NIGERIA: Decklar Resources to Participate in Asaramatoru Oil field in OML 11

Decklar Resources has announced the completion of a Share Purchase Agreement to purchase all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Purion Energy Limited , a Nigerian entity that has entered into a Risk Finance and Technical Services Agreement  with Prime Exploration and Production Limited, the Operator of the Asaramatoru Oil Field, to participate in the continued development of the oil resources in the field. The Asaramatoru Oil Field is located in OML 11, the same block where Decklar is also currently developing the Oza Oil Field.

Decklar and Purion have signed a Share Purchase Agreement with respect to the acquisition by Decklar of all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Purion. Purion has separately entered into a RFTSA with Prime with respect to the 51% equity interest that was awarded to Prime in the Asaramatoru Oil Field. Further, Decklar is aware that Purion is also seeking to enter into a RFTSA with Suffolk Petroleum in respect of Suffolk’s 49% interest in the Asaramatoru Oil Field.

The Asaramatoru Field

The Asaramatoru Field, operated and owned 51% by Prime and owned 49% by Suffolk Petroleum Limited, is situated onshore in the southern swamp section of OML 11 in the Eastern Niger Delta area, which is one of the largest onshore oil producing blocks spanning the coastal swampy section in the south to dry land in the north. The Asaramatoru Field is situated in the vicinity of Andoni Local Government Area in mangrove forested terrain and is approximately 45 km S/SE of the oil city of Port Harcourt in Rivers State and approximately 40 km south of the Oza Field. The Bonny Oil Export Terminal and Bonny LNG plant are located approximately 15 km south of the Asaramatoru field.

The Asaramatoru Field was formerly operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited. SPDC discovered the oil field in 1973 with the drilling of the AST-1 well, which discovered 10 hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs. The AST-2 well was drilled by SPDC in 1989 and discovered additional oil reservoirs in a separate fault block. SPDC never placed the two wells on production and suspended both wells after the drilling and completion activities. Data available includes the wireline well logs, additional test data, and a 3D seismic survey conducted in 1996.

The Asaramatoru Field was awarded to Prime and Suffolk by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2004 as part of the first Marginal Field Program. A subsidiary of Prime was appointed operator of the field.

Prime and Suffolk re-entered the existing two wells and commenced initial production testing activities in 2014. The wells produced an average of 2,700 barrels oil per day during intermittent production over three years, with the crude production being barged to an offshore facility for storage and export. The two wells have been shut in since late 2018 due to lower oil prices and logistics connected with barging and export activities, and limited storage facilities at the well locations.

Decklar and Prime’s next planned stages for development of the Asaramatoru Oil Field include pulling out the existing tubing from the AST-1 and AST-2 wells, running cement bond logs and cased hole reservoir saturation logs and running new dual-string completions in both existing wells. It is then anticipated that an additional seven wells will be drilled for full field development, and production facilities, flow lines, and export facilities will be installed in phases as the field development progresses.

The full field development plan will include the expansion of the processing facilities to enable handling and processing of up to 20,000 barrels of crude per day for the expected peak production levels including installing a 10 km export flow-line from the Asaramatoru Oil Field to a tie-in point at the Oloma Flow Station which is connected to the nearby Bonny Export Terminal.

Duncan Blount, CEO of Decklar, stated “the participation in the proven Asaramatoru Oil Field is another significant milestone for Decklar in our growth strategy of acquiring and developing near-term cash flow generating assets in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. With the acquisition of the interest in the Asaramatoru Field, we expect that Decklar will be producing from two oil fields, the Oza Field and the Asaramatoru Field, by the end of the year.”

Oza-1 Well Re-entry

Meanwhile the Oza-1 well re-entry at the Oza Oil Field in Nigeria with operations progressing with functional testing and inspection of the rig completed, all approvals granted and the initial work activities of pulling the existing tubing are underway.

After the existing tubing has been removed from the wellbore, a cement bond log will be run to confirm the integrity of the cement behind the casing, followed by pulling the 5 ½ inch casing that is inside the 9 ? inch casing and running cased hole reservoir logs. When the logging is complete and has been analyzed, the well will be cleaned out and perforation and production testing operations will commence on the three known oil-bearing zones (L2.2, L2.4 and L2.6). Each targeted zone will be production flow tested independently, and all test volumes produced will be exported and sold through the existing production facilities and pipelines. Once testing of all three zones is completed, it is anticipated that a final dual-tubing string completion will be installed, and the L2.2 and L2.6 zones placed into production based upon successful testing.

When the Oza-1 re-entry is complete, the drilling rig is then expected to be skidded on the same drill pad as the Oza-1 well to a new drilling slot and a horizontal development well will be drilled in the L2.4 zone. It is anticipated that this well will then be placed on production upon successful testing and completion. The Oza-1 well and new horizontal development well are expected to generate significant production levels and generate cash flow in a short time frame utilizing the existing infrastructure in place.

The Oza Oil Field development is planned to then continue with one or two more re-entries on other existing wells and an additional development drilling program with a potential for eight to ten wells to be drilled to achieve full field development. Additional early production and central processing facilities will be added as required to accommodate increased production levels from field development activities.

The Company anticipates that operations for the re-entry of the Oza-1 well are on track for initial production testing to commence immediately following perforating and running the testing string. The Oza Oil Field has significant export and production capacity through processing facilities and infrastructure already in place and operational, which will allow for the immediate export and sale of crude oil from the Oza-1 well.