Lundin starts drilling in Sudan

Lundin Petroleum AB announces the start of drilling operations in Block 5B, Sudan. The exploration well Nyal-1, located on the western flank of the basin was spudded on Thursday, 7 February 2008. The well is located in the “dry land” area of the block where several prospects have been identified as a result of the recently acquired 2D seismic program.

The exploration well Nyal-1, with a planned depth of 2,100 metres, will target the Upper to Lower Cretaceous sandstone reservoirs that have proved highly productive in other producing fields in the Muglad Basin. The gross unrisked recoverable prospective resource for the Nyal prospect is estimated at 176 million barrels of oil (mmbo).

In parallel, preparations for the start of the “swamp” area drilling campaign with the first exploration well Wan Machar-1 (previously Umm Dandalo) are ongoing.

The partners in Block 5B are Petronas Carigali White Nile (5B) Ltd (”Petronas”) (39%), Lundin Petroleum (24.5%) , ONGC Videsh Ltd (23.5%) and Sudapet Ltd (13%). Furthermore, the partnership has accepted the recommendation of the National Petroleum Commission to assign a 10% share to the National Oil Company of Southern Sudan to be allocated on a “pro rata” basis from each of the partners’ shares. The operator of Block 5B is White Nile Petroleum Operating Company (WNPOC) a joint venture between Sudapet Ltd and Petronas.