Exoma Confirms Toolebuc Shale Oil, Gas Find (Australia)

Exoma Energy Limited said today that independent testing of core recovered from Bessies-1 has confirmed the Toolebuc shale is generating oil and associated gas in its central Queensland permits.

Preliminary data indicate the presence of mobile hydrocarbons, with initial Oil In Place (OIP) and Gas In Place (GIP) values estimated for the area around the Bessies-1 well location. As previously reported, a sample of free oil was recovered during the drilling of Bessies-1.

Exoma drilled three core wells in the ATP 999 P permit during 2011 (Bessies-1, Euston-1 and Katherine-1) specifically targeting the Toolebuc shale. Core samples have been undergoing initial geochemical and petrophysical screening by major US oilfield services group Weatherford Laboratories (Weatherford) as part of a comprehensive analysis program. This work is ongoing and final reports are expected in January 2012.

Indicative Hydrocarbons in Place

Source Rock Analysis conducted on core samples recovered from Bessies-1 indicate that the Toolebuc shale is generating free oil and associated gas. Weatherford has provided Exoma with a preliminary estimate of the potential Oil In Place (OIP) and Gas In Place (GIP) in the Toolebuc shale at the Bessies location. These estimates are based on pyrolysis S1 peak values converted to equivalent million barrels per square km (MMbbls/km2) and the sum of free and adsorbed gas storage capacity.

OIP (MMbbls/km2)                                      GIP (Bcf/km2)

      0.2 to 4.5 (average: 2.2)*                          2.9 to 6.4 (average: 4.0)*

Core analysis data from Euston-1 and Katherine-1 are yet to be received from Weatherford Laboratories. A further independent analysis of the core from the three wells is being conducted by Corelab in the USA and will also be available in January 2012.

Significance of the Discovery

The data from Exoma’s 2011 shale exploration program provides the first systematic technical confirmation that the Toolebuc shale contains liquid hydrocarbons, bitumen and associated gas.

Based on the laboratory analysis of the Toolebuc shale core from Bessies-1, the OIP of the shale at that location appears to be comparable to that of the US Bakken shale in North Dakota, which has reported OIP values of between1.5 to 4.7MMbbls/km².

Exoma Chairman Brian Barker said:

“Exoma’s shale exploration program is starting to produce exciting results. There is a wellestablished body of anecdotal evidence that points to the Toolebuc shale as a potentially  large oil and gas play. Our work provides the first systematic technical evidence that the Toolebuc shale has oil and associated gas present within the formation.

Our plans for 2012 are to appraise these areas and determine the commercial potential of the Toolebuc play.”

Exoma has a 50% beneficial interest in ATP-999-P. CNOOC Galilee Gas Company Pty Ltd, a local subsidiary of leading Chinese integrated energy company China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), is earning its participating interest via a farmin whereby CNOOC provide the initial $50 million of joint venture expenditures on Exoma’s five Galilee Basin ATP’s.

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LNG World News Staff, December 19, 2011