COP Circle Oil

TIDMCOP

RNS Number : 8107U

Circle Oil PLC

03 August 2015

3(rd) August 2015

Circle Oil Plc

("Circle Oil" or the "Company")

Operating Update Morocco

Lalla Mimouna Permit - NFA-1 Well Update

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP), the North African focused oil and gas exploration, development and production company, provides the following information on the progress of the NFA-1 exploration well on the Lalla Mimouna permit, onshore Morocco.

NFA-1 was the third well drilled by Circle Oil on the Lalla Mimouna permit and targeted the Miocene sands. TD of the well, at 1,077 metres MD, was reached on 26 July 2015.

The well encountered gas shows whilst drilling at the targeted depth but the reservoir quality encountered in the well has not met the Company's pre-drill estimates. Therefore the well will be plugged and abandoned.

The rig will now be mobilised to drill the Ksiri South (KSS-A) exploration well in the Sebou permit in the Rharb Basin. This well is targeting two objectives in the Miocene Gaddari sands.

One of the key objectives of this well is to prove up the potential of targets with a significant stratigraphic trapping component. If successful, this will open a new play type for the Sebou permit with several analogue targets.

The selected location lies approximately 2 km from the existing Circle Oil owned 8" gas production pipeline to Kenitra and is ideally positioned for potential production tieback.

Depending on drilling progress rates, initial results of the well could be available in approximately 30-40 days.

Commenting on the results of the NFA-1 well Mitch Flegg, CEO, said:

"The NFA-1 exploration well brings to a close the first phase of drilling on the Lalla Mimouna permit. The drilling performance has been good and this phase has been finished ahead of schedule. As planned we will now return to the Sebou permit to continue our drilling operations there while we interpret the valuable data gained from the first three Lalla Mimouna wells. We will incorporate the results of these wells into our in-house subsurface models in order to identify future drilling targets in Lalla Mimouna.

In the meantime we look forward to drilling the Ksiri South (KSS-A) exploration well which has the potential to open up a new play type for the Sebou permit."

The Sebou permit is a partnership between Circle Oil Maroc Limited (75%) and ONHYM (Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines) (25%).

 
Glossary 
MD   Measured Depth 
 TD   Total Depth 
 

For further information contact:

Circle Oil Plc (+44 20 7638 9571)

Mitch Flegg, Chief Executive Officer

Investec (+44 20 7597 4000)

Chris Sim

George Price

James Rudd

Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)

Martin Jackson

Shabnam Bashir

Murray Consultants (+353 1 498 0300)

Joe Heron (+353 87 6909735)

Pat Walsh

In accordance with the guidelines of the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange the technical information contained in the announcement has been reviewed and approved by Mitch Flegg, Chief Executive Officer of Circle Oil Plc. Mitch Flegg, who has over 33 years of experience, is the qualified person as defined in the London Stock Exchange's Guidance Note for Mining and Oil and Gas companies,

Mitch Flegg holds a BSc in Physics from Birmingham University and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB).

Notes to Editors

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP) is an international oil & gas exploration, development and production Company holding a portfolio of assets in Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt with a combination of low-risk, near-term production, and significant upside exploration potential. The Company listed on AIM in October 2004.

Internationally, the Company has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Marmour Permit in southern Tunisia; the Beni Khalled permit in northern Tunisia, the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia and the NW Gemsa permit in Zeit Bay area of Egypt.

Circle Oil's strategy is to locate and secure additional licences in prospective hydrocarbon provinces and, through targeted investment programmes, monetise the value in those assets for the benefit of shareholders. This could be achieved through farm-outs to selected partners who would then invest in and continue the development of the asset into production, or Circle Oil may opt to use its own expertise to appraise reserves and bring assets into production, generating sustained cash flow for further investment.

Further information on Circle Oil is available on its website at www.circleoil.net.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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