Test drilling operations

Amerisur encouraged by Colombian drilling

Friday, October 12, 2007

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Shares in oil and gas explorer Amerisur Resources edged higher this morning as the company had comforting news regarding test drilling operations in Colombia.

The re-entry of the Alea-1 well was completed without operational problems, and produced a controlled flow rate of about 160 barrels of oil per day (bopd) through a ?’ choke.

The ?’ choke was used to enable the company to observe fluid properties; when the well was initially tested in 1998 it produces flow rates in excess of 500 bopd using a 9/16’ choke.

The well has been closed in again but is expected to return to production and begin long term testing after the installation of the drilling rig Pride-17, which is expected to be completed within the next 15 days.

The Platanillo-1 well has been drilled to a total depth of 8,390 feet and analysis of testing results suggest that the well might be close to the transition zone between the oil and water columns of the field. Accordingly, the well has been plugged to allow the rig to be used to drill the Platanillo-2 well, though Platanillo-1 could potentially be reopened for further evaluation, the company said.

“The initial data from Alea-1 are encouraging, and within the next few weeks we will be able to test the well to its full capacity,” said John Wardle, chief executive of Amerisur.

“The results from Platanillo-1 are also extremely important for the definition of the size of the field at Platanillo, since this firm knowledge allows us to make the best appraisal and development decisions in the future. With the addition of the information from Platanillo-2 we will have a very clear picture of the southern part of the field, which we can then proceed to evaluate through a long term testing programme,” Wardle concluded.