Drilling Results

6 Feb 2007 11:54

Meridian Petroleum PLC06 February 2007 6 February 2007 Meridian Petroleum plc ('Meridian' or 'the Company') DRILLING RESULTS Meridian Petroleum, the oil and gas exploration and production company with keyassets in the USA and Australia announces drilling results for its Orion 36 wellin Oakland County, Michigan. Total Depth (TD) of 4,103 feet was reached on the Orion 36 well on Saturday 3February 2007, after a directional leg kicking into the Niagaran reef target. The well casing was set yesterday, Monday 5 February, and the Company iscurrently preparing the Completion AFE, which will include any stimulation orperforating that may be required, with plans to flow test the well during theweek of 12th February. The well site is adjacent to an existing pipelineoperated by local utility CMS Energy ("CMS"), and CMS has already agreed topurchase the gas. The actual hook up will take place following the constructionof the surface facility. Following a review of the drilling logs, the well has shown a total net pay of111 feet. Within the 111 feet of net pay, 33 feet of true vertical net pay wereat 4.5% porosity and the remaining 78 feet of true vertical net pay rangedbetween 6% and 7.5%. These porosity readings are encouraging as they arecomparatively high for a Niagaran Reef in the Southern reef trend, whichtraditionally has far lower levels of porosity. Throughout the directional kick the well bore correlated almost exactly with theoriginal Fons well, which flow tested in excess of 2mmcfpd, and similar resultsare anticipated with the above porosity characteristics. The Fons well wasclosed in the 1980s due the levels of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), but the area isnow regarded by Meridian as safe to drill and extract due to the application ofnew technology now available to deal with the H2S content. Once the flow test is completed the Company will focus on the surface facilityrequired to remove the H2S from the gas. Two specific options are beingexamined, and the Company is expediting its processes to get the well on line assoon as possible. The first option is a closed circuit fluid system, while thesecond system is a more conventional sulphide-treatment system utilisingalternate towers. OTHER ASSETS Perforation at Calvin 36 (Winn Parish, Louisiana) and use of explosive fractechnology on Milford 36 (Livingston County, Michigan) are both set to takeplace by the end of February. Tony Mason, CEO of Meridian Petroleum, said: "Given the aerial extent of this reef of at least 200 acres and the size of thenet pay zone, we are optimistic regarding the potential resource at Orion 36.We are mapping the reef and will appraise the Gas In Place (GIP) estimate oncewe have conferred with ECL Scott Pickford." Ends For further information contact: Meridian Petroleum PLC Ambrian Partners Parkgreen Communications Tony Mason Neil Maclachlan Justine Howarth Richard Brown Victoria Thomas+44 (0)20 7409 7233 +44 (0)20 7776 6400 +44 (0)20 7851 7480 Dan Roose who is a contract Petroleum Engineer for Meridian Petroleum and whomeets the criteria of a qualified person under the AIM guidance note for mining,oil and gas companies, has reviewed and approved the technical informationcontained in this announcement. NOTES TO THE EDITORS About Meridian Meridian is an oil and gas exploration and production company with key on-shoreassets in the United States and Australia. Meridian is quoted on the AIM marketof the London Stock Exchange (ticker: MRP), and is headquartered in London, withoffices in Houston, Texas and Adelaide, Australia. Glossary: "Completion AFE" The "Authority for Expenditure" given to estimate total completion costs for the operation "directional kick" A deviation in the direction of the well bore "mmcfpd" Millions of cubic feet per day "net pay" The net thickness of an oil reservoir which is capable of producing hydrocarbons "porosity" The ratio of solid rock to to empty space, indicating how much fluid a rock can hold This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange