Vancouver, British Columbia, January 29th, 2020. Newport Exploration Ltd (“Newport” or “the Company”) is pleased to provide an update on production and drilling activities on licenses in the Cooper Basin, Australia over which the Company has a 2.5% gross overriding royalty (“GOR”). This information was reported by Beach Energy Ltd (“Beach”) (ASX: BPT) in its FY2020 Second Quarter Activities Report dated 29th January, 2020.
Production
Beach report that their quarterly oil production from ex PEL 91 increased 16%, with ex PEL 91 reporting production of 1,556kboe, up from 1,337kboe in Q1.
Beach’s Western Flank gas liquids production from ex PEL’s 91/106 was 545kboe, 6% higher than the prior quarter as two high-liquids content Lowry wells were connected and facility reliability was maintained at greater than 99%.
Field work continues to support higher liquids production rates.
Drilling
Highlights of Beach’s drilling program include a 100% success rate from nine oil development wells across the Bauer, Kalladeina and Chiton fields in ex PEL 91. The wells comprised three vertical and six horizontal wells, including a horizontal well with the longest lateral length drilled by Beach in the Western Flank to date at 1,629 metres. At quarter-end, one horizontal well was drilling ahead.
At the Bauer Field in ex PEL 91, the Bauer Northwest-2 and -3 appraisal wells were cased and suspended as future producers. The results from these wells indicate a northerly extension of the Bauer Field. Utilizing production data from the wells, the potential for future appraisal and development drilling will be evaluated.
At the Arno Field in ex PEL 91, the Arno appraisal drilling campaign was completed with the Arno-3 well also being cased and suspended as a future producer.
Oil Price
Beach report that the average realized price of oil for the Quarter increased 3% to AUD$105.9/bbl.
Guidance
The Company receives its gross overriding royalty from Beach, which is not a reporting issuer in Canada, therefore Newport is not able to confirm if the disclosure satisfies the requirements of NI 51-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities, or other requirements of Canadian securities legislation.
The Company is unable to forecast potential productivity for each well and continues to strongly encourage shareholders and potential investors to access information released independently by Beach and Santos Ltd.
For further information contact:
Ian Rozier, Director and Chief Executive Officer
+1 604 685 6851
info@newport-exploration.com
www.newport-exploration.com
www.beachenergy.com.au
www.santos.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this news release.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
This news release is intended to provide readers with a reasonable basis for assessing the future performance of the Company. The words “believe”, “should”, “could”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “contemplate”, “target”, “plan”, “intends”, “continue”, “budget”, “estimate”, “may”, “will”, “schedule” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may pertain to assumptions regarding Beach’s drilling plans, the price of oil and fluctuations in currency markets (specifically the Australian dollar). Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, which are considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Factors include, but are not limited to, the risk of fluctuations in the assumed prices of oil, the risk of changes in government legislation including the risk of obtaining necessary licences and permits, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada, Australia or other countries in which the Company carries or may carry on business in the future, risks associated with developmental activities, the speculative nature of exploration and development, and assumed quantities or grades of reserves. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those acknowledged in such statements.
The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws.