Harvest Natural
Resources Announces Commencement of Production From Antelope Project in
Duchesne County, Utah
HOUSTON, Dec 18, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News
Network/ -- Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: HNR) today announced that
it has established initial oil and gas production from an eight-well
appraisal and development drilling project on its Antelope project in
Duchesne County, Utah. The eight well program is operated by Newfield
Exploration Company (Newfield) (NYSE: NFX) with Harvest holding a 43 percent
working interest. The parties have formed a 320 acre Area of Mutual Interest
(AMI) containing the eight drilling locations in the southern portion of
Harvest's Antelope project land position. Production is from the Green River
formation at a depth of approximately 6,800 feet and represents an extension
of the existing 1,700 well Monument Butte field operated by Newfield.
The first well in the program, the Moon # 1-29-4-2, was
completed in November and placed on production on December 6, 2009. Average
production for the first seven days was 344 BOPD and 0.5 MMCFD. The second
well in the program, the Moon # 1-20-4-2, was also completed in November.
This well was placed on production today. The third well in the program has
been drilled and logs indicate thicker pay than either of the first two
wells. This well is awaiting completion, with the fourth well currently being
drilled. The parties anticipate completing the entire eight-well program in
the first quarter of 2010.
Harvest President and CEO James Edmiston said: "We are very
pleased that the results of the first two wells in this program exceeded our
pre-drill expectations. With gross drilling and completion costs of
approximately $800,000 for each of these wells, the results should provide
strong economics. It is also worth noting that this production represents
Harvest's first oil and gas production in the United States. We look forward
to building on this initial success by completing the remainder of the
eight-well program and evaluating the opportunity to further expand drilling
into adjacent joint acreage."
About Harvest Natural Resources
Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. headquartered in Houston, Texas,
is an independent energy company with principal operations in Venezuela,
exploration assets in the United States, Indonesia, West Africa, Oman and
China and business development offices in Singapore and the United Kingdom.
For more information visit the Company's website at 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 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other
public filings.
SOURCE Harvest Natural Resources, Inc.
http://www.harvestnr.com