LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - June 21, 2012) -
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.
Heritage Oil Plc (News - Market indicators)(LSE:HOIL), an independent upstream exploration and production company, announces an operational update to accompany its Annual General Meeting, taking place at 3:00 pm (BST) today at 22 Grenville Street, St. Helier, Jersey.
Highlights
- The Miran West-4 appraisal well will shortly commence drilling on the Miran Block in Kurdistan. It will be the third appraisal well drilled on the Western structure
- The well is designed to further appraise the oil potential of the Upper Cretaceous reservoir
- It is intended that target intervals will be tested and evaluated as the high angle well is drilled to a target depth of c.1,550 metres
- The Miran East-1 well is currently drilling to the Lower Cretaceous reservoir and is on schedule to reach target depth in four months
- Planning and development studies on the Miran field and FEED studies on a gas export pipeline are on-going
- Tanzania work programme continues in the recently awarded Kyela and Rukwa licences with the reprocessing of legacy 2D seismic data and completion of a high resolution gravity survey. Acquisition of further 2D seismic is scheduled to commence in August 2012
EXPLORATION ASSETS
Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Following the announcement of the successful testing of the Miran West-3 well in May 2012, drilling of the Miran West-4 oil appraisal well will commence shortly. It has an estimated target depth of c.1,550 metres. This will be the fifth well drilled on the Miran block and the third appraisal of the Western structure. The high-angle well will appraise the oil within the Upper Cretaceous interval. The well design utilises the recently acquired 3D seismic data and the enhanced understanding of the structural configuration within the Miran Field that this has provided.
On completion of the drilling of the Miran West-4 well, Heritage plans to undertake an extended well test of these oil bearing reservoirs for a minimum period of six months which is expected to commence before year end. It is planned that up to 5,000 barrels of oil gross per day will be sold into the local market in Kurdistan.
In March 2012, Heritage announced that drilling of the Miran East-1 exploration well had commenced, with an estimated target depth of c.4,000 metres. The well is targeting exploration potential within the Cretaceous and Jurassic reservoir intervals of the eastern structure. The well is currently drilling to the Lower Cretaceous reservoir and primary Jurassic targets and is on schedule to reach target depth in four months.
Monetisation and Development of the Miran Field
Heritage is considering a phased development of the Miran Field which involves early development by the end of 2013, targeting between 80 and 180 MMscfd of gas for local supplies and the production of between 10,000 and 15,000 bpd of oil and condensate. Full field development should comprise an integrated development of the oil, gas and condensate with export of the gas production to Turkey estimated to commence in 2015. A feasibility study has been commissioned to consider building a gas pipeline to the border with Turkey, which is c.320 km away.
Work on conceptual development studies, gas marketing plans and strategies continues. Heritage is in discussions with the Kurdistan Regional Government, gas buyers and contractors regarding both early and full field development. This includes the export of the gas to Turkey where gas demand is increasing significantly and where average gas commodity prices are attractive.
Tanzania
Heritage was appointed operator and awarded new Production Sharing Agreements ("PSAs") in Tanzania over the Rukwa Block in November 2011 and the Kyela Block in January 2012. In both of these areas the Company recognises certain geological similarities with the Albert Basin of Uganda, where Heritage has had previous experience and significant commercial success, thereby providing a material advantage in assessing this acreage. The work programme on Rukwa has commenced with the reprocessing of legacy 2D seismic data and the acquisition of further 2D seismic will start in August 2012. On the unexplored Kyela Block the acquisition of a high resolution gravity survey has been completed following which a seismic programme will be acquired.
CORPORATE
As at 31 March 2012, Heritage had a cash position of approximately US$154 million, excluding amounts related to the Uganda tax dispute of approximately US$405 million, which is more than sufficient to cover existing work programmes into 2013.
Tony Buckingham, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"Operationally, Heritage is busy with its active work programmes. We remain focused on the monetisation of the world class Miran Field, targeting the phased development of the field, whilst also considering significant further value generating production opportunities in our core areas of Africa and the Middle East."
Notes to Editors
- Heritage is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The trading symbol is HOIL. Heritage has a further listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (News - Market indicators).
- Heritage is an independent upstream exploration and production company engaged in the exploration for, and the development, production and acquisition of, oil and gas in its core areas of Africa, the Middle East and Russia.
- Heritage has an exploration, appraisal and development asset in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, exploration assets in Malta, Tanzania, Mali, Pakistan, Libya and the Democratic Republic of Congo and a producing property in Russia.
- All dollars are US$ unless otherwise stated.
This press release is not for distribution to United States Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States.
If you would prefer to receive press releases via email please contact Jeanny So (jeanny@chfir.com) and specify "Heritage press releases" in the subject line.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:
Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this news release - including, without limitation, statements regarding production estimates and future plans and objectives of Heritage - constitute forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results include risks and uncertainties such as: risks relating to estimates of reserves and recoveries; production and operating cost assumptions; development risks and costs; the risk of commodity price fluctuations; political and regulatory risks; and other risks and uncertainties as disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in its Prospectus and elsewhere in Heritage documents filed from time-to-time with the London Stock Exchange and other regulatory authorities. Further, any forward-looking information is made only as of a certain date and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management of the Company to predict all of these factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking information.
