Heritage Oil Corporation has signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to gain a 39.6% working interest in Blocks I and II. Together these cover an area over 6,000 square kilometres.
The PSA includes the portion of Lake Albert that lies in DRC adjacent to Heritage's Block 3A and Hardman Resource's Block 2 licenses in Uganda and covers both onshore and offshore acreage. Work is expected to commence on the blocks by year-end, following a Presidential Decree ratifying the Blocks, with a number of technical studies in preparation for the acquisition of 400 km of 2D seismic data on Lake Albert in 2007. This seismic campaign will target potential extensions to the geological play types already identified in the region.
Heritage's partners in the PSA are Tullow plc, its same partner as in Uganda, which holds a 48.4% interest and is the Operator of the license, while COHYDRO, the DRC state oil company, holds the remaining 12%.
Heritage's Chairman and CEO, Micael Gulbenkian, commented: "We are delighted by this agreement, which means that Heritage has further extended and consolidated its acreage position in the highly prospective Albert Graben basin where we are already active through our Ugandan properties in Block 3A and Block 1. This is an exciting development given the recent exploration successes of Hardman in its Block 2 licence in Uganda, where that company has production tested its Waraga-1 well at a cumulative maximum flow rate of over 12,000 bpd, thereby proving a potentially very significant new hydrocarbon system in the basin. We believe there should be a continuation of the oil play through the basin across the international boundary between Uganda and the DRC. Our strategy is to prove-up a substantial new hydrocarbon province in the Albert Graben with licenses in the DRC and Uganda. Heritage's exploration work programme on the Ugandan side of the basin is on-going, with the drilling of the Kingfisher-1 well that was spudded in August."
The Kingfisher-1 well spudded on August 15 and 10 3/4" intermediate casing has been set at 1,060 metres. As at midnight on September 12, preparations were underway to drill out with 9 7/8" hole. The well is expected to reach target total depth of between 3,000 and 4,000 metres within the next two months. Kingfisher-1 is a vertical exploration well being drilled from the shore of Lake Albert, targeting a large structural high.