| KYLE FIELD ACTIVITY UPDATE (23-10-00) |
|
KYLE LIFE OF FIELD DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTS SIGNED ROC is pleased to announce that the necessary contracts and agreements for the full life of field development of the Kyle Field (ROC: 12.5%) in the UK North Sea have been signed by all relevant industry parties. These contracts have evolved from the Heads of Agreement signed by the relevant parties in July 2000 (see ROC's ASX release dated 18 July 2000). Full scale field production is expected to commence in March 2001, subject to receipt of necessary Government consents.More specifically, Ranger Oil (UK) Limited, operator of the Kyle Field, together with all other Kyle Field owners, including ROC(1), have signed contracts with the following parties:
Both Kyle producing wells (29/2c-12z and 29/2c-13) will be tied in to the Curlew FPSO via an 18 kilometre pipeline, as part of the full field development.In the early years of Kyle production, the Curlew FPSO facilities will process production from both the Kyle Field and Curlew Field with the Kyle gas being transported through the Fulmar system for sale in the UK. Please note (1) In addition to ROC (12.5%) the Kyle Field beneficial ownership comprises Ranger Oil (UK) Limited (20%), Ranger Oil (PC) Limited (20%), Premier Pict Petroleum Limited (35%) and Bow Valley Petroleum (UK) Limited (12.5%)2.5%). Dr
John Doran |
| KYLE FIELD ACTIVITY UPDATE (19-10-00) |
|
HIGHLIGHTS KYLE NORTHEAST WELL TESTING CONCLUDED- EXCELLENT PRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL DEMONSTRATED KYLE EXTENDED WELL TEST ("EWT") TO CONTINUE INTO EARLY NOVEMBER 1. KYLE NORTHEAST WELL DEMONSTRATES EXCELLENT PRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL Production testing of the Kyle 29/2c-13 well, also known as the Kyle Northeast well, has been concluded after establishing flow rates up to 11,000 BOPD, which were constrained by surface facilities. Prior to this well, there was considerable uncertainty whether or not the previously undrilled northeastern part of the structure contained any significant oil and/or gas reserves. In this regard, the test results are viewed as very encouraging. The results not only confirm the presence of significant oil in the northeastern sector but they also indicate that the Kyle Northeast well has an excellent productive potential which exceeds that of the Kyle 29/2c-12z well in the southwestern part of the field, which is currently undergoing an EWT 2. KYLE EXTENDED WELL TEST TO CONTINUE INTO EARLY NOVEMBER The Kyle 29/2c-12z EWT is continuing under controlled conditions designed to maximise the Joint Venture's understanding of the reservoir's potential. The well, which flowed at stabilised rates up to 19,000 BOPD on initial test, has generally been flowed at controlled rates between 5,500 BOPD and 13,000 BOPD during the EWT, which commenced on 24 May 2000. The EWT is now expected to be completed in early November, by which time the well will have produced a total of approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil. 3. COMMENTS Commenting on the latest developments with regard to the Kyle Field, ROC's Chief Executive Officer, Dr John Doran stated that: · "When it was announced in mid-July that the Kyle Joint Venture was actively considering developing the field via the Curlew FPSO instead of the Banff Ramform FPSO, as had been proposed previously, none of the relevant parties under-estimated the amount of effort that would be required to move the concept towards fruition. This challenge was compounded by the fact that the viability of the potential development would clearly be influenced by the results of the Kyle 29/2c-12z EWT, which was then still in its early stages, and the Kyle Northeast well which had then just started drilling. Therefore, it is particularly encouraging that these two crucial components for the full, life of field, development of the Kyle Field have yielded positive results." Dr
John Doran |
| UPDATE (17-10-00) |
|
1. WILDCAT EXPLORATION DRILLING TEMEE-1, MONGOLIA (ROC: 100%) Temee-1 has reached a Total Depth of 961 metres in volcanics. The well has been logged and no hydrocarbon shows reported. The well is currently being plugged and abandoned and the data obtained will be integrated into ROC's ongoing analysis of the East Gobi Basin. 2. PRODUCTION TESTING KYLE NORTHEAST WELL, U.K. NORTH SEA (ROC: 12.5%) Production testing continued at the Kyle Northeast well over the weekend and it is anticipated that further details will be released during the course of the week. 3. SENEGAL (ROC: 46.25%) ROC and Woodside Energy (Senegal) Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Woodside Petroleum Ltd ("Woodside"), have executed an agreement (the "Agreement") for Woodside to acquire a 46.25% interest (being 50% of ROC's original 92.50% interest) in ROC's three Casamance exploration blocks, offshore Senegal. According to the terms and conditions of the Agreement - which represents the formalisation of a previous informal relationship between ROC and Woodside regarding certain areas offshore Senegal - Woodside will reimburse ROC 50% of its past expenditures and ROC will retain the Operatorship of the Casamance Blocks. Dr
John Doran |
| WEEKLY DRILLING REPORT (13-10-00) |
|
HIGHLIGHT KYLE NORTHEAST WELL FLOWS MORE THAN 10,000 BOPD, CONSTRAINED BY FACILITIES 1. PRODUCTION 1.1 UK NORTH SEA: KYLE OIL FIELD (ROC: 12.5%) Kyle Northeast Appraisal Well Since the last Activity Update (6 October 2000) flow testing has commenced at the Kyle 29/2c-13 well, also known as the Kyle Northeast well due to its location on the, previously undrilled, northeastern side of the Kyle structure. At the time of reporting the testing program is continuing and final results are not expected until next week. Preliminary information from the flow test has confirmed the pre-test expectations based on log and drill data, with clean oil flowing at an initial rate of more than 10,000 BOPD, constrained by surface facilities. · Kyle 29/2c-12z Extended Well Test ("EWT") Following the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry's ("DTI") indication that it is prepared to allow for an extension of the time period for the EWT, it is now expected that testing will continue to the end of this month, by which time a total of 1.5 million barrels of oil will have been produced. The well is currently producing oil at a rate of approximately 7,200 barrels of oil per day ("BOPD") (Net ROC: 900 BOPD). During the September Quarter, ROC's net share of Kyle EWT oil production averaged 1,146 BOPD. 1.2 ONSHORE UK (ROC: 100%) Saltfleetby-5 The recently drilled Saltfleetby-5 well is currently being tied into ROC's field production facility. The present expectation is that Saltfleetby-5 will be producing gas from the newly discovered Namurian gas reservoir during November. · Keddington-1 & 2 Keddington-1 has been brought back on to production at rates in the order of 80-100 BOPD following pump replacement. Keddington-2 remains shut in following a short production test which indicated that the well might have drilled a gas cap of unknown size, approximately 6km from the Saltfleetby Gas Field. Plans are being made to conduct a longer production test to gather more reservoir information. · Saltfleetby Gas Field During the September Quarter, the Saltfleetby Gas Field produced according to expectation at rates better than forecast in ROC's June 1999 Prospectus. During parts of August and September production was limited by operational constraints at the Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal ("TGT"), as reported in ROC's release to ASX dated 22 September 2000. The TGT constraints, which were rectified by early October, and the onset of natural field decline are reflected in overall gas production for the September 2000 Quarter, which averaged 36.6 million standard cubic per day ("MMSCF/D") compared to an average of 48.1 MMSCF/D for the June 2000 Quarter, throughout which the field was still on its, longer than anticipated, first flush initial production plateau. Saltfleetby gas production for the December 2000 Quarter is expected to benefit as a result of Saltfleetby-5 coming on to production, although until that well has been producing for a reasonable length of time, it is not possible to predict what long term impact the Namurian gas reservoir will have on Saltfleetby's overall production profile. Saltfleetby condensate production for the September 2000 Quarter averaged 748 barrels per day ("BCPD"), compared to 858 BCPD for the previous quarter. 1.3 MONGOLIA (ROC: 100%) Oil Exports During the September 2000 Quarter ROC made three shipments of oil, totalling 21,770 barrels, to the export sale point at the rail crossing on the Mongolian-Chinese border. These shipments are in addition to a late June shipment of 7,500 barrels and an early October shipment of 7,450 barrels. A further shipment, of approximately 5,600 barrels, is scheduled for late October as the last shipment, prior to the onset of the Mongolian winter. On this basis, during the four month period from late June, ROC will have sold into China, at international oil price parity, approximately 42,000 barrels of Mongolian oil. 2. EXPLORATION DRILLING 2.1 MONGOLIA, EAST GOBI BASIN: TEMEE-1 (ROC: 100%) Since the last Activity Update the wildcat exploration well, Temee-1, has drilled ahead from 363 metres to the 9 5/8 inch casing point at 519 metres where casing was set prior to drilling out to a present total depth of 712 metres. Drilling and logging data for the section down to the 519 metre casing point indicate the presence of an Upper Cretaceous sequence, more than 400 metres thick which includes 321 metres of gross sandstones. Using a porosity cut off of 25%, 318 metres (99%) of this sand sequence displays excellent potential reservoir characteristics. At the Temee-1 location these Upper Cretaceous sands do not contain any hydrocarbons, but the well represents the first reliable evidence that such sands exist in the basin. 3. CASH BALANCE AND CURRENCY CONSIDERATIONS In response to one or two shareholder enquiries, ROC wishes to advise that it receives its revenue in US dollars and Pounds Sterling and that its cash balance is maintained in the currency of expenditure. On this basis, 95% of the Company's cash is presently held in US dollars and Pounds Sterling - split approximately 50-50 between the two currencies - with the 5% balance being maintained in Australian dollars. At current exchange rates, ROC had a cash balance of approximately A$63.5 million and no net debt as at the end of the September 2000 Quarter. Dr
John Doran |
| WEEKLY DRILLING REPORT (06-10-00) |
|
1. UK NORTH SEA THE KYLE NORTHEAST APPRAISAL WELL (ROC: 12.5%) The Kyle 29/2c-13 well, also known as the Kyle Northeast well, is being prepared for flow testing which is expected to occur next week subject to weather constraints. 2. EAST GOBI BASIN, MONGOLIA TEMEE-1 (ROC: 100%) The Temee-1 rank wildcat exploration well commenced drilling out of 13 3/8 inch surface casing set at 23 metres on 4 October 2000. As of 6.00 am on 6 October 2000 the well was at 363 metres drilling ahead towards the next casing point which is expected to be encountered within the next 50 metres. The currently prognosed Total Depth for Temee-1 is 700 metres with an ability to deepen the well to 1,000 metres, if warranted.
Dr
John Doran Return to ASX Releases main page
|