Rockhopper Boosts Estimates at Sea Lion Play

- Rockhopper Boosts Estimates at Sea Lion Play

Monday, August 15, 2011
Rockhopper Exploration plc

Rockhopper provided the following update on the interpretation of the fast track seismic data over acreage on licenses PL032 and PL033:

• Initial interpretation of fast track new seismic data in PL032 and PL033 completed
• Seismic shows Sea Lion Main Complex ("SLMC") to extend to the south and new high case area to extend over 90km2
• Two new fan prospects identified within new seismic, Casper and Kermit
• Management interpretation for SLMC potential size: 
  • Low Case: 608 MMbbls STOIIP
  • Mid Case: 1,086 MMbbls STOIIP
  • High Case: 1,279 MMbbls STOIIP

Volumes listed above are within Rockhopper's 100% owned acreage. Not included in the high case listed above, based upon the current interpretation, the Company believes that up to approximately 10% additional volume could be contained within license PL004, in which Rockhopper has a non-operated 7.5% working interest.

During 2011 the Company acquired a total of over 4000km2 of 3D seismic data in conjunction with other operators in the area. Data over the southern portion of licenses PL032 and PL033 has been fast track processed and an initial interpretation has now been completed. This initial interpretation, combined with well data from 14/10-2, 14/10-3, 14/10-4, 14/10-5 and 14/10-6, indicates that the SLMC comprises two fan lobes sourced from the same main feeder channel just to the east of the 14/10-5 and 14/10-2 wells.

The two lobes, represented as sand packages within the wells, are identified as the SL20 and SL10 units, and, from the formation pressure data acquired in the wells, are shown to be in pressure communication. The two packages together comprise the SLMC and are interpreted to comprise of mass flow turbidite sand sequences prograding from the sand input point to the east and extending beyond the southern boundary of license PL032 into license PL004, where Rockhopper has a non-operated 7.5% working interest.

The Company believes that recovery rates of 30% to 40% could be achievable using industry standard production techniques including water injection, artificial lift, deviated or horizontal wells and /or other enhanced oil recovery techniques.

Should a recovery factor of 30% be achieved, based upon the Company's mid case area, the SLMC would contain approximately 325mmbbls recoverable oil. Should a recovery factor of 40% be achieved, the mid case number would increase to 434mmbbls recoverable oil.

The fast track seismic interpretation has enabled the identification of two new feeders into the basin and the mapping of two new prospects, Casper and Kermit. Both of these comprise similar fan systems fed from eastern basin margin feeder channels and exhibit similar seismic character to the SLMC. Casper is stratigraphically shallower than the SLMC while Kermit is stratigraphically deeper than the SLMC.

Following well 14/10-6 the Company believes that the B15 sand, which forms part of the lower fan complex, has the potential to contain up to 161 mmbbls STOIIP on a high case basis. Formation pressure testing indicates that B15 is also in communication with the SLMC.

Fan prospects currently mapped on the Company's acreage are now SLMC, Lower Fan (B sands), Chatham, Casper and Kermit.

In addition to the SLMC, management interpretation of potential in place resources across the other fan prospects within the licence is set out below (All mmbbls STOIIP):

	Low	Mid	High
Lower Fan (B15)	100	130	161
Casper	135	163	194
Kermit	39	47	55
Chatham	28	93	318

The balance of the newly acquired 3D seismic data is still being processed and the Company expects it will be available for interpretation before the end of 2011.

Future Drilling Plans

Following completion of drilling operations on well 14/10-6, the Company is currently committed to drill three further wells using the Ocean Guardian drilling unit. The Company is discussing the possibility of drilling additional wells under an assignment agreement.

The Company intends to drill the next well 3.3km north west of the 14/10-2 discovery well. The second well in the sequence is currently planned to be located approximately 4.1 km to the south south east of the 14/10-2 discovery well. The third well in the sequence is currently planned to be located approximately 5.5km south west of the 14/10-2 discovery well. The second and third locations are subject to change depending upon drilling results and technical work and are subject to gaining the relevant regulatory consents. The Company currently intends to wait for the result of well 14/10-7 before deciding whether to take any additional drilling slots. Estimates of in place and prospective resource information are based upon wells drilled to date and could alter with future well results. Once the Company completes its current drilling campaign, all estimated potential in place resource estimates will be further refined.

Operations continue at the 14/10-6 location and a further announcement will be made once 14/10-7 has been spudded.

Sam Moody, Chief Executive, commented, "We are highly encouraged by the interpretation of new seismic data which identifies both significant reservoir extension and the existence of two additional fan prospects above and beneath the Sea Lion Main Complex. We look forward to continuing our drilling program as we seek to further refine our understanding of Sea Lion and the other prospects on our licenses."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Rockhopper Extends Sea Lion Find West

- Rockhopper Extends Sea Lion Find West

Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Rockhopper Exploration plc

Rockhopper provided an update on the 14/10-6 appraisal well. The third appraisal well on the Sea Lion feature was drilled 4.1km to the west of the 14/10-2 discovery well on license PL032 (100% Rockhopper) and to a total depth of 2706m (drilled depth).

• Sea Lion Main Fan Complex
  • Results at upper end of expectations
  • Well confirms significant reservoir development and hydrocarbon charge within Rockhopper's currently interpreted Sea Lion mid-case area
  • Wireline log analysis indicates Sea Lion main fan net oil pay is 36.4m (119 feet)
  • Gross reservoir interval in Sea Lion main fan is 42m (138 feet) with net to gross of 87%
  • Management interprets this well as confirming Sea Lion main fan is full to spill
  • Reservoir quality good:
    • average porosity 21.6%, maximum 28.8%
  • Average Sw (water saturation) 21%
  • No oil water contact observed in the Sea Lion main fan
  • Formation pressure tests indicate reservoir at the well in communication with wells 14/10-2, 14/10-4 and 14/10-5
  • Downhole fluid samples collected confirmed as oil
  • Following this well, the board considers Sea Lion to be commercially viable
• Sea Lion Lower Fan Complex
  • Well developed lower sand package (sand B15) intersected beneath oil water contact of -2477m tvdss (total vertical depth subsea) and was water wet with no shows
  • 34m (112 feet) gross reservoir package with 85% net to gross
  • Reservoir quality good:
    • average porosity 20%, maximum 25.3%
  • Sand B15 showed significant thickening away from wells 14/10-2 and 14/10-5 as prognosed
  • Formation pressure tests indicate B15 sand to be in pressure communication with the Sea Lion main fan complex giving significant updip exploration potential
  • Deeper thin lower fan sands penetrated in wells 14/10-2 and 14/10-5 showing a separate deeper oil column not developed at this well location

Well 14/10-6 was designed to investigate reservoir and hydrocarbon presence within the Company's mid-case Sea Lion mapped area. 14/10-6 was the first well to penetrate the Sea Lion main fan to the west of the mapped structural low that runs north-south through Sea Lion. The well has been highly successful, proving a thick, high quality reservoir package and a substantial oil column.

Wireline logging operations have been completed. A number of mini DST (downhole Drill Stem Tests) were carried out within the main fan complex and oil was successfully flowed from the main fan. The results will now be interpreted and integrated with other wireline logging data to give an estimate of the potential well productivity. The Company does not consider it necessary to perform a full production test and the well will now be plugged and abandoned.

Once the results of this well have been integrated into the fast-track seismic covering the southern portion of licenses PL032 and PL033, a further announcement will be made detailing the seismic interpretation and the implications of well 14/10-6 for management estimates of resources within Sea Lion.

Upon completion of operations on 14/10-6 the Company intends to drill an exploration well 3.3km to the North West of the discovery well 14/10-2, outside of the Sea Lion Discovery Area. The well is designed to investigate the presence of reservoir and hydrocarbon charge towards the northernmost currently mapped extent of the Sea Lion Main fan.

Sam Moody, Chief Executive, commented, "The results of this well are at the upper end of expectations for the Sea Lion main fan complex and we are delighted to see these oil charged sands extending to the west as prognosed. The thickness and quality of reservoir encountered in the lower fan complex gives additional potential updip."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Rockhopper Spuds Sea Lion Appraisal Well

- Rockhopper Spuds Sea Lion Appraisal Well

Monday, July 18, 2011
Rockhopper Exploration

Rockhopper Exploration plc, the North Falkland Basin oil and gas exploration company, announced that the 14/10-6 appraisal well was spudded at 2125 hrs BST on 15 July 2011. The Well is situated on Licence PL032, which is 100% owned and operated by Rockhopper, and is the third appraisal well to be drilled on the Sea Lion feature since Rockhopper’s oil discovery in May 2010.

The Well is located some 4.1km to the west of the 14/10-2 discovery well, on the western side of the structural low at top reservoir, and 2.3km to the south-west and 14m updip from the 14/10-4 appraisal well. The Well is designed to investigate reservoir and hydrocarbon presence outside what the Company considers the minimum case area. Both Sea Lion Main and Lower fan intervals are targets, with all the Sea Lion Main fan expected to be above the Oil-Water Contact established by the 14/10-4 appraisal well, and with reservoir expected to be thinner than encountered in previous wells on the Sea Lion feature.

Drilling operations are expected to take approximately 38 days and a further announcement will be made once drilling is completed.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Rockhopper Adds Additional Appraisal on Semisub

- Rockhopper Adds Additional Appraisal on Semisub

Thursday, July 07, 2011
Rockhopper Exploration plc

Rockhopper has entered into a further assignment agreement to secure an additional well slot on the Ocean Guardian drilling rig. Rockhopper will shortly drill well 14/10-6, its third appraisal well on the Sea Lion feature, followed by an additional three wells in succession.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Rockhopper Tests Flow Rates of 5508 bpd at Sea Lion Appraisal

- Rockhopper Tests Flow Rates of 5508 bpd at Sea Lion Appraisal

Monday, June 27, 2011
Rockhopper Exploration plc

Rockhopper provided the following update on the flow test carried out at well 14/10-5.

• Well flowed at commercially viable rates
• Well flowed at stabilized rates of 5508 stb/d
• Well achieved a maximum stabilized flow rate of 9036 stb/d

A total section of 86m, incorporating 79m of reservoir, was perforated between 2379m and 2465m (md) over the Sea Lion Main Fan Complex. No lower fan sands were perforated on this flow test.

The well flowed for a main 48 hour flow period at a stabilized rate of 5508 stb/d and 940 mscf/d of gas with a flowing well head pressure (WHP) of 783 psi on a 48/64 inch choke. The gas oil ratio (GOR) was 170 scf/stb over the 48 hour period. The well was flowed through a separator under artificial lift by means of a downhole electric submersible pump (ESP). The flowing wellhead temperature was 62 degrees C. This temperature is significantly higher than that achieved during the test of well 14/10-2 and demonstrates the highly effective nature of the Vacuum Insulated Tubing (VIT) used during the test at 14/10-5. It was not necessary to use any wax inhibitors or pour point suppressants and no water or H2S were produced during the test.

The well was flowed for a second main flow during which the final maximum flow rate of 9036 stb/d was achieved with a flowing WHP of 625 psi on a fixed 1 inch choke over a 2 hour period before shutting the well in for a final build up and injectivity tests. The GOR during the maximum rate flow period was 153 scf/stb.

During the test down hole pressures were recorded and both surface and downhole crude oil samples were collected and will now be analyzed by the Company.

Downhole mini DSTs (Drill Stem Test) were also performed on two of the three sands making up the 14m of net pay encountered in the well, which form part of the lower fan. These 2 sands had net pay of 8m and 4.5m. Interpretation of the results of the mini DST indicate that these 2 sands could have contributed an additional 800 stb/d flow rate using the same flow test techniques (artificial lift by ESP and thermal insulation by VIT) as used during the main DST performed on the upper fan in well 14/10-5.

The Board views the flow rates achieved as being commercially viable. Further appraisal drilling is being progressed over the coming months to continue to define the extent of the Sea Lion resource.

The Ocean Guardian drilling unit will now drill well 14/10-6, which will be the third appraisal well within the Sea Lion discovery area. 14/10-6 is located some 4.5km to the west of well 14/10-5 and is located within the Company's currently mapped mid-case area.

Sam Moody, Chief Executive of Rockhopper, commented, "This very positive well test result is another key milestone in establishing Sea Lion commerciality. We will now review the wealth of data gathered during the testing process and continue our preparations for the next appraisal well on the field."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Africa Oil Concludes Acquisition of Lion Energy

- Africa Oil Concludes Acquisition of Lion Energy

Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Africa Oil Corp.

Africa Oil has completed the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Lion Energy. Pursuant to an acquisition agreement previously announced April 3, 2011, Africa Oil acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Lion in consideration of 0.2 Africa Oil shares for each common share of Lion. Under these terms, Africa Oil issued 17,462,447 common shares to complete the acquisition. In addition, outstanding options to acquire common shares of Lion will be exchanged for options to acquire 287,250 Africa Oil shares, issued pursuant to the terms of the Africa Oil stock option plan, and outstanding warrants to acquire Lion shares have been amended to provide for the issuance of 2,289,000 shares of Africa Oil upon exercise. In each case the exercise price and number of shares to be acquired has been adjusted to account for the exchange ratio of 0.2 Africa Oil shares for 1 Lion shares.

The acquisition was approved by the Lion shareholders at a special shareholders meeting held on June 8, 2011, with 99.96% of the votes cast being voted in favor of the acquisition, and by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on June 9, 2011. Trading in the common shares of Lion will be halted by the TSX Venture Exchange before markets open on Tuesday, June 21, 2011.

Lion was a farm in partner with Africa Oil in Blocks 9 and 10BB in Kenya, and in the production sharing contracts for the Dharoor Valley Exploration Area and the Nugaal Valley Exploration Area in Puntland (Somalia). As a result of the completion of the acquisition of Lion, Africa Oil's direct and indirect interest in Blocks 9 and 10BB has increased to 100% and 50% respectively, and its interest in each of the Puntland (Somalia) production sharing contracts has increased to 60%.

Keith Hill, Africa Oil's President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "The acquisition of Lion consolidates our interests in the East African rift basins in Kenya and Puntland (Somalia). The cash portion of the deal will further strengthen our balance sheet to allow us to fully fund the upcoming aggressive exploration drilling campaign."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Rockhopper Encouraged by Sea Lion Appraisal Results

- Rockhopper Encouraged by Sea Lion Appraisal Results

Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Rockhopper Exploration plc

Rockhopper Exploration provided the following update on the 14/10-5 appraisal well:

• Significant reservoir package and hydrocarbon column encountered
• Wireline log analysis indicates 93.5m (306 feet) net pay in good quality reservoir
• Average porosity greater than 20%
• Average permeability of 100-200 millidarcies (mD) and up to 1,000mD
• 79m net pay in main fan complex
• 14.5m net pay in lower fan complex
• No oil water contact observed
• Rockhopper now intends to test the well

14/10-5 was drilled 600m north of the 14/10-2 discovery well to a total depth of 2,726m (drilled depth) and was the second appraisal well on the Sea Lion feature.

The well was designed to appraise the Sea Lion main fan reservoir and investigate hydrocarbon column and reservoir distribution.

The well has been highly successful, proving a very thick, high quality reservoir package and a substantial oil column. The geological prognosis once again came in very close to prediction.

The Sea Lion reservoir sands were encountered 22m updip from the 14/10-2 discovery well at a depth of 2,378m (drilled depth). A total reservoir package of 110m (360 feet) comprising one main sand and three thinner sands was encountered with a net to gross of 91% in the main sand and 25-80% in the lower sands. The gross oil column in the main Sea Lion fan is now 125m (410 feet). MDT pressures confirm oil gradients throughout all sands.

Wireline logging indicates that reservoir quality is good, with average porosity of greater than 20% and average permeabilities of 100-200mD.

79m (259 feet) of net pay has been encountered in the main fan complex with a net to gross of 91%. 14.5m (47 feet) of pay has been encountered in the lower fan complex with a net to gross of 25-80%. The lower fan was not prognosed to be well developed at this location.

64m (210ft) of conventional core was cut and recovered through the main sand.

The Company now intends to test the well. Tests will comprise both mini DST (downhole dual packer MDT) and a fully engineered drill stem test (DST). The Company intends to perform mini DST tests on both the upper and lower fans and to perform the fully engineered DST on the upper fan only. Testing operations are anticipated to take approximately a month and a further announcement will be issued once all testing operations have been completed.

Following completion of all testing operations, Rockhopper intends to drill a further appraisal well on Sea Lion located some 4.2km to the west of the 14/10-2 discovery well. This well will be located outside the Company's "low case" area and within the Company's "mid case" area for the main fan and is also intended to penetrate the lower fan in what the Company believes will prove a more optimal location.

Sam Moody, Chief Executive, commented, "This is an enormously encouraging result and is a testament to the quality of our technical team. The well test will be another key step on the road towards proving commerciality for the Sea Lion discovery."

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Rockhopper Updates Ops at Sea Lion Appraisal

Rockhopper Updates Ops at Sea Lion Appraisal

Monday, April 04, 2011

Rockhopper Exploration plc

 

Rockhopper provided the following technical update on its Sea Lion Discovery after further interpretation of the results of well 14/10-4:

• Porosity in 14/10-4 in the range 15%-27%, average 20%
• Net to gross within the pay zone of 88%
• Dual packer modular formation dynamic tester (MDT) results indicated well had the potential to flow at 2,700 bbls per day, compared to c.2,000 bbls per day seen in 14/10-2
• Management interprets new low case area of 22km2 with stock tank oil initially in place (STOIIP) of 516 mmbbls giving 155 mmbbls recoverable at 30% recovery factor
• New seismic depth conversion confirms upper fan full to spill, oil water contact within the upper fan package at 2,477m true vertical depth subsea (TVDSS)
• Analysis of MDT results and logging indicates 14/10-2 and 14/10-4 are in communication.

Africa Oil Inks Agreement for Lion Shares

Africa Oil Inks Agreement for Lion Shares

Monday, April 04, 2011
Africa Oil Corp.

Africa Oil has signed a definitive agreement with Lion to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Lion.

Pursuant to the agreement with Lion, Africa Oil will acquire, by way of a plan of arrangement, all of the issued and outstanding shares of Lion in consideration for 0.20 Africa Oil shares for each common share of Lion. Any options or warrants to purchase common shares of Lion that are outstanding on completion of the acquisition will be replaced or amended to entitle the holder to acquire common shares of Africa Oil, with the number of shares to be acquired and the exercise price each adjusted to reflect the ratio of 0.20 shares of Africa Oil for each 1.0 share of Lion.

Lion is a joint venture partner of Africa Oil in Kenya and Puntland (Somalia).
Keith Hill, Africa Oil's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The acquisition of Lion consolidates our interests in the East African rift basins in Kenya and Puntland (Somalia). The cash portion of the deal will further strengthen our balance sheet to allow us to fully fund the upcoming aggressive exploration drilling campaign."