Petroceltic provides operational update

Petroceltic International plc announces that approval has been granted for the Isarene permit in Algeria to enter the second exploration period. The second period officially commenced on April 26th 2008 and is in force for two years until April 25th 2010.

Petroceltic has retained 70 per cent of the original Isarene Permit area (7,520 sq. km) into the second exploration period, in line with the provisions of the Production Sharing Contract. The retained area contains all of the prospects previously identified by Petroceltic on the licence.

Currently Petroceltic is acquiring a state of the art 3D seismic programme over a large gas/condensate prospect “the Ain Tsilla Ridge” in the north eastern part of the permit, which according to Petroceltic’s estimates could contain gas resources of greater than two trillion cubic feet. Two wells have already been drilled on this prospect by previous operators, both of which tested gas and some condensate. Petroceltic’s new seismic is a “Wide Azimuth 3D” and has been designed to locate areas of optimum reservoir quality in the target Ordovician sandstones. To date approximately 510 of a planned 890 square kilometre programme have been acquired. Initial results from the new seismic are encouraging.

Source : http://www.petroceltic.ie/