploration Programme Update

RNS Number : 6199G

Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC

16 May 2011

 



16 May 2011

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc

("Bahamas Petroleum" or the "Company")

Exploration Programme Update

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc, the oil and gas exploration company with offshore licence permits in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, announces preliminary evaluation results from the fully processed  2011 PSTM and 2010 PSDM 2D seismic data, set out in an Exploration Update Report (Report) which has been posted on the Company's website at www.bpcplc.com.  The Report includes results from independent experts on structural analysis of PSTM (Pre Stack Time Migration) and PSDM (Pre Stack Depth Migration) seismic data, structural and stratigraphic interpretation of PSTM data and definition of size and closure of prospects. The data interpretation includes newly processed maps, seismic lines and preliminary Amplitude versus Offset (AVO) analysis. 

Highlights from the Report

·     Seismic interpretation of recently acquired 2D seismic surveys in the southern Commonwealth of The Bahamas confirms the shipboard results released on 18 February, 2011.  The data show multiple structures with 4-way closure ranging in length from 10 to 75 km, but with overall larger aerial extent (acreage) than previously reported.

·     The study determines that folds were formed primarily during the late Cretaceous and were buried by early Tertiary to Recent sediments. The seismic data indicate that the structures were not breached and that potential reservoirs and seals in the Lower Cretaceous to Jurassic section were not subject to erosion or exposed to shallow diagenetic processes.

·     The processed PSTM results confirm earlier interpretations of the 2010 PSDM seismic data that reservoir-seal pairs are continuous across the folds without appreciable structural deformation.

·     A contract has been awarded to CGGVeritas for a 3,000 km sq 3D seismic survey in the southern licences.  The seismic vessel is expected to be onsite by the end of May 2011.  The survey is anticipated to take approximately 90 days to complete, with fast track interpretation to follow within approximately 4-5 months.

·     The newly processed PSTM seismic data have been transferred to Ryder Scott Associates, who are undertaking a Competent Person's Report.  Ryder Scott will evaluate the prospect portfolio and reservoir facies and provide risked resource estimates.

·     An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is underway to evaluate the risks associated with drilling wells in the southern licence area.  Contracts have been awarded to Acorn International and to the Oceanographic Department of the Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, specialist in ocean current modelling.  These studies have commenced and will be completed in Q3 2011.

·     Negotiations are underway with companies to undertake a multibeam seabed and hydrocarbon detection survey.  These negotiations will be completed in the coming week. 

Dr. Paul Crevello, CEO of Bahamas Petroleum Company plc said:

"I am very pleased to be able to report the fully processed results from our 2D seismic surveys which confirm and expand upon the initial shipboard results earlier this year. What is most exciting is the scale and size of the structures we have been able to map and the value creation potential to the shareholder as we approach our first drilling campaign.

These independent studies verify the exceptional size of these prospects and now allow visualization and interpretation of the internal character of potential reservoir systems.  The size of the prospects, ranging from 10 to 75 kilometres, and 6,000 to over 120,000 acres, are recognized as some of the largest structures identified to date in the wider Gulf of Mexico area.  We verify from the seismic that the structures were not breached and that reservoir and seal integrity are intact.  The structures identified are similar to supergiant structures of the Mexican fields in the southern Gulf of Mexico and the Middle East.

The Company continues to analyze the data for further reservoir and resource evaluation.  This data will be transferred to Ryder Scott to compile a CPR in Q3 2011.  In addition, we are pleased to have Acorn International and the University of Miami working together on the EIA.  These groups have considerable experience in the field of environmental studies, ocean current and oil spill mode modelling respectively.

We recently announced that CGGVeritas will undertake 3D seismic acquisition using their Broadseis ^TM technology.  The ship will arrive in late May 2011 to begin deployment of ten 8km streamers.  This will be the first time that a survey using this technology is deployed in the Gulf of Mexico area.  The Company welcomes the opportunity to apply this advanced technology to better defining the prospects identified in the 2011 PSTM study.

I am extremely pleased with the results of these studies and of the projects that are in place and imminent.  These results and newly signed agreements confirm that the Company is progressing well with its exploration program and is expecting to be drilling in 2012.  I maintain that all results have been positive and support the Company's earlier projections on the highly prospective nature of the assets and that the Company is pressing ahead to prove the presence of pooled hydrocarbons in the exceptional structures."

For further information, please contact:

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc Dr Paul Crevello, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Strand Hanson Limited - Nomad Rory Murphy / Liam Buswell	Tel: [phone]
Financial Dynamics Billy Clegg / Ed Westropp / Alex Beagley	Tel: [phone]
Canaccord Genuity Limited - Joint broker Charles Berkeley / Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor	Tel: [phone]
FirstEnergy Capital LLP - Joint broker Hugh Sanderson / Derek Smith	Tel: [phone]
Novus Capital Markets Ltd - Joint broker Nicholas Lee	Tel: [phone]

 

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