TAG Oil's Deep Drilling Targets Large Onshore Gas/ Condensate
Resource in Taranaki Basin
VANCOUVER, Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - TAG Oil Ltd. (TSX:
TAO) and (OTCQX:
TAOIF), announces that the Cardiff-3 well located in Petroleum Mining
License 38156 was spudded on September 2,
2013 and is presently
drilling at a depth of approximately 1000 meters. The Cardiff-3 well
will take approximately 30 more days to reach its total projected
depth
of 4,900 meters.
Cardiff-3 is the first of three
back-to-back deep wells being drilled
(Cardiff-3, Heatseeker-1 and
Hellfire-1) by TAG (100%) targeting
Taranaki's successful Kapuni Formation.
All three wells are situated within the Taranaki Basin's main
deep
discovery fairway, where proven producing reserves of 6.9 TCF of
gas
and 372 million barrels of oil/condensate have been discovered in
the
Eocene-aged Kapuni Formation so far. (Source:
http://www.nzpam.govt.nz/cms/petroleum/facts-and-figures)
Combined, the assessed "mid-range" resource potential for the
Cardiff,
Heatseeker and Hellfire prospects is 477 billion cubic feet of
natural
gas and 18 million barrels of associated condensates, as
follows:
|
|
|
Gas (Bcf)
|
|
|
Condensate (MMbbls)
|
Prospect
|
|
|
P90
|
|
|
P50
|
|
|
P10
|
|
|
P90
|
|
|
P50
|
|
|
P10
|
Cardiff
|
|
|
68
|
|
|
160
|
|
|
382
|
|
|
2.04
|
|
|
5.49
|
|
|
15.15
|
Heatseeker
|
|
|
83
|
|
|
197
|
|
|
469
|
|
|
2.50
|
|
|
7.90
|
|
|
18.75
|
Hellfire
|
|
|
53
|
|
|
120
|
|
|
270
|
|
|
1.59
|
|
|
4.78
|
|
|
10.79
|
Total
|
|
|
204
|
|
|
477
|
|
|
1,121
|
|
|
6.13
|
|
|
18.17
|
|
|
44.69
|
Sproule International Limited has independently assessed the
resource
potential for Cardiff, and TAG's
internal qualified reserve evaluator
has assessed the resource potential of the Heatseeker and
Hellfire
prospects, all with an effective date of July 31, 2013. The resource
assessments in the table above have been made in accordance with
NI
51-101 and the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluations Handbook and
are
supported by several existing commercialized Kapuni Formation
discoveries.
These deep wells are part of TAG's 11 well drilling campaign in
Taranaki, which will be completed over the next six months.
This
program consists of a combination of development drilling,
appraisal
and exploration drilling: TAG currently has two drill rigs
actively
operating with a third rig to begin operating on TAG controlled
land
shortly.
TAG Oil Ltd.
TAG Oil Ltd. (http://www.tagoil.com/) is a Canadian-based
production and exploration company with
operations focused exclusively in New
Zealand. With 100% ownership over
all its core assets, including extensive oil and gas production
infrastructure, TAG is enjoying substantial oil and gas production
and
reserve growth through development of several light oil and gas
discoveries. TAG is also actively drilling high-impact conventional
and
unconventional exploration prospects identified across more
than
2,669,780 net acres of land in New
Zealand.
The resource estimates in this news release were prepared with
an
effective date of July 31st, 2013.
The estimates for Cardiff have
been
externally prepared by Sproule International Limited and the
remaining
estimates were prepared by an employee of TAG Oil Ltd. both of
which
are qualified reserve evaluators in accordance with NI 51-101 and
the
Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluations Handbook.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical
facts
are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and
uncertainty affecting the business of TAG. Such statements can
be
generally, but not always, identified by words such as
"expects",
"plans", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "forecasts",
"schedules", "prepares", "potential" and similar expressions, or
that
events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should"
occur.
These statements are based on certain factors and assumptions
including:
A. All estimates and statements that describe the Company's
objectives,
goals, production rates, optimization, infrastructure capacity and
or
future plans relating to the seismic, testing, work over and
drilling
programs in the Taranaki, Canterbury and East Coast Basins are
forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and
necessarily involve risks and uncertainties including, without
limitation: risks associated with oil and gas exploration,
development,
exploitation, production, marketing and transportation, volatility
of
commodity prices, imprecision of reserve estimates and
production
guidance, environmental risks, competition from other producers,
and
changes in the regulatory and taxation environment. These
forward-looking statements are based on certain factors and
assumptions, including factors and assumptions regarding the
management's views on the oil and gas potential in TAG's permits,
well
performance and production rates, the success of any
operations,
completing infrastructure and the costs necessary to complete
the
operations; and
B. Those relating to TAG Oil's exploration and development of its
oil
and gas properties within the Cheal and Sidewinder project areas,
the
production and establishment of additional production of oil and
gas in
accordance with TAG Oil's expectations at Cheal and Sidewinder,
well
performance, drilling, the completion of new infrastructure at
Cheal
and Sidewinder, optimization, the increase of cash flow from
new
production, expected growth, results of operations,
performance,
prospects, evaluations and opportunities. While TAG Oil considers
these
factors and assumptions to be reasonable based on information
currently
available, they may prove to be incorrect. Actual results may
vary
materially from the information provided in this release, and there
is
no representation by TAG Oil that the actual results realized in
the
future will be the same in whole or in part as those presented
herein.
TAG Oil is involved in the exploration for and production of
hydrocarbons, and its property holdings with the exception of the
Cheal
and Sidewinder project areas are in the grass roots or primary
exploration stage. Exploration for hydrocarbons is a
speculative
venture necessarily involving substantial risk. There is no
certainty
that the expenditures incurred on TAG Oil's exploration properties
will
result in discoveries of commercial quantities of hydrocarbons.
TAG
Oil's future success in exploiting and increasing its current
reserve
base will depend on TAG Oil's ability to develop its current
properties
and on its ability to discover and acquire properties or prospects
that
are producing. There is no assurance that TAG Oil's future
exploration
and development efforts will result in the discovery or development
of
additional commercial accumulations of oil and natural gas.
Other
factors that could cause actual results to differ from those
contained
in the forward-looking statements are also set forth in filings
that
TAG and its independent evaluator have made, including TAG's
most
recently filed reports in Canada
under National Instrument 51-101,
which can be found under TAG's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com.
TAG undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law,
to
update these forward-looking statements in the event that
management's
beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change.
SOURCE TAG Oil Ltd.