COP Circle Oil

 

TIDMCOP 
 
RNS Number : 1870J 
Circle Oil PLC 
25 March 2010 
 

25 March 2010 
 
                                 CIRCLE OIL PLC 
                          ("Circle" or the "Company") 
 
          Al-Amir SE-5 well, NW Gemsa concession, Egypt in production 
 
Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP), the international oil and gas exploration, 
development and production company, is pleased to announce that the Al-Amir SE-5 
appraisal well has been successfully connected and has commenced production in 
the Al-Amir Development Lease in the onshore North West Gemsa Concession in 
Egypt. 
 
The Al-Amir SE-5 well is producing at a rate of approximately 1500 Bopd through 
a 24/64" choke.   The well is producing from the upper Kareem Shagar Sandstone 
pay zone which is 19 feet thick. The lower pay zone in the Kareem Rahmi 
Sandstone is 17.5 feet thick giving total pay zone thickness in Al-Amir SE-5 of 
36.5 feet. 
 
Overall adjusted daily production levels from the Al-Amir and the Geyad 
Development Leases have been choked back to minimize flaring, install new early 
facilities and maintain reservoir integrity. New stabilized production rates 
will be announced in due course.  Cumulative oil production from the area since 
production began in late February 2009 is now over 1.7 MMbbls. 
 
The partners have approved in principle the 2010 budget and work programme which 
in the Al-Amir SE field includes drilling two additional wells the Al-Amir SE-7 
appraisal well and one water injection well. In the Geyad field the Geyad-3 
development well is scheduled to be drilled during the third quarter. Existing 
field facilities will be augmented with additional storage capacity, flow line, 
pipe lines and manifolds. Geological and engineering studies will be carried out 
in preparation for water flooding to commence early in 2011. Exploration 
activities include reprocessing of existing seismic and the potential drilling 
of an exploratory well. Total expenditures for 2010 are estimated at $46 million 
with Circle's share being $18.4 million. 
 
As a result of the additional development drilling and facilities expansion, 
total gross production from the concession is expected to exceed 10,000 Bopd by 
year-end. 
 
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 includes the right of conversion to a production licence of 
20 years, plus extensions, in the event of commercial discoveries. The North 
West Gemsa Concession partners include: Vegas Oil and Gas (50% interest and 
operator); Circle Oil Plc (40% interest); and Sea Dragon Energy (10% interest). 
 
The rig is now drilling the Al-Amir SE-6 well, which was spudded on 14 March 
2010 and is the fifth appraisal well in the Al-Amir SE discovery area, designed 
to reach a total depth of 14,000 feet. The primary target is again the Kareem 
Formation and the secondary objective is to assess the hydrocarbon potential of 
the Pre-Miocene Nubia sandstones. This well is presently at a depth of 
approximately 3,000 feet. 
 
 
Commenting on this latest appraisal well in the NW Gemsa Concession, David 
Hough, CEO of Circle, said: 
 
"We are delighted with the successful hook up of the Al-Amir SE-5 well.  The 
partners are now agreed on the 2010 budget and the way forward for the future 
which will see both a stable and increasing revenue stream for all partners". 
 
Glossary 
 
Bopd               - Barrels of oil per day 
MMbbls          - Millions of barrels of oil 
 
 
In accordance with the guidelines of the AIM Market of the London Stock 
Exchange, Professor Chris Green, Chief Operating Officer of Circle Oil plc, an 
explorationist and geophysicist with over thirty years oil & gas industry 
experience, is the qualified person, as defined in the London Stock Exchange's 
Guidance Note for Mining and Oil and Gas companies, who has reviewed and 
approved the technical information contained in this announcement. Professor 
Green has relied on primary information supplied by the operator in carrying out 
his review. 
 
 
For further information contact: 
 
Circle Oil Plc (+44 20 7638 9571 
David Hough, CEO 
 
Evolution Securities (+44 20 7071 4300) 
Rob Collins 
Chris Sim 
Neil Elliot 
 
Fox-Davies Capital (+44 20 7936 5230) 
Daniel Fox-Davies 
 
Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571) 
Martin Jackson / George Cazenove 
 
Murray Consultants (+353 1 498 0320) 
Joe Murray 
 
Notes to Editors 
 
Circle Oil Plc 
 
Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP) is an international oil & gas exploration, development 
and production Company with an expanding portfolio of assets in Morocco, 
Tunisia, Oman, Egypt and Namibia with a combination of low-risk near-term 
production and significant exploration upside potential.  The Company listed on 
AIM in October 2004. 
 
Internationally, the Company has continued to expand its portfolio over the past 
2 years and now has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Marmour Permit 
in southern Tunisia; the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia; the Grombalia Permit in 
northern Tunisia; the Zeit Bay area of Egypt and the Owambo Basin, Namibia. 
Circle also has the largest licence holding of any Company in Oman. In addition 
to its highly prospective Block 52 offshore, the Company also has an ongoing 
exploration program in Block 49 onshore. 
 
The Company's strategy is to locate and secure additional licenses 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 itself 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 
   END 
 
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