Drilling and Operations Updat

RNS Number : 9271E

Aminex PLC

04 January 2010

 



4 January 2010

AMINEX PLC

DRILLING AND OPERATIONS UPDATE

Aminex PLC ("Aminex" or the "Company") provides the following operational update: 

Summary Drilling Programme 

Aminex is planning an active drilling programme in 2010 and the following is a provisional drilling schedule. Precise timing of drilling is always subject to operational issues and cannot be guaranteed. 

Q1 well starts 

• Likonde-1, Ruvuma basin, Tanzania (7 January)

• Cockfield well at Shoats Creek, Louisiana (15-31 January)

• Frio well at Shoats Creek, Louisiana (mid-end March) 

Q2 well starts 

• Sunny Ernst-3, Alta Loma, Texas (mid-June) 

Q3 well starts 

• Wilcox well at Shoats Creek (subject to farm-out)

• Possible further Cockfield/Frio drilling at Shoats Creek 

Q4 well starts 

• Provisional follow-up well at Ruvuma

• Nyuni follow-up well (or early 2011) 

Tanzania 

Ruvuma PSA: Likonde-1, the first well to be drilled on the Ruvuma PSA, is due to be spudded on 7 January 2010 and drilled to a programmed total depth of 3,200 metres. Drilling time is estimated to be around two months, subject to any operational delays which can occur in a remote frontier area. 

The Likonde prospect is a robust faulted rollover structure with the potential for 500 million barrels of oil in place and estimated P10 recoverable reserves in excess of 150 million barrels of oil, risked by Aminex at a 1 in 4 chance of success. The Likonde-1 well will test multiple targets in the Tertiary, Cretaceous, and Permo-Trias Karoo intervals.

A further announcement will be made to confirm that the well has actually been spudded. Pursuant to a recent farm-out, finalisation of which was announced on 15 December, interests in Likonde-1 are Tullow Oil (operator) 50%, Aminex 37.5% and Solo Oil PLC 12.5%. 

Nyuni and Kiliwani North: New seismic acquired in summer 2009 to define the Kiliwani North discovery is being integrated into reprocessed data covering the remainder of the Nyuni licence and the preliminary results of the broader exercise are extremely encouraging for the unexplored prospects on this licence. Aminex increased its interest in Nyuni from 40% to 50% in summer 2009 and the Nyuni Joint Venture has now voted to drill an exploration well in about one year's time. 

Aminex is not yet in a position to quantify the Kiliwani North discovery but should be able to do so in the first quarter of 2010. Kiliwani North-1 flowed gas at 40 million cubic feet per day (equivalent to approximately 6,000 barrels of oil per day using the industry standard conversion factor) in 2008 under full production test conditions. Gas commercialisation terms have now been agreed in principle with the Tanzanian authorities and are likely to be finalised early in 2010 while approval for plant upgrading to handle Kiliwani North gas is still awaited. Kiliwani North is still held under an appraisal licence and when appraisal is complete a development licence will be applied for. 

Egypt 

West esh el Mellaha-2 concession: South Malak-1 well reached a revised total depth of 11,200 feet (3,415 metres) on 21st October 2009. High gas readings were recorded over 950 feet of hole and mud logs indicated oil shows in Eocene Dolomite and Cretaceous Matulla sands as well as in fractured basement rocks. Casing was set to approximately 170 feet above TD with a view to running an open hole test in the fractured basement rocks but this was not successful, possibly because of cement contamination blocking the open fractures. 

Subsequently, wireline logged oil-bearing intervals in the Eocene Dolomite and Matulla sands were perforated but the formations were found to be too tight to flow satisfactorily. Currently the formations are in the process of being hydraulically fractured but this is turning out to be a lengthy process and definitive results may still not be received for several weeks while fluids used in the frac are recovered. The fracture treatment may or may not be successful in establishing commercial production but in a highly faulted formation the strong evidence of liquid hydrocarbons in close proximity is very encouraging. 

Partners are Aminex Petroleum Egypt Ltd. (80%) and Groundstar Resources Ltd. (20%). Aminex is a 12.5% shareholder in Aminex Petroleum Egypt Ltd. (operator) and is carried by other participants for 10% of exploration costs through to first commercial production. If sub-commercial rates of production are achieved, the carry will continue so long as the drilling programme continues. 

U.S.A. 

Shoats Creek: Aminex has divided Shoats Creek into a shallow zone (less than 10,000 feet) and a deep zone (more than 10,000 feet) for project purposes. The shallow zone includes multiple Frio and Cockfield sands including proved undeveloped reserves. The deep zone includes exploration prospects in the upper and lower Wilcox sands. 

The Company is currently gearing up to drill its first two development wells, in the Frio and Cockfield sands, both in the shallow zone, starting early in the first quarter of 2010. The Cockfield well will be drilled first, with spud currently estimated in late January. The Frio well will most likely be first spudded during March but the selected location is in a designated and weather-sensitive "wetlands" area and also subject to more rigorous regulatory consent. 

The aim of these two wells is to convert proved undeveloped reserves into proved producing reserves, so as to increase oil production and revenues as soon as possible. Despite challenging surface conditions, there is a ready market for oil and gas in the area. Both oil and gas pipelines cross Aminex's property and a combination of its high quality oil and proximity to the major refineries in the Mississippi Delta yields a premium to the WTI marker price for Shoats Creek production sold. 

Farm-in offers received for the shallower formations have not so far been satisfactory and Aminex has concluded that better value can be extracted from these reserves by funding the wells directly and maintaining a 100% interest. In the deep zone negotiations continue for farming out part of the risk and cost associated with exploration of the deep Wilcox play and Aminex is optimistic that a successful conclusion to these negotiations will be followed by a well later in 2010. 

Alta Loma: Production tubing has now been successfully installed at Sunny Ernst-2, Aminex's currently most productive oil and gas well which was drilled and put on stream in 2H 2008 and averaging 3 million cubic feet/day gas production. 

Drilling of Sunny Ernst-3 is proposed for 2010, most likely in the second or third quarter. It will drill up proved reserves and is a logical follow-on from Sunny Ernst-2. Production tubing has now been installed in Sunny Ernst-2 and a completion in the behind-pipe "S" sand is likely to be carried out in 2010. 

Sunny Ernst-1, a much older well with limited production, has been subject of a recent workover. This was unsuccessful and the well has now been temporarily suspended. 

Pipeline restrictions have now been lifted at Alta Loma. 

North Korea 

An Aminex delegation to Pyongyang at the end of November was warmly received and the Company has been assured that the stalled process of exploring the East Sea is likely to be permitted to restart. A further announcement will be made at the appropriate time. 

For further information: 

Aminex PLC                        [phone] 

Brian Hall - Chairman 

Pelham Public Relations     [phone] or [phone] 

Archie Berens

 

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