Savannah Petroleum PLC Amdigh Oil Discovery (4164Q)

TIDMSAVP

RNS Number : 4164Q

Savannah Petroleum PLC

06 June 2018

6 June 2018

Savannah Petroleum PLC

("Savannah" or "the Company")

Amdigh Oil Discovery

Second oil discovery made in multi-well drilling campaign in Niger

Savannah Petroleum PLC, the British independent oil and gas company focused around oil and gas activities in Niger and Nigeria, is pleased to announce the result of the Amdigh-1 exploration well as an oil discovery. Amdigh-1 is located on the R3 portion of the R3/R4 PSC Area in the Agadem Rift Basin ("ARB"), South East Niger.

Well Result

Preliminary results based on the interpretation of the available data set (which includes wireline logs, fluid sampling and pressure data) indicate that the well has encountered a total estimated 22m of net oil bearing reservoir sandstones in the E1 and E2 reservoir units within the primary Eocene Sokor Alternances objective. Wireline logs indicate the reservoir properties to be good to excellent quality and the available pressure data indicates light oil, which is consistent with offset wells along trend and the depth/API trend observed across the basin. Oil samples from both the E1 and E2 reservoir units have been taken and returned to surface using wireline testing equipment.

Drilling Performance

The well was drilled by the GW 215 Rig to a total measured depth of 2,469m, and encountered the main objective targets at, or near, their prognosed depths. The well took a total of 24 days to reach target depth, and all operations are expected to be completed within 33 days of spud. No significant geological or drilling hazards were encountered.

Next Steps

Amdigh-1 is currently being suspended for future re-entry. Consistent with standard industry practice in the ARB, a production test is expected to be performed on the well as part of a batch campaign using a dedicated test rig once the results of the remaining exploration well in the current drilling campaign, Kunama-1, are available. Savannah does not expect to provide a discovered resource and volumes report until its expected well test program has been completed.

Following testing, a downhole completion assembly to Amdigh-1 will be installed so as to enable the well to function as a production well in the future.

Kunama-1

The GW 215 Rig will now mobilise to the Kunama-1 well site, located 12km from Amdigh-1, where it will prepare to spud the Kunama-1 exploration well. The Kunama-1 well site has been prepared and is ready to accept the rig. The move is anticipated to take between 10 - 15 days, and the Company will provide an update upon spud of the well.

As with the previous wells drilled in this campaign, the well is designed to evaluate potential oil pay in the Eocene Sokor Alternances as the primary target, with the secondary target of potential oil pay in the Eocene Upper Sokor being considered as upside.

Andrew Knott, CEO of Savannah Petroleum, said:

"Two discoveries from our first two ARB exploration wells is clearly encouraging for the future of our Niger project. Given these successes, we have now engaged external consultants to commence detailed development concept evaluation work around the creation of a potential R3 East Area Early Production System. On the drilling front, I expect our near-term focus to remain on the prospects in the R3 area and we expect to provide further updates on potential additional drilling activity over the coming months.

I would also like to take this opportunity to once again thank our local community and governmental stakeholders, as well as our operations and subsurface teams and oil service company partners, for the work and support that the Company has received to reach this point."

Steve Jenkins, Chairman of Savannah Petroleum, said:

"Amdigh is a significant discovery for Savannah, which I believe, alongside Bushiya, has the potential to underpin a future R3 East development hub. The well further validates Savannah's original thesis for entering the ARB, being that significant portions of the Company's acreage have similar geology to that of the neighbouring Agadem PSC area, which has proven so prolific for the Joint Venture partnership led by China National Petroleum Corporation.

I firmly believe that all of the necessary ingredients for repeatable exploration success exist in our project areas. Given the extensive prospects and leads inventory we have in the wider R3 license area and in our Niger portfolio, we remain encouraged about the potential of our future exploration activities."

A selection of photographs of Savannah's operations at Amdigh-1 has been uploaded to the Company's website at http://www.savannah-petroleum.com/en/gallery.php.

Steve Jenkins, Chairman, and David Clarkson, a non-executive director of the Company, have read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement in their capacity as qualified persons under the AIM Rules.

Mr Jenkins is a qualified geologist with 35 years' experience in the oil and gas industry. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Geology and a MSc in Petroleum Geology. Mr Jenkins is a Fellow of the Geological Society.

Mr Clarkson holds a BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde, and has over 40 years' experience in the oil and gas industry with senior level leadership roles in major international developments. Mr Clarkson is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

 
 For further information contact: 
 Savannah Petroleum                   [phone] 
 Andrew Knott, CEO 
 Isatou Semega-Janneh, CFO 
 Jessica Hostage, VP Corporate 
  Affairs 
 
 Strand Hanson (Nominated Adviser)    [phone] 
 Rory Murphy 
 James Spinney 
 Ritchie Balmer 
 
 Mirabaud (Joint Broker)              [phone] 
 Peter Krens 
 Ed Haig-Thomas 
 
 Hannam & Partners (Joint Broker)     [phone] 
 Neil Passmore 
  Alejandro Demichelis 
 Sam Merlin 
 
 Celicourt Communications             [phone] 
 Mark Antelme 
 Jimmy Lea 
 

The information contained within this announcement is considered to be inside information prior to its release, as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No.596/2014, and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of those Regulations.

Notes to Editors:

About Savannah Petroleum

Savannah Petroleum PLC is an AIM listed oil and gas company with exploration and production assets in Niger and Nigeria. Savannah's flagship assets include the R1/R2 and R3/R4 PSCs, which cover c.50% of the highly prospective Agadem Rift Basin ("ARB") of South East Niger, acquired in 2014/15. The Company is also in the process of acquiring interests in the cash flow generative Uquo and Stubb Creek oil and gas fields and a 20% interest in the Accugas midstream business in South East Nigeria from Seven Energy.

Further information on Savannah Petroleum PLC can be found on the Company's website: http://www.savannah-petroleum.com/en/index.php

About the Agadem Rift Basin

The Agadem Rift Basin is located in South East Niger and covers an area of approximately 30,000 km(2) in size located in South East Niger. In the modern era, China National Petroleum Corporation ("CNPC") has made 97 discoveries from the last 127 exploration wells with the principal discovered geological play being a relatively shallow Eocene Sokor Alternances tilted fault light oil block play. The basin has been in production since 2011 following a first phase of development of the Agadem PSC area (which is adjacent to Savannah permit areas) by a CNPC-led joint venture. Despite the high success rate seen in the ARB to date, Savannah believes the basin to have been relatively lightly explored, both in terms of overall activity levels and stratigraphic horizons which have been targeted. Further exploration activity in the basin is aided by the very large geological dataset managed by the Niger's Ministry of Energy & Petroleum which comprises c.12,000 km(2) of modern 3D seismic, c.30,000 km of 2D seismic and over 250 well data suites.

About Savannah's ARB Project

Savannah's Niger project consists of two PSC areas (R1/R2 and R3/R4) which together cover an area of 13,655 km(2) . Across these permit areas, Savannah has mapped 126 un-drilled exploration prospects and leads.

Following an extensive period of geological data acquisition and evaluation, Savannah commenced a 3 firm well and 6 optional well drilling program with the spud of the Bushiya-1 well in March 2018. The initial focus of this program has been the R3 East area, with both wells drilled to date by the Company (Bushiya-1 and Amdigh-1) having resulted in light oil discoveries. The third well in the program, Kunama-1, is also located in the R3 East Area. Savannah expects to provide an update in relation to potential future additional drilling plans over the course of the coming months.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [e-mail] or visit www.rns.com.

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June 06, 2018 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)