Mauritania Technical Review

Fusion Oil & Gas PLC 27 September 2002 Fusion Oil & Gas plc ('Fusion' or 'the Company') Release of Information on Mauritania Relevant to the Company ROC Oil Company Limited a partner in the Mauritania PSC A and B Joint Ventures, released the following information summarising the results of drilling offshore Mauritania to the Australian Stock Exchange earlier today: 'The four wells drilled offshore Mauritania during the last 16 months have yielded very encouraging results. All four wells have had a large exploration element and three of them were, in fact, pure exploration wells, two of which discovered potentially commercial hydrocarbons. All four wells encountered measurable hydrocarbons, proving separate gross hydrocarbon columns of 9 metres, 90 metres, 94 metres and 133 metres. These drilling results are quite remarkable for a previously undrilled, frontier area and they certainly highlight the petroleum potential of the region. However, more time and many more wells will be required before the total regional potential can be quantified reliably. The results from the Chinguetti-4-2 well, the step-out exploration well on the northern side of the Chinguetti structure, are still being interpreted. Current interpretation suggests that the well drilled through two main channel sands within the previously reported 94 metre gross oil column. The majority of the net pay in the well, mainly in the lower of the two channel sequences, is interpreted as having excellent reservoir quality. Separately, in the lower part of the Chinguetti-4-2 well, below the oil-bearing interval, additional channel sands with a combined net thickness in the order of 25 metres were encountered. These sands also have good to excellent reservoir qualities and, although water-wet in Chinguetti-4-2, they are expected to be oil-bearing higher up the structure. The depositional environment of channel sands is such that individual sand packages will typically thicken or thin away from any single data point. Because of this, the individual net pay intervals in such wells should always be viewed within the context of the overall extent of the channel sand sequence, which is largely reflected by the gross hydrocarbon column and the connectivity of the sands within that system. When considering net reservoir thicknesses, it should also be borne in mind that sand bodies associated with salt domes, such as those encountered offshore Mauritania, may thicken down dip from the high points of the structure. The three wells, which have encountered substantial gross hydrocarbon columns (90 metres to 133 metres) offshore Mauritania, collectively demonstrate net reservoir pay sands which represent between 25% and to 40% of the respective gross hydrocarbon columns. In general terms, the thickness of the net reservoir sand in the Chinguetti-1 discovery well is the same order of magnitude as that in the Chinguetti-4-2 well, although the 3D seismic suggests that the sand thickens down dip from the discovery well. Evaluation of the most recent well, the Chinguetti-4-3 exploration well, drilled on the Banda Prospect is continuing. Preliminary indications suggest that the percentage of gross hydrocarbon column which is represented as net reservoir sand in the well is at the high end of the 25% to 40% range quoted above. There is no obvious oil-water contact in the Chinguetti-4-3 (Banda) well, where there is almost 60 metres of, essentially, non-reservoir rock between the highest known water and lowest known oil. Therefore, it is the extrapolation of pressure data obtained while logging which implies that the gross oil column in the well is in the order of 23 metres, as reported to ASX earlier this week. Until additional subsurface information is acquired, this represents the most accurate available estimate of the thickness of the oil leg at the Banda location, but this estimate may change as and when more information becomes available.' The Chinguetti-4-4 appraisal well is due to spud today. Fusion will continue to make routine weekly progress reports and will provide a summary of the results of the drilling campaign to date once operations have been completed. Fusion has a 3% interest in PSC A and a 6% interest in PSC B. Alan Stein, Managing Director, comments: 'It will take some time to fully evaluate information from the current drilling campaign, however preliminary results from the exploration wells provide clear encouragement regarding the commercial value of this project. In addition, the forthcoming appraisal well (Chinguetti-4-4) to the original Chinguetti-1 discovery will provide critical information for continuing development studies.' For further details please refer to the company's web page www.fusionoil.com.au or contact: 27 September 2002 Enquiries: Fusion Oil & Gas plc Jonathan Taylor, Exploration Director Tel: +61 89 226 3011 Australia Fax: +61 89 226 3022 e-mail: jtaylor@fusionoil.com.au Peter Dolan, Chairman Tel: 020 8891 3252 England Fax: 020 8891 1555 e-mail: peter@fusionoil.demon.co.uk College Hill Associates Peter Rigby Tel: 020 7457 2020 James Henderson Fax: 020 7248 3295 e-mail: Peter.Rigby@collegehill.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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