Ntorya Gas Field Resource Upgrade

RNS Number : 6590P

Solo Oil Plc

04 September 2017

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                   4 September 2017

SOLO OIL PLC

("Solo" or the "Company")

Ntorya Gas Field, Material Resource Upgrade to over 1.3 TCF

Solo, the resource investment company, today announces that Aminex plc ("Aminex") operator of the Ruvuma Petroleum Sharing Agreement ("Ruvuma PSA") in Tanzania, where Solo holds a 25% interest, has confirmed a further material increase in the estimates of gas initially in place ('GIIP') in the Ntorya appraisal area.  

Aminex has upgraded the unrisked resource estimates from 466 billion cubic feet ("bcf") Pmean GIIP to approximately 1,344 bcf Pmean GIIP.  This three-fold increase from the estimate provided immediately after the Ntorya-2 well and issued in late April 2017 is based on ongoing technical work which includes; data from the successful Ntorya-2 appraisal well, and subsequent re-evaluation of existing seismic, including reprocessing of select seismic lines and detailed review of all well data associated with the onshore Ruvuma basin.  The results of the additional work and the Ntorya-2 well have led to nearly an overall ten-fold increase in the estimated in place resources in the Ntorya gas-condensate field as compared to the estimates made following the original discovery well Ntorya-1.

Based on this recent work, Solo now holds net resources of approximately 335 bcf Pmean GIIP, which the Company estimates to be in excess of 200 bcf (35 million barrels oil equivalent) of contingent resources net to its 25% interest.

These internal Operator estimates cover the Ntorya appraisal area only and do not include the potential of the adjoining exploration acreage.  Aminex, on behalf of the Ruvuma PSA, is in the process of engaging an independent third party auditor to prepare an updated reserves and resource report ("Competent Persons Report") for the Ruvuma PSA.

The partners in the Ruvuma PSA also continue to work with io oil & gas consultancy (a joint venture between Baker Hughes, a GE Company, and McDermott) to prepare a gas commercialisation plan which will be submitted together with the Ntorya Field development plan to the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation ("TPDC") in September.

Neil Ritson, Executive Chairman of Solo, commented:

"The updated modelling, mapping and corresponding resource numbers continue to confirm that the Ruvuma Basin is a major resource for Solo and its partner, Aminex, and is of significant national importance to Tanzania.  We and Aminex are working with the TPDC on an optimal development plan to begin the Ntorya Field into production as quickly as possible."

For further information:

Solo Oil plc Neil Ritson / Fergus Jenkins	[phone]
Beaumont Cornish Limited Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Roland Cornish	[phone]
Shore Capital Joint Broker Jerry Keen Beaufort Securities Joint Broker Jon Belliss Buchanan (PR) Ben Romney / Chris Judd / Henry Wilson	[phone] [phone] [phone]

Qualified Person's Statement:  

The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Neil Ritson, Chairman and Director for Solo Oil plc, who has over 39 years of relevant experience in geology, resource estimation and the oil and gas industry.  Mr. Ritson is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), an Active Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London (BGS).

Glossary:

bcf	billion cubic feet
discovery	a petroleum accumulation for which one or several exploratory wells have established through testing, sampling and/or logging the existence of a significant quantity of potentially moveable hydrocarbons
condensate	gas condensates are liquids that can condense from gas when the temperature and pressure drop sufficiently low, typically condensates exhibit API gravities of > 45 degree
contingent resources	those quantities of petroleum estimated, at a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations, but the associated projects are not yet considered mature enough for commercial development due to one or more contingencies
GIIP	gas initially in-place
in-place	the volume of hydrocarbons, oil or gas, estimated to be in place within the reservoir converted to standard temperature and pressure
Pmean	the most likely estimate of a parameter based on all available data being the estimate at the mean of the probability distribution
PSA	petroleum sharing agreement
resources	those quantities of petroleum which are estimated, at a given date, to be present in a discovered accumulation
seismic	the use of sound waves generated by a controlled source to ascertain the nature of the subsurface structure, lithology and fluid content
tcf	trillion cubic feet
TPDC	Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation

Notes to Editors:

Solo Oil plc (Solo), is a natural resources investment company with a diverse portfolio of onshore assets, principally in Europe and Africa. The company seeks to deliver returns through early stage investment in promising projects and uses management's own sector expertise to assist in strategic asset development. Solo's portfolio currently includes extensive interests in the prolific Ruvuma Basin in Tanzania, the Horse Hill oil discovery in the Weald Basin, Helium One Limited, the Tanzanian helium exploration company, and Kiliwani North, a natural gas producing project in Tanzania.   

 

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