88 Energy Ltd Lease Update

 
TIDM88E 
 
7 December 2017 
 
                               88 Energy Limited 
 
                       North Slope 2017W Leasing Update 
 
88 Energy Limited ("88 Energy", "the Company", "Operator") (ASX, AIM: 88E) is 
pleased to provide an update on its projects, located onshore North Slope of 
Alaska. 
 
Highlights 
 
  * Announced high bidder on two parcels of acreage totalling 32,800 gross 
    acres 
 
Bid Details 
 
88 Energy Ltd via its subsidiary companies, Accumulate Energy Alaska Inc and 
Regenerate Alaska Inc, was announced high bidder on 32,800 gross acres on 6th 
December (AK time) as part of the North Slope Areawide 2017W lease sale. 
 
The two parcels are subject to regulatory approvals and formal award, expected 
in 2018. Joint Venture Partner, Burgundy Xploration LLC, has a right to back in 
to 2,590 acres contained within Parcel 1, adjacent and to the west of the 
existing Project Icewine leases. 
 
Additional detail will be provided on the new leases in due course. 
 
*approximate outline of existing acreage currently under award 
 
Managing Director, Dave Wall, commented: "This result is a continuance of our 
acreage expansion plan on the North Slope and the Company is very pleased to be 
announced high bidder at the recent lease sale. Additional details in relation 
to both parcels will be announced in due course." 
 
Media and Investor Relations: 
 
88 Energy Ltd 
Dave Wall, Managing Director   Tel: [phone] 
Email: [e-mail] 
 
Finlay Thomson, Investor Relations   Tel: [phone] 
 
Hartleys Ltd 
Dale Bryan   Tel: + 61 8 9268 2829 
 
Cenkos Securities     Tel: + 44 131 220 6939 
Neil McDonald/Derrick Lee 
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the ASX Listing Rules Chapter 5 and the AIM 
Rules for Companies, the technical information and resource reporting contained 
in this announcement was prepared by, or under the supervision of, Mr Brent 
Villemarette, who is a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Mr Villemarette 
has more than 35 years' experience in the petroleum industry, is a member of 
the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and a qualified Reservoir Engineer who has 
sufficient experience that is relevant to the style and nature of the oil 
prospects under consideration and to the activities discussed in this document. 
Mr Villemarette has reviewed the information and supporting documentation 
referred to in this announcement and considers the prospective resource 
estimates to be fairly represented and consents to its release in the form and 
context in which it appears. His academic qualifications and industry 
memberships appear on the Company's website and both comply with the criteria 
for "Competence" under clause 3.1 of the Valmin Code 2015. Terminology and 
standards adopted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers "Petroleum Resources 
Management System" have been applied in producing this document. 
 
Project Icewine Overview 
 
In November 2014, the Company entered into a binding agreement with Burgundy 
Xploration (BEX) to acquire a significant working interest (87.5%, reducing to 
77.5% on spud of the first well on the project) in a large acreage position on 
a multiple objective, liquids rich exploration opportunity onshore Alaska, 
North America, referred to as Project Icewine. The current gross acreage 
position is 458,097 contiguous acres (286,589 acres net to the Company). 
 
The Project is located on an all year operational access road with both 
conventional and unconventional oil potential. The primary term for the State 
leases is 10 years with no mandatory relinquishment and a low 16.5% royalty. 
 
The HRZ liquids-rich resource play has been successfully evaluated based on 
core obtained in the recently completed (December 2015) Icewine #1 exploration 
well, marking the completion of Phase I of Project Icewine. Phase II has now 
commenced, with drilling at the follow-up appraisal well, Icewine#2, commencing 
early 2Q2017. Production testing is ongoing. 
 
Significant conventional prospectivity has also been identified on recently 
acquired 2D seismic across the project acreage. 
 
 
 
 
Cautionary Statement: The estimated quantities of petroleum that may be 
potentially recovered by the application of a future development project relate 
to undiscovered accumulations. These estimates have both an associated risk of 
discovery and a risk of development. Further exploration, appraisal and 
evaluation are required to determine the existence of a significant quantity of 
potentially movable hydrocarbons. 
 
Exploration incentives provided by the State of Alaska with up to 35% of net 
operating loss refundable in cash were concluded for all expenditure post 30 
June 2017. 
 
The primary objective is an untested, unconventional liquids-rich shale play in 
a prolific source rock, the HRZ shale (Brookian Sequence), that co-sourced the 
largest oil field in North America; the giant Prudhoe Bay Oil Field Complex. 
Internal modelling and analysis indicates that Project Icewine is located in a 
high liquids vapour phase sweetspot analogous to those encountered in other 
Tier 1 shale plays e.g. the Eagle Ford, Texas. 
 
Recently acquired 2D seismic has identified large conventional leads at Project 
Icewine within the same Brookian petroleum system and shallow to the HRZ shale, 
including potential high porosity channel and turbiditic sands associated with 
slope apron and deepwater fan plays. The Brookian conventional play is proven 
on the North Slope; the USGS (2013) estimated the remaining oil potential to be 
2.1 billion barrels within the Brookian sequence. Two recent discoveries in the 
Brookian have already exceeded these estimates, with Armstrong/Repsol 
discovering 1.4 billion barrels in 2015 and Caelus announcing a 2.5 billion 
barrel discovery in 2016. Additional conventional potential exists in the 
Brookian delta topset play, deeper Kuparuk sands and the Ivishak Formation. 
 
A Prospective Resources Report by DeGolyer and MacNaughton, was commissioned by 
88 Energy to evaluate the unconventional resource potential of Project Icewine 
in February 2016 and was released to the market on 6th April 2016. 
 
About 88 Energy: 88 Energy has a 77.5% working interest and operatorship in 
325,000 acres onshore the prolific North Slope of Alaska ("Project Icewine"). 
Gross contiguous acreage position for the Joint Venture is 458,097 acres (88E 
286,589 net acres). The North Slope is the host to the 15 billion barrel 
Prudhoe Bay oilfield complex, the largest conventional oil pool in North 
America. The Company, with its Joint Venture partner Burgundy Xploration, has 
identified highly prospective play types that are likely to exist on the 
Project Icewine acreage - two conventional and one unconventional. The large 
unconventional resource potential of Project Icewine was independently verified 
by leading international petroleum resource consultant DeGolyer and 
MacNaughton. In addition to the interpreted high prospectivity, the project is 
strategically located on a year-round operational access road and only 35 miles 
south of Pump Station 1 where Prudhoe Bay feeds into the Trans Alaska Pipeline 
System. The Company acquired 2D seismic in early 2016 to take advantage of the 
globally unique fiscal system in Alaska, which allowed for up to 75% of 1H2016 
exploration expenditure to be rebated in cash. Results from the seismic mapping 
and prospectivity review are encouraging, and form the basis of a conventional 
prospectivity portfolio for Project Icewine. In late 2015, the Company 
completed its maiden well at the project, Icewine#1, to evaluate an 
unconventional source rock reservoir play which yielded excellent results from 
analysis of core obtained from the HRZ shale. The follow-up well with a 
multi-stage stimulation and test of the HRZ shale, Icewine#2, spud in early 
2Q2017. Flow testing at Icewine#2 is scheduled to re-commence in April/May 
2018. 
 
 
 
END 
 

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December 07, 2017 03:24 ET (08:24 GMT)