SEY.L Regulatory News (SEY)

18 Jan 2005 07:00

Hardman Resources Limited18 January 2005 STOCK EXCHANGE / MEDIA RELEASE RELEASE DATE: 18 January 2005 CONTACT: Scott Spencer TELEPHONE: Within Australia: 08 9261 7600International: +61 8 9261 7600 RE: MAURITANIA DRILLING PROGRAMMEWEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT Hardman Resources Ltd ("Hardman") provides the following progress report on theMauritania offshore drilling programme: Tiof-6 Appraisal Well - PSC B Progress and Current Status:Since the last report on 13 January 2005 the West Navigator has completed casingand cementing operations and suspended the Tiof-6 well for future productionflow testing. Wireline data has confirmed the thickness of the oil column, andthe well will be re-entered once the rig has completed drilling commitments onthe Chinguetti Field. It is expected that once re-entered preparations fortesting the well will take 1-2 weeks. Well Location:The Tiof Discovery is located approximately 90 kilometres west of Nouakchott,the Mauritanian capital and 25 kilometres north of the Chinguetti Field. TheTiof-6 well is located 3 kilometres west of the Tiof-1 discovery well and 1kilometre east of Tiof-3. Water depth is approximately 1,165 metres. Well Details:The Tiof-6 well is intended to further appraise the Tiof oil discovery and willcontinue the evaluation of the Miocene channel sand system within the Tiof Fieldarea as interpreted with 3D seismic. Chinguetti Development Drilling Since the last report on 13 January, the Stena Tay has continued drillingoperations on the Chinguetti field. Hardman does not intend to provide detailedweekly reports during the course of the development well drilling programme butwill continue to report significant matters as appropriate and in accordancewith its continuous disclosure obligations. Other information: All reported depths are referenced to the rig rotary table (except water depth). Times and dates refer to Mauritania time (GMT), 8 hours behind Western StandardTime, Perth. A map showing the location of the 2004/05 wells is available on the Hardmanwebsite (www.hdr.com.au) and will be updated during the course of the 2004/2005drilling programme. The government of Mauritania has exercised its right to participate in theChinguetti development, as previously announced, and the resulting joint ventureinterests in the Chinguetti Field and PSC B are: Company PSC B Chinguetti Field (Remainder)Woodside group companies (operator) 53.846% 47.384%Hardman group companies 21.6% 19.008%BG group companies 11.63% 10.234%Premier group companies 9.231% 8.123%ROC Oil group companies 3.693% 3.250%Groupe Projet Chinguetti (Govt. interest) - 12.000% SCOTT SPENCERDIRECTOR Note: In accordance with Australian Stock Exchange Limited listing requirements,the geological information supplied in this report has been based on informationprovided by geologists who have had in excess of five years experience in theirfield of activity. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange