Removal of Bridge Plugs & Operational Update

RNS Number : 9165H

Curzon Energy PLC

16 March 2018

 

16 March 2018

Curzon Energy Plc

("Curzon Energy" or the "Company")

Removal of Bridge Plugs & Operational Update

Coos Bay Coalbed Methane Field, Oregon, USA

Curzon Energy Plc, the 100% owner of the 45,000 acre Coos Bay Coalbed Methane (CBM) Project, is pleased to provide an operational update on the work programme currently underway at Coos Bay. In order to accelerate the gas production process, the company has decided to remove bridge plugs located at various depths at four out of the five wells we are currently testing.

Highlights of Current Status

·    All five existing wells (1-21, 9-21, 15-21, 13-15 and 16-16) are operational

·      Recording of gas volumes continues with rates expected to increase as per CBM type curve

·      Gas currently being produced is sufficient to power wellhead pumping equipment

·      Gas volumes are in line with expectations given the extent of the wells open to the productive horizons

·      The Company anticipates gas rates to increase steadily as dewatering continues

Additional Field Work to Accelerate Gas Production

The removal of these bridge plugs will provide the company with access to deeper productive coal seams that were previously isolated due to the location of the bridge plugs. Access to these coal seams will serve to more than double the total "pay zones" that can contribute to gas production. In addition, the removal of these plugs will enable the Company to clean-out the entire well depth.

The Company believes that this additional well work, which will allow access to more than twice as many "pay zones," will shorten the time-frame to commercial gas production, and increase overall gas production volumes.

In parallel with this work, the Company continues to advance the details of the water disposal system, a gas sales contract and a pipeline interconnection agreement for future gas sales, and remains on track to deliver first gas in Q2 2018.

Stephen Schoepfer, Managing Director of Curzon Energy said:

"Our decision to remove bridge plugs, rather than waiting for gas production to ramp-up through the dewatering process, is a decisive move designed to help shorten our timeframe to commercial gas production in addition to providing longer term gas volumes which should improve the well economics of the project."

For further information please contact:

Curzon Energy PLC	c/o Camarco
Stephen Schoepfer / Thomas Wagenhofer	[phone]
www.curzonenergy.com
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP	[phone]
Richard Hail / Richard Redmayne
Camarco (Financial PR)	[phone]
Georgia Edmonds / Owen Roberts / Monique Perks

Notes to Editors:

Curzon Energy Plc, is the 100% owner of the 45,000 acre Coos Bay Coalbed Methane (CBM) Project, located in Oregon USA. Coos Bay has 2C contingent gas resources of 273.5 BCF. 

The Company is implementing a cost effective staged development plan, targeting first gas and cash generation from Phase I in Q2 2018. The Phase I work programme consists of the low-cost workover of five existing, and drilling of two new wells.

The Company is led by an experienced Board and senior management team who have extensive industry and financial experience. Curzon Energy is listed on the LSE Main Market under the ticker CZN.

About Coalbed Methane (CBM):

Coalbed methane gas (CBM) (or coal seam gas (CSG) or coal-mine methane (CMM)), is a form of natural gas extracted from coal seams or coal deposits. CBM is generated during the process of coalification which is the transformation of plant material into coal and is contained in the coal microstructure. Typical CBM recovery entails initially pumping water out of the coal to allow the natural gas to escape. Methane is the principal component of the natural gas from CBM production, which is typically made up of ~95 per cent methane and normally does not contain hydrogen sulphide or other sulphur compounds. Natural gas produced from CBM can normally be added to natural gas pipelines without any special treatment.

The United States has the longest history and greatest volumes of CBM production, however, other

countries such as Canada, China and Australia have increased production over recent decades.

Competent Person's Statement

The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Thomas Wagenhofer, Technical Director of Curzon, who is a petroleum engineer and oil and gas executive with over 20 years' international industry experience. Mr. Wagenhofer holds a MS degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin (1995) and a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (1994). He is a registered Professional Engineer with the Texas Board of Professional Engineers (current status inactive) in the State of Texas, USA.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

 

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