Harvest Natural
Resources Announces Additional Follow Up Drilling Activity in the Uintah
Basin
HOUSTON, April 12, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ --
Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: HNR) today announced its Board of
Directors has approved a capital budget of $16.1 million to drill additional
wells in the Lower Green River and Upper Wasatch formations, south of the
Altamont-Bluebell oil field in Utah's Uintah Basin in Duchesne County based
on the results to date of the Bar F 1-20-3-2 well. The Board also approved
additional development drilling in the shallow Green River formation in the
Monument Butte Field.
Harvest plans to start a five-well drilling program in the
second half of 2010 to follow up on the recently announced oil discovery in
the Bar F 1-20-3-2 well in Duchesne County. This program would further
delineate and appraise the extent of the discovery in the Lower Green River
and Upper Wasatch formations south of the Altamont-Bluebell oil field in the
Uintah Basin. The Bar F 1-20-3-2 well commenced flowing oil on test from six
commingled intervals on March 24, 2010, and has produced approximately 5,300
barrels of oil (net to Harvest) as of April 5, 2010. For the week ending
April 5, 2010, the well produced approximately 410 barrels of oil per day,
BOPD, (net to Harvest). A capital budget of $13.5 million (net to Harvest)
was approved for the upcoming five-well drilling program.
Harvest's Board also approved funds to drill five additional
appraisal and development wells targeting the oil producing shallow Green
River formation on the southern portion of the Company's Antelope land
position which is adjacent to the established Monument Butte oil field in
Duchesne County, Utah. The estimated gross drilling and completion cost per
well is $900,000. This five-well expansion program is a follow-up to the
successful completion of an eight-well drilling program conducted in late
2009 and early 2010 and will occur on acreage immediately adjacent to the
initial eight-well program. As of April 4, 2010, six of the eight wells have
produced 44,600 barrels of oil (net to Harvest). The six wells combined are
currently producing 390 BOPD (net to Harvest). The remaining two wells, from
the initial eight-well program, have been drilled and completed and
production is pending expansion of the fluid handling capacity in the surface
production system to accommodate the unexpectedly high fluid production
volumes from the initial drilling program. Additional funds of $2.6 million
(net to Harvest) have been approved to drill the additional wells and fund
other associated costs.
Harvest President and CEO James Edmiston said, "We are
eager to start these two drilling programs of our Antelope project in Utah.
We believe our substantial land position of 66,000 acres (40,000 acres net to
Harvest) in the Basin provides numerous development drilling targets. The
increase in the approved capital budget of $16.1 million provides sufficient
funding to focus on the oil potential of our leased acreage in the Uintah
Basin."
About Harvest Natural Resources
Harvest Natural Resources,
Inc. headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an independent energy company
with principal operations in Venezuela,
producing and exploration assets in the United States,
exploration assets in Indonesia, West Africa, China and Oman and business
development offices in Singapore and the United Kingdom. For more information
visit the Company's website at http://www.harvestnr.com.
CONTACT:
Stephen C. Haynes
Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
(281) 899-5716
This press release may contain projections and other
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934. They include estimates and timing of expected oil and gas production,
oil and gas reserve projections of future oil pricing, future expenses,
planned capital expenditures, anticipated cash flow and our business
strategy. All statements other than statements of historical facts may
constitute forward-looking statements. Although Harvest believes that the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it
can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct.
Actual results may differ materially from Harvest's expectations as a result
of factors discussed in Harvest's 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other
public filings.
SOURCE Harvest Natural Resources, Inc.