Award of UK 31st Offshore Licensing Round Acreage

RNS Number : 1521B

Upland Resources Limited

05 June 2019

 

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This announcement is not an offer for sale, or a solicitation of an offer to acquire, securities in any jurisdiction, including in or into the United States, Canada, Australia, or Japan.  Neither this announcement nor any part of it shall form the basis of or be relied on in connection with or act as an inducement to enter into any contract or commitment whatsoever.

5^th June 2019

UPLAND RESOURCES LIMITED

("Upland" or the "Company")

Offer of Award of UK 31^st Offshore Licensing Round Acreage

Upland Resources Limited (LSE: UPL), the oil and gas company actively building a portfolio of attractive upstream assets, is pleased to announce that, with partners, its wholly-owned subsidiary Upland Resources (UK Onshore) Limited ("Upland UK") has been offered exclusive permits over seven blocks and part blocks in the Inner Moray Firth ("IMF"), part of the UK Continental Shelf.

Highlights

·    Highly prospective acreage offered to Upland UK and its partners, with multiple prospects

·    Upland UK to hold a 40% working interest in each of seven blocks/part blocks

·    The Moray Firth area attracted many bids, including successful ones from Chevron and Equinor

The UK Oil & Gas Authority ("OGA") yesterday announced the results of the UK's 31^st Offshore Licensing Round. The offer of award of Innovate licences over the areas is in each case to Corallian Energy Limited ("Corallian", as operator, 40%), Upland UK (40%), Baron Oil plc (15%) and Corfe Energy Limited (5%).

The blocks offered are Blocks 12/27 (split); 17/5; 18/1 and 18/2 in the southern part of the IMF Basin and Blocks 11/23, 11/24c and 11/25b (split) in the northern part of the IMF.

IMF South

Within the IMF South area, Block 12/27 (split) contains a substantial prospect located updip of a gas column intersected by well 12/27-1 (drilled by Burmah in 1982 and 1983) in Middle Jurassic Beatrice Formation sandstones. The well flowed 9.5 MMscfg per day on a 40/64" choke from a 14m interval at 1,109m MD. The tested gas was almost pure methane (98.6%) but the reservoir was also oil stained. Corallian interprets the structure drilled by 12/27-1 to have been oil charged to structural spill and to have spilled updip to a series of tilted fault block closures on the Central Ridge culminating in a gas cap which has a DHI (direct hydrocarbon indicator) amplitude anomaly.

This Dunrobin Prospect covers 33.6 square kilometres and has a P_mean prospective recoverable resource of 187 MMboe. The smaller Golspie Prospect, a separate fault block also updip of 12/27-1, covers 4.2 square kilometres and has a P_mean prospective recoverable resource potential of 21.5 MMboe. The primary reservoir intervals for both prospects are sandstones of the Beatrice Formation and Dunrobin Bay Group as intersected in well 12/27-1 where reservoir quality is good to excellent. Corallian estimates the geological chance of success for the Dunrobin prospect to be 34%, and the Golspie prospect to be 43%, with the main risks being cross-fault seal and oil preservation at shallow depth.

Within Phase A of the Innovate licence, the joint venture must complete 3D seismic reprocessing and make a decision to drill or drop the licence within 4 years.

IMF North

In IMF North the blocks form contiguous acreage located nearshore to the NE Scottish coast, 135 km NW of Aberdeen, in an average 30 metres water depth.

Block 11/24c block contains the Knockinnon Beatrice age oil discovery which is located approximately 8km off the Scottish coast, and 7km south of the Lybster Field. It was discovered by well 11/24a-2 and its sidetrack 11/24a-2z, drilled in 2000 by Talisman and is estimated by Corallian to contain 8 MMbbl P_mean recoverable oil. The nearby Forse Channel amplitude anomaly is estimated to contain an additional 4 MMbbls oil recoverable from Upper Jurassic "Buzzard" aged sandstones. The prospect is considered to be low risk for finding hydrocarbons as it is defined by a DHI on the seismic volume.

Underlying the Knockinnon discovery is a mapped sub-thrust footwall anticline (the Alpha prospect). The block also contains the Whaligoe (extending to Block 11/25b (split)), Camster and Camster south prospects, which are downthrown against the Great Glen fault system. Block 11/23 contains the Dunbeath prospect, a Beatrice level three-way upthrown fault bounded trap.

Within Phase A of the Innovate licence, 3D reprocessing is required followed by a drill or drop decision within 3 years.

Steve Staley, CEO of Upland Resources Limited, said:

"I am pleased to be able to announce this offer of award of a substantial area of prospective UK offshore acreage. Though potentially high impact and containing existing discoveries, the Innovate licence approach means that the initial work commitments are not costly. The estimates by Corallian of the recoverable resources speak for themselves.

We continue to make good progress in Tunisia and Sarawak and look forward to updating the market in due course." 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on market abuse

For further information, please contact:

Upland Resources Limited	www.uplandres.com
Steve Staley, CEO	Tel: [phone]   [e-mail]
Optiva Securities Limited
Jeremy King (Corporate Finance)	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]
Christian Dennis (Corporate Broker)	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]
FTI Consulting
Ben Brewerton / Molly Stewart	Tel: [phone]  [e-mail]
Flowcomms Ltd
Sasha Sethi	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]

Notes

Upland is an upstream oil & gas company whose highly experienced management team has a track record of creating major value for shareholders in junior oil & gas companies, including Cove Energy plc. The Company has extensive technical and commercial skills and contacts, management having held senior roles in Conoco, Shell etc.

 

END

 

 

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