Circle Oil PLC Operating Update Egypt (3918B)

TIDMCOP

RNS Number : 3918B

Circle Oil PLC

03 March 2014

3 March 2014

Circle Oil Plc

("Circle" or the "Company")

Operating Update Egypt

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP), the international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, is pleased to announce the following update regarding the Al Amir SE Field ("AASE") and the Geyad Field in Egypt.

AASE-19 Well

AASE-19 was spud on 1 December 2013 and was subsequently side-tracked for geological reasons. The surface location lies in the north-western part of the AASE permit and the bottom hole of the side-track lies up-dip about 900 metres to the east of the AASE-4 producer. The well's objective was to appraise both the Shagar and Rahmi sands for production. It encountered the Kareem sands with 14 feet of net pay in the Shagar and 10.5 feet of net pay in the Rahmi, both zones are of good reservoir quality. Initial short term testing of the well has yielded flow rates, under a 48/64" choke, of 1,242 bopd and 1.13 MMscf/d of gas (206 boepd) for a total of 1,448 boepd. The well will be hooked up as a Shagar producer and further results will be provided in due course.

AASE-21 Well

The rig will move to drill the infill AASE-21 well located about 1,200 metres south-east of AASE-4 and 800 metres north-west of the AASE-1X well to appraise both the Shagar and Rahmi sands for production.

Production

The current gross daily production rate from the AASE and the Geyad Field is now standing at 11,190 bopd and 11.2 MMscf/d (2,038 boepd) for a total of 13,228 boepd. Cumulative production from the NW Gemsa Concession has now exceeded 14.6 million barrels of 42 degree API crude oil.

Water Injection

Water injection in the AASE and Geyad Field is currently about 28,400 bwpd and the cumulative injection to date is about 18.5 MMbw.

The NW Gemsa Concession, containing the Al Amir and Geyad Development Leases, covering an area of over 260 square kilometres, lies about 300 kilometres southeast of Cairo in a partially unexplored area of the Gulf of Suez Basin.

The concession agreement included the right of conversion to a production licence of 20 years, plus extensions, in the event of commercial discoveries. The NW Gemsa Concession partners include: Vegas Oil and Gas (50% interest and operator); Circle Oil Plc (40% interest); and Sea Dragon Energy (10% interest).

Prof Chris Green, CEO, said

"Circle is very pleased with the results of the sidetrack of the AASE-19 well, which will provide additional oil and gas production from the Al Amir SE field."

Glossary

 
   boepd      barrels of oil equivalent per day 
    bopd       barrels of oil per day 
   bwpd       barrels of water per day 
   MMbw       Millions of barrels of water. 
    MMscf/d    Millions of standard cubic feet of gas 
               per day 
 

In accordance with the guidelines of the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange, Professor Chris Green, Chief Executive Officer of Circle Oil Plc, an explorationist and geophysicist with over thirty years oil & gas industry experience, and Dr Stuart Harker, VP Geology, also with over 30 years experience, are the qualified persons as defined in the London Stock Exchange's Guidance Note for Mining and Oil and Gas companies, who have reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement. Professor Green and Dr Harker have relied on primary information supplied by the operator in carrying out their review.

For further information contact:

Circle Oil Plc ([phone])

Professor Chris Green, CEO

Investec ([phone])

Chris Sim

George Price

James Rudd

Liberum Capital Limited ([phone])

Simon Atkinson

Citigate Dewe Rogerson ([phone])

Martin Jackson

Shabnam Bashir

Murray Consultants ([phone])

Joe Murray

Joe Heron

Notes to Editors

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP) is an international oil & gas exploration, development and production Company holding a portfolio of assets in Morocco, Tunisia, Oman, and Egypt with a combination of low-risk, near-term production, and significant upside exploration potential. The Company listed on AIM in October 2004.

Internationally, the Company has continued to expand its portfolio over the past years and now has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Marmour Permit in southern Tunisia; the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia, and the Zeit Bay area of Egypt. Circle also has the largest licensed acreage of any company in Oman. In addition to its prospective Block 52 offshore, Circle has an ongoing exploration programme in Block 49 onshore.

Circle's strategy is to locate and secure additional licences in prospective hydrocarbon provinces and, through targeted investment programmes, monetise the value in those assets for the benefit of shareholders. This could be achieved through farm-outs to selected partners who would then invest in and continue the development of the asset into production, or Circle may opt to use its own expertise to appraise reserves and bring assets into production, generating sustained cash flow for further investment.

Further information on Circle is available on its website at www.circleoil.net.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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