| NOVEMBER 2003 - RELEASES |
| DRILLING ACTIVITY UPDATE: (25-11-2003) |
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KEY POINTS
1.1 Chinguetti-5-1 (Pouné): Exploration Well, Block 5 (ROC: 2.4%)
Since the
last report, the 20 inch casing was run, blowout preventers were installed,
17½ inch hole was drilled to 2,610 metres and intermediate wireline
logs and sidewall core samples were acquired.
2. ONSHORE UK (ROC: 100% and Operator) 2.1 Saltfleetby-7: Appraisal/Development Well
3.1 Block
22/12, Beibu Gulf (ROC: 40% and Operator) The first well, which is scheduled to commence drilling during January 2004, will be the 12-7-1 exploration well which will be followed immediately by the 12-8-3 appraisal well on the 12-8 Oil Field. Each well is expected to take up to two weeks to drill and evaluate. The Joint Venture decision to drill the additional wells in the programme will be subject to the results of the first two wells. The Block
22/12 Joint Venture consists of a group of independent Australian oil
companies participating in a Petroleum Contract with the China National
Offshore Oil Company which is entitled to acquire, on a pro-rata basis,
up to 51% of any commercial development in the block. Participants in
the Contracting Group are as follows:
“The foundation for this drilling programme is the excellent quality 3D seismic data that the Joint Venture acquired last year which helped to pinpoint some of the area’s petroleum potential. The typical expectation of individual field size within Block 22/12 is probably best measured in terms of tens of millions of barrels, although the multiplicity of structural and stratigraphic traps in the area holds out the possibility that if the upcoming drilling programme is successful, the collective development of these fields could have a very significant and beneficial impact on ROC and its co-venturers.”
Bruce Clement |
| DRILLING ACTIVITY UPDATE: (18-11-2003) |
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KEY POINTS
1.1 Chinguetti-5-1 (Pouné): Exploration Well, Block 5 Woodside
Mauritania Pty Ltd, Operator of the Mauritanian Area B Joint Venture,
advises that the Chinguetti-5-1 (Pouné) exploration well was preparing
to run 20inch casing at 1,709 metres.
1.2 Chinguetti-4-6 (Tiof): Exploration Well, Block 4 Following completion of wireline logging operations the Tiof exploration well (Chinguetti 4-6 Tiof) which started drilling on 28 October 2003 on the Tiof Prospect, 25 kilometres to the north of the Chinguetti Field, was plugged and abandoned (as planned) at a total depth of 2,870 metres on 15 November 2003. The Tiof exploration well has been declared a new oil and gas discovery (ROC ASX release dated 14 November 2003). Participants
in the Area B PSC are as follows: . . . Area
B
2. ONSHORE UK (ROC: 100% and Operator) 2.1 Saltfleetby-7: Appraisal/Development Well Since the last drilling report (ROC ASX Release dated 11 November 2003) a sidetrack hole (SF7y) was initiated by kicking off from a cement plug at 2,893 metres measured drill depth (mDT). This, essentially horizontal, hole was drilled to 2,998 metres mDT through a section comprising more than 20 metres of gross sand with gas shows, prior to mechanical difficulties being encountered as a result of downhole equipment failure. The downhole failure has resulted in 9 metres of the bottom hole assembly being left in the hole which is now being retrieved using “fishing” equipment.
Bruce Clement |
| DRILLING ACTIVITY UPDATE: MAURITANIA (17-11-2003) |
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KEY POINTS
Woodside Mauritania Pty Ltd, Operator of the Mauritania Area B Joint Venture, advises that the Chinguetti-5-1 (Pouné) exploration well commenced drilling on 16 November 2003 in about 920 metre water depth, approximately 27 km northeast of the recent Tiof oil discovery and 48 km north of the Chinguetti Oil Field. The planned Total Depth is 3,250 metres and the main Cretaceous potential reservoir target is expected to be penetrated within the next three weeks. Participants
in the Area B PSC are as follows: . . . Area
B •
Although Pouné is a dual objective well, its main target is the
Cretaceous which the Woodside-led Joint Venture has tested before on two
occasions, offshore Mauritania, both times without success, despite the
fact that elsewhere along Africa’s Atlantic margin this sequence
is known to contain substantial oil accumulations.
Bruce Clement |
| DRILLING ACTIVITY UPDATE: MAURITANIA (14-11-2003) |
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Woodside
Mauritania Pty Ltd, Operator of the Mauritania Area B Joint Venture, advises
that since its last ASX report, wireline logging operations have been
completed and the well is being prepared for plug and abandonment, as
planned.
Commenting
on the discovery at the Tiof location, ROC's Chief Executive Officer,
Dr John Doran, stated that: • The discovery at Tiof maintains the Joint Venture’s 100% exploration success record as far as the Miocene channel sand play is concerned. When you hit three out of three you can be forgiven for the thinking that there might be one or two other oil discoveries waiting to be found in similar geological settings within the contiguous 4.5 million acres/18,500 sq km gross area covered by Production Sharing Contracts A and B. • It is far too early to provide any precise estimate of the upside potential of the Tiof discovery but, for what it is worth, ROC’s view is that a large (100-200 MMBO) upside reserve scenario is plausible, but not yet proven – which is why ROC would be very supportive of drilling an appraisal well on the Tiof structure as soon as practical.
Participants
in the Area B PSC are as follows: . . . Area
B
Bruce Clement |
| DRILLING ACTIVITY UPDATE: (11-11-2003) |
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KEY POINTS
• Onshore UK, the Saltfleetby-7 appraisal/development well is preparing to drill a horizontal sidetrack after confirming the presence of gas in the Namurian below the main Westphalian gas reservoir and defining a common, field-wide, gas-water contact for both reservoirs.
1.1 Chinguetti-4-6 (Tiof): Exploration Well Woodside Mauritania Pty Ltd advises that the Chinguetti-4-6 (Tiof) exploration well which started drilling on 28 October 2003 on the Tiof Prospect, 25 km to the north of the Chinguetti Field, is completing wireline logging operations preliminary, the results of which were announced yesterday (ROC's ASX Release dated 10 November 2003). The drill
ship "West Navigator" is drilling the well in water depths of
1,078 metres, approximately 90 km west of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
2. ONSHORE UK (ROC: 100% and Operator) 2.1 Saltfleetby-7: Appraisal/Development Well Since the last Drilling Report (ROC's ASX Release dated 4 November 2003), electric logging of the well has been completed and has confirmed the presence of gas in Namurian sands down to 2,338 metres true vertical depth subsea ("mTVDSS"), the same depth as the gas-water contact encountered in Westphalian sands at Saltfleetby-6, about 2.5 kilometres to the south. Sands below this depth were not logged at Saltfleetby-7 but are inferred, from the absence of good gas shows during drilling, to be water-bearing. On this basis, a uniform gas-water contact at 2,338 mTVDSS is now recognised across the entire field. After logging,
a cement plug was set to isolate the original exploratory hole and to
allow a shallower sidetrack hole to be drilled for potential Namurian
gas production. At 18:00 hrs on 10 November (GMT) the activity at the
well was drilling ahead in cement at 2,875 metres measured drill depth
prior to kicking off the horizontal sidetrack at 2,890 metres.
Bruce Clement |
| ACTIVITY UPDATE: (10-11-2003) |
|
Woodside
Mauritania Pty Ltd, Operator of the Mauritania Area B Joint Venture, reports
that at 00:00 hours on (GMT) 10 November 2003 the acquisition of wireline
logs and samples was continuing in the Chinguetti-4-6 (Tiof) exploration
well.
Bruce Clement |
| ACTIVITY UPDATE: (04-11-2003) |
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KEY POINTS
• Onshore UK, the Saltfleetby-7 appraisal/development well is preparing to log at Total Depth.
1.1 Chinguetti 4-5: Appraisal/Development Well Woodside Mauritania Pty Ltd, Operator of the Mauritania Area B Joint Venture, has advised that at 00:00 hours (GMT) on 4 November 2003, the production test string on the Chinguetti-4-5 appraisal and early development well was being recovered to surface. The well testing operations consisted of a main flow period of approximately six days, a sampling flow period and a pressure build up test. Approximately 77,000 barrels of oil were produced during testing operations. The well will be suspended as a potential future oil production well, subject to completion of the well test analysis and subsequent decision on the field's commerciality by the joint venture.
1.2 Chinguetti-4-6 (Tiof): Exploration Well Woodside Mauritania Pty Ltd also advises that the Chinguetti-4-6 (Tiof) exploration well started drilling on 28 October 2003. The well is being drilled on the Tiof Prospect, 25 km to the north of the Chinguetti Field. An 18 inch hole has been drilled to 1,933 m, the 13-3/8 inch casing was run and cemented and the blowout preventers were installed. At 00:00 hours (GMT) on 4 November 2003, a 12-1/4 inch hole had been drilled to 2,237 m. Planned Total Depth is 2,900 m. The drill ship "West Navigator" is drilling the well. The location, in water depths of 1,078 m, is approximately 90 km west of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
2. ONSHORE UK (ROC: 100% and Operator) 2.1 Saltfleetby-7: Appraisal/Development Well Since the
last Drilling Report (ROC's ASX Release dated 28
October 2003), the well has been drilled to a Total Depth of 3,164
m in the lower part of the Namurian, below the Saltfleetby Gas Field's
main Westphalian gas reservoir. Soon after drilling into the Namurian,
the well was extended and turned downwards to confirm stratigraphy and
the Gas-Water Contact in this previously untested part of the field. At
17:00 (GMT) on 3 November 2003, the activity at the well was running in
hole with memory electric logs on drillpipe to log the hole below the
4-1/2" casing liner shoe at 2,862 m.
Bruce Clement |