Xcite Starts Bentley Field Flow Tests

Xcite Tests Flow at Bentley Field

The Company announces that it has now successfully completed the final part of the 9/03b-7 & 7z well lateral well construction work programme at its Bentley Field, including installation of the smart completions equipment (enabling individual laterals to be flowed, co-mingled or shut-in), the installation of twin electrical submersible pumps (giving full redundancy) and a down hole safety valve.

The on-rig process and control packages have been fully commissioned and linked to the pipeline and in-field dynamically-positioned shuttle tanker, Scott Spirit.

The pre-production flow test operations on the 9/03b-7 (B6) lateral well were successfully commenced this morning and the well is currently being cleaned up. This flow test is not a headline flow rate test; it is a data gathering exercise.

The 9/03b-7 lateral well is planned to recover a minimum cumulative volume of 45,000 barrels of oil during the flow test period, to help ensure that the data gathering will be as effective as possible and will be used to calibrate the existing reservoir model and update the Reserves Assessment Report.

This flow test is planned to be up to 90 days in length and to be conducted at a range of different flow rates (specifically not 500 barrels per day for 90 days), to collect additional reservoir and production data, including data with respect to enhanced oil recovery. This data will be used to further increase the certainty with respect to the longer term oil, gas and water production profiles and recoverable reserves from the Bentley field.

Xcite Energy is 100% owner and operator of Block 9/3b, licence P.1078, containing the Bentley Field in its entirety. The block, which was awarded to XER in 2003 as part of the 21st UK Offshore Licensing Round, is located 160 km east of the Shetland Isles in 113 m of water.

Commenting on today’s announcement Steve Kew, Exploration and Development Director, said:

“We are very pleased with the production test work programme to date, with all major elements having been completed safely and competently. This is a significant step forward for the Company in proving its technical capabilities in the drilling of these wells with the multi-lateral smart completions that have been installed. The start-up of the production test has gone well and we shall continue to provide operational updates in due course.”

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Press Release, July 9, 2012