NG ENERGY ANNOUNCES SPUDDING OF ARUCHARA-4 AT MARIA CONCHITA AND PROVIDES SINU-9 PRODUCTION UPDATE
At Maria Conchita, the Company has commenced drilling of the Aruchara-4 well, which targets the Jimol formation and aims to develop the H1A and H1B accumulations while exploring the potential extension of reserves and resources in the H2 AA section and H3 and H4 fractures, as well as testing the limestone formation on top of the basement of the well. The Aruchara-4 well will be drilled to a total depth of 10,000 feet in four phases and upon successful completion, is expected to be tied in by the end of
Following the drilling of the Aruchara-4 well, the rig will immediately commence a workover and recompletion of the Aruchara-3 well to address a downhole mechanical obstruction, restoring it to full production capacity, before moving to commence drilling of the Aruchara-5 well.
Sinu-9
At Sinu-9, the Company is pleased to announce that production has increased to 22 MMcf/d while meeting the Unified Transportation Regulation's dew point quality standards. Installation of dew point handling equipment at the Central Processing Facility is nearing completion, with full installation expected by the end of August. Following installation of the dew point handling equipment, aggregate gross production at Sinu-9 is expected to increase up to 30 MMcf/d, filling current pipeline capacity.
As announced in the Company's
About
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release, including, without limitation, statements related to the timeline for completion of the drilling of the Aruchara-4 well, the timeline for the tie-in of the Aruchara-4 well, future uses for the rig at Maria Conchita, timeline for completion of full installation of the dew point handling equipment at the Central Processing Facility, future aggregate gross production volumes at Sinu-9 and the timeline for completion of the twin pipeline at Sinu-9. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Management Discussion and Analysis and its Annual Information Form dated
Neither the
Abbreviations
The abbreviations set forth below have the following meanings:
Oil, Natural Gas Liquids and Natural Gas |
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MMcf/d |
million cubic feet per day |
MMBtu |
one million British thermal units |
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Other |
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Q1 |
first quarter |
Q3 |
third quarter |
Information Regarding the Company's Working Interest Disclosure
With regard to the Company's working interests held in both the Maria Conchita and Sinu-9 Blocks, in both the context of this news release and the Company's previous news releases, the term "working interest", ultimately refers to the rights and obligations agreed to, eventually, materialize a contractual interest in an exploration and production contract before the ANH, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions. These conditions involve the assumption of financial risks and are generally linked to exploration by virtue of joint operating agreements. Once such conditions are fulfilled, the acquisition of a registered contractual interest, as party of record, in the exploration and production contract may materialize, by way of a request for approval of assignment before the ANH. For this reason, as is common practice within the oil and natural gas industry as a whole, the disclosed "working interest" may not coincide with the Company's current contractual interest in the exploration and production contract.
The assignment and allocation of "working interests" does not affect or undermine, in any way, the rights and obligations of registered parties under the relevant exploration and production contracts. Registered parties remain wholly and totally liable before the ANH, the Colombian authorities and third parties in connection with any and all obligations, risks and liabilities derived from the execution, performance or termination of the exploration and production contracts. Conversely, the rights and obligations that comprise "working interests" are only enforceable vis a vis between the executing parties under private agreements, and have no legal effects before the ANH, the Colombian authorities or third parties.
As of the date hereof, the Company is a party of record and holds a 51% contractual interest in the exploration and production contract for the Sinu-9 Block granted by and entered into with ANH. However, under the private agreements regarding the working interests in the Sinu-9 Block, the Company holds a 72% working interest. This means a 21% working interest is yet to be assigned and acknowledged as a contractual interest in the exploration and production contract, given the conditions to do so, including ANH approval, are yet to be fulfilled. Once these conditions are met, the Company will submit an approval request with ANH.
As disclosed in the Company's news release dated
With respect to the Maria Conchita Block, the Company holds 100% of the contractual interest as the sole party and operator of record under the relevant exploration and production contract entered into with the ANH, and holds an 80% working interest under private agreements with third parties.
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