Further to the announcement of 12 February 2024, Corcel Plc (London AIM: CRCL) provides an update on the testing of the TO-14 well in the onshore Block KON-11, in Angola, where it has a 20% working interest (18% net). The Operator is Sonangol, one of the largest hydrocarbon producers in Angola.

Operations Update:

Testing of the TO-14 well continues following significant weather and equipment related delays earlier in the year. Reactivation of the fractured carbonate reservoir has been challenging, however there is continued focus on engineering solutions to flow test the well from the most prospective zones identified during the drilling phase.   

Continued engineering work is being conducted to identify solutions to flow both TO-14 and the yet untested TO-13 well. The Operator is following through with the completion program for both wells with continual updates to the program based on new information obtained with progression of the engineering work. 

Additional activities are being progressed across the Corcel acreage in KON-11, KON-12, and KON-16. An eFTG survey (electromagnetic full-tensor gravity) acquisition is scheduled to begin by early May 2024. This data will be acquired over the 3 blocks in which the Company has an interest, and will provide a quasi-3D resolution of the structures across the area, which will aid in prospect identification and delineation.

Further updates on testing progress will be released in due course.  

About KON-11 and the Kwanza Basin:

As previously announced, KON-11 is considered a brownfield development and includes the historically producing Tobias field, drilled, and developed by Petrofina in the 1960s and 1970s, and inactive since the late 1990s.  The Tobias field comprised 12 historical vertical wells, and Corcel and the operator believe that a revised interpretation of the existing structures along with the application of modern drilling and completion technology, including potentially adding sidetracks or horizontal drilling to the Field Development Plan (“FDP”) will lead to a higher Original Oil in Place (“OOIP”) figure recognized in the reactivated field and subsequently more producible field resource potential.

The traditional Tobias field reservoir is in the Binga limestone, located at a depth of approximately 700m along the crest of the structure, with 4-14% primary rock porosity which is enhanced by an extensive, naturally fractured carbonate system.  Historic peak production at Tobias was 17,500 bbls/d with 29 MMbbls produced over the life of the field. 

Corcel’s estimated unproduced prospective oil resources are 65 MMbls with 11.7 MMbls net to Corcel.  The field will qualify for Marginal Field Fiscal Terms (including reduced royalty rates, decreased tax rates, and accelerated depreciation allowances), as outlined by the Angolan government, resulting in advantageous royalty, tax and depreciation regimes.