CALGARY, ALBERTA — (Marketwire) — 02/01/13 — Kulczyk Oil Ventures (WARSAW: KOV), an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company, is pleased to announce the discovery of commercial volumes of natural gas in the Krutogorovskoye-7 (“K-7”) exploration well in Ukraine. The K-7 well is operated by KUB-Gas, an indirect partially-owned subsidiary in which KOV has a 70% effective ownership interest.
The K-7 well commenced drilling in September 2012 and was cased to a total depth (“TD”) of 3,206 metres in early November 2012. Wireline logging of the well indicated up to five potential gas zones in the Bashkirian and Serpukhovian between depths of approximately 2,390 metres and 2,760 metres. A 10 metre section of the Bashkirian B12 zone, from a depth of 2,395 to 2,398 metres and from 2,400 to 2,407 metres, was selected for testing.
Production testing of the B12 zone yielded an initial rate of 4.937 million cubic feet per day (“MMcf/d”) and a final rate of 4,971 MMcf/d through an 8 millimetre (“mm”) choke during a 50 minute initial flow period. Average production rate during this initial period was 4,934 MMcf/d. Flowing tubing pressure, which averaged 15,185 kilopascals (“kPa”), was fairly constant ranging between 15,196 kPa at the start of test to 15,300 kPa at the end of the initial flow period.
The well was flow tested again approximately three days after the initial flow period for a total of 14 hours using various choke sizes and achieving a maximum rate of 5.914 MMcf/d through a 9 mm choke at a flowing pressure of 14,930 kPa. Average production through the 9 mm choke was 5.896 MMcf/d at an average flowing pressure of 14,435 kPa. Average flow rates and pressures during the three day test period are shown in the table below:
During the test the well was slugging condensate and analysis of well data indicates a calculated rate of 33 barrels of condensate per MMcf of gas.
The well, which has now been shut-in to observe pressures, is expected to be on production in the third quarter of 2013 after the construction of 1.7 kilometre of new pipeline.
Krutogorovskoye is a 1,100 hectare exploration licence granted to KUB-Gas in 2004. It is located near the city of Lugansk, approximately 105 kilometres to the southeast of the KUB-Gas licences at Olgovskoye, North Makeevskoye and Makeevskoye and 12 kilometres northwest of the KUB-Gas licence at Vergunskoye.
About Kulczyk Oil
Kulczyk Oil is an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company with a diversified portfolio of projects in Ukraine, Brunei and Syria and with a risk profile ranging from exploration in Brunei and Syria to production and development in Ukraine. The common shares of the Company trade on the Warsaw Stock Exchange under trading symbol “KOV”.
In Ukraine, KOV owns an effective 70% interest in KUB-Gas LLC. The assets of KUB-Gas consist of 100% interests in five licences near to the City of Lugansk in the northeast part of Ukraine. Four of the licences are gas producing.
In Brunei, KOV owns a 90% working interest in a production sharing agreement which gives the Company the right to explore for and produce oil and natural gas from Block L, a 1,123 square kilometre area covering onshore and offshore areas in northern Brunei.
In Syria, KOV holds a participating interest of 50% in the Syria Block 9 production sharing contract which provides the right to explore for and, upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, to produce oil and gas from Block 9, a 10,032 square kilometre area in northwest Syria. The Company has an agreement to assign a 5% ownership interest to a third party which is subject to the approval of Syrian authorities, and which, if approved, would leave the Company with a remaining effective interest of 45% in Syria Block 9. KOV declared force majeure, with respect to its operations in Syria, in July 2012.
The main shareholder of the Company is Kulczyk Investments S.A., an international investment house founded by Polish businessman Dr. Jan Kulczyk.
For further information, please refer to the Kulczyk Oil website ()
Translation: This news release has been translated into Polish from the English original.
Forward-looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements made as of the date of this announcement with respect to future activities of KUB-Gas and related to its five licence areas in Ukraine and to certain wells drilled or seismic activities undertaken within those licence areas that either are not or may not be historical facts. Although the Company believes that its expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, any potential results suggested by such statements involve risk and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Various factors that could impair or prevent the Company from completing the expected activities on its projects include that the Company–s projects experience technical and mechanical problems, there are changes in product prices, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, the state of the national or international monetary, oil and gas, financial, political and economic markets in the jurisdictions where the Company operates and other risks not anticipated by the Company or disclosed in the Company–s published material. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in this announcement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement, unless required by law.
Contacts:
Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc. – Canada
Norman W. Holton
Vice Chairman
+1-403-264-8877
Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc. – Poland
Jakub J. Korczak
Vice President Investor Relations & Managing Director CEE
+48 22 414 21 00