Austral Pacific to Test Douglas Wildcat
May 31 2006 - 6:07PM
PR Newswire (US)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Austral
Pacific Energy Ltd. (TSX-V and NZSX: APX; AMEX: AEN) announced
today that Austral Pacific (35%) has determined to flow-test its
wildcat exploration well Douglas-1 located in PPL 235 in Papua New
Guinea. The well will need to be cased in order that a production
test can be conducted. Austral Pacific has notified Rift Oil, a 65%
participant in the well, of this intention and will sole-risk the
flow-test if necessary. The well reached a total depth of 1978
metres on Friday 26th May. Wireline logs run over the weekend
indicate that the well has intersected two gas bearing columns, the
first in the Alene sand from 1785 metres to 1789 metres (4 metres
gross; 4 metres net) and the second in the Toro sand from 1838
metres to 1855 metres (17 metres gross; 12 metres net). Formation
pressure measurements were also recorded. Commenting on the
announcement Austral Pacific Energy Ltd.'s Chief Executive Officer
Rick Webber said, "We are very encouraged by the results we have
seen so far in Douglas-1 although we recognize that the prospects
for successfully commercialising the resource will require a lot of
further evaluation. The results of the production test,
particularly the condensate to gas ratio, as well as the outcome of
any subsequent appraisal drilling, will be keys to determining the
commerciality of the resource. The Douglas-1 well is located on one
of three structural highs that comprise the Douglas prospect. In
addition there are a number of other prospects within the permit
which taken together constitute significant follow-up potential."
The drilling rig is currently conditioning the well prior to
running production casing. The decision on when production testing
will commence will be taken once the availability of production
testing equipment has been ascertained and a testing programme and
budget have either been agreed by the joint venture or the sole
risk provisions of the agreement are in effect, which in either
case will likely mean several weeks before the test results are
available. Rick Webber Austral Pacific Energy, Ltd. +64-4-495-0888
Web site: http://www.austral-pacific.com/ Email: None of the
Exchanges upon which Austral Pacific's securities trade have
approved or disapproved the contents hereof. This release includes
certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of applicable legislation. Other
than statements of historical fact, all statements in this release
addressing future production, reserve potential, exploration and
development activities and other contingencies are forward-looking
statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed
in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance, and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements, due to
factors such as market prices, exploration and development
successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and
general economic, market, political or business conditions. See our
public filings at http://www.sedar.com/ and
http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm for further
information. DATASOURCE: Austral Pacific Energy Ltd. CONTACT: Rick
Webber of Austral Pacific Energy, Ltd., +64-4-495-0888, or Web
site: http://www.austral-pacific.com/
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