OilVoice - Heritage Oil Spuds Warthog-1 Exploration Well and Kingfisher-3 Appraisal Well in Uganda

Heritage Oil Spuds Warthog-1 Exploration Well and Kingfisher-3 Appraisal Well in Uganda

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Heritage Oil Limited, an independent upstream exploration and production company, announces that it has commenced drilling the Warthog-1 exploration well in Block 1, Uganda and the Kingfisher-3 appraisal well in Block 3A, Uganda.

Highlights

- Warthog-1 is the first well to be drilled in Block 1, Uganda, and is part of a three well exploration programme to be drilled back to back before the year-end
- Recent discoveries by the Kasamene-1 and Kigogole-1 wells in Block 2, in close proximity to the Block 1 boundary, substantially lowers the exploration risks in Block 1
- Potential for the Warthog prospect to be part of the same structure as Kasamene
- Kingfisher-3 and its planned sidetrack Kingfisher-3A in Block 3A, Uganda, will appraise the southern extent of the Kingfisher discovery and gather critical reservoir data

Drilling Activity - Block 1, Uganda

The Warthog-1 exploration well is being drilled to an anticipated depth of approximately 1,000 metres and is expected to take less than one month to complete. The discovery in the Kasamene-1 well in Block 2, which encountered a reported net oil column of 31 metres in a gross interval of 75 metres, has significantly lowered the exploration risk of Warthog and other prospects in Block 1. Kasamene-1, located approximately 2.5 kilometres from the Block 1 border and approximately 5 kilometres southwest of the Warthog-1 well, appears to have been drilled on the same structural trend as Warthog. This trend also contains encouraging seismic amplitude anomalies at reservoir level and can be traced northeast from the Kasamene discovery through the Warthog, Giraffe and Buffalo prospects.

Both the Buffalo and Giraffe prospects were assessed independently by RPS Energy, as at 30 September 2007, to have mean gross un-risked prospective resources of 420 and 89 million barrels of oil respectively. The Warthog prospect was mapped after RPS Energy issued its report. Management considers the Warthog prospect could be a similar size to the Giraffe prospect.

Drilling Activity - Block 3A, Uganda

Kingfisher-3, and its planned sidetrack Kingfisher-3A, are being drilled to an anticipated depth of approximately 3,270 metres and 2,860 metres respectively and are expected to take between four and five months to complete. The objectives of the wells are to appraise the southern extent of the field whilst gathering critical reservoir data. Management intends to suspend the Kingfisher-3A well as a third future producer alongside the previously suspended Kingfisher-1 and Kingfisher-2 wells. The Kingfisher discovery has proved to be a great success with production tests from Kingfisher-1 and Kingfisher-2 of 13,892 bopd and 14,364 bopd respectively. The discovered oil is good quality, light (between 30 and 32 degrees API) and sweet with a low gas-oil ratio and some associated wax.

Tony Buckingham, CEO, commented:
"We have commenced our busiest and most exciting drilling programme in Uganda since Heritage commenced operations in the Albert Basin in 1997. The multi-well exploration program in Block 1 together with the Kingfisher-3/3A appraisal wells in Block 3A, have the potential to achieve the commercial threshold for the development of our reserves in Uganda, which will transform the Company and allow us to proceed with the early development of the Albert Basin."

Heritage is the Operator of Block 3A and Block 1 in Uganda with a 50% equity interest in the licences with Tullow Oil Plc holding the remaining 50% interest.