Dana Petroleum scores in Pelican-1 discovery offshore Mauritania

Dana Petroleum says its preliminary technical assessment of the Pelican-1 well, located in the southern part of block 7 offshore Mauritania indicates a significant hydrocarbon bearing sequence spanning over 1,000 ft. The well was drilled in over 5,500 ft of water to a total depth of approximately 12,500 ft.

The assessment included over 40 sidewall cores, 11 fluid samples, electric log data, pressure measurements, and a vertical seismic profile. Analysis indicates the presence of two significant gas accumulations located below approximately 11,000 ft, with minimum gross thickness of 500 ft and 125 ft, respectively. There is also a further but smaller gas accumulation toward the base of the well. These gas accumulations are trapped in Cretaceous age sands, the first time significant volumes of hydrocarbons have been discovered in a pre-Tertiary formation offshore Mauritania. Reservoir quality within the developed sands is good with porosities up to 37%.

The recovered reservoir fluid is interpreted as an oil-associated gas with no significant impurities and a hydrocarbon liquid to gas ratio of 23 bbl/MMcf. In addition, fluid composition, pressure and structural data point to the possibility of a significant oil leg below the lower of the two major gas accumulations. Fluid inclusion work on the rock samples indicates a light 40° API gravity oil.

Preliminary calculation of hydrocarbon volumes in the Pelican structure suggests approximately 1,000 bcf in place, with technically recoverable reserves estimated to be 600 to 800 bcf and 10-13 million barrels of associated liquids.

Andy Bostock, Dana's technical director, commented: "We are greatly encouraged by Pelican, which was our first well in a very large area operated by Dana. A significant volume of gas has been discovered to date offshore Mauritania and this is likely to become commercial, as experienced LNG players become involved. Further drilling will be needed to prove the presence of commercial quantities of oil in block 7 and we are expecting to come back to the Pelican area once our post-well technical work is complete. In the meantime, we are planning to drill Dana's next Mauritanian well in block 1, in the latter part of 2004, where our exploration team is focusing on two prospects with combined reserves potential approaching 500 million barrels of oil."

Pelican-1 was the first well drilled by Dana (operator, 76.5%) and its co-venturers Hardman Resources (18%) and Roc Oil (5.5%) in the three Dana-operated production-sharing contract areas offshore Mauritania. The group's next well will be drilled in block 1.

4/1/04