Ramco updates Seven Heads drilling

July 22, 2003
Ramco Energy, operator of the Seven Heads gas development in the Celtic Sea, has completed drilling and testing two further wells. The wells are part of a six well program, which should be producing before the end of the year.

Ramco Energy, operator of the Seven Heads gas development in the Celtic Sea, has completed drilling and testing two further wells. The wells are part of a six well program, which should be producing before the end of the year.

The semisubmersibleSedco 711 drilled well 48/24-8 to a depth of 4,150 ft. The well tested gas at a maximum rate of 27.9 MMcf/d. Previous tests normalized this data to a constant wellhead pressure of 565 psia and the well can deliver 25.2 MMcf/d. Ramco drilled the well into an area of the field where the reservoir is at a shallower depth than the rest of the field. The well has confirmed that a common gas-water contact exists throughout the field. As a result, there is a greater column of gas-bearing sands at that location than had been assumed in the reserves estimates.

The semisubmersible rigSedco 704 drilled well 48/24-9 to 3,655 ft. The well tested gas at a maximum rate of 19.3 MMcf/d. Previous tests normalized this data to a constant wellhead pressure of 565 psia and the well can deliver 12.5 MMcf/d. Drilling and completion performance on this well has been the best to date with 24 days.

The flow rates of the earlier wells at the same constant wellhead pressure of 565 psia were well 48/24-5A, 13.9 MMcf/d; well 48/24-6, 34.3 MMcf/d, and well 48/24-7A, 16.7 MMcf/d. All of these rates are above the 10 MMcf/d assumed in the base production forecast for the field.

TheSedco 711 is relocating within the field and will begin the drilling of well 48/23-2, while the Sedco 704 has already moved and begun the recompletion of the 2001 appraisal well 48/24-5A. These are the final wells in the drilling program.

All 25.5 km of 8-in. infield pipelines and associated umbilicals, which will connect the wells to a central field manifold, have been laid on the sea bed and trenched, as has the 35 km of 18-in. main pipeline back to Marathon's Kinsale A platform. The central manifold is also in place on the seabed and the subsea hook up work has begun.

The construction work necessary to connect the Seven Heads gas pipeline to the Marathon Kinsale A platform is underway. The strong gas price projections for the winter months have encouraged the Seven Heads partners to extend the project budget and to commit to an accommodation rig to enable the remaining topsides work schedule to be accelerated, overall allowable personnel numbers on Marathon's Kinsale A platform being a limiting factor. This action should enable the project to deliver first gas early in 4Q 2003.

Proved and probable reserves were assessed at 300 bcf before this year's drilling program began. This figure will be reviewed once the drilling program has been completed. Ramco has agreed to sell its share of the field's gas production to Innogy Ireland Ltd.

The Seven Heads partners are Ramco 86.5%, Island Petroleum Developments Ltd. 12.5%, and Sunningdale Oils (Ireland) Ltd. 1%.

07/22/03