announcement out

TO: The Manager, Company Announcements ASX Limited
CONTACT: John Heugh +61 8 9474 1444
SURPRISE-1 UPDATE (EP-115) OIL SHOWS LOWER STAIRWAY
Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) (?Central?), as Operator has pleasure in providing this drilling update for the Surprise-1 well.
At 0600 this morning CST, the well had reached 2,555m TVD RT (True Vertical Depth from Rotary Table).
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After encountering additional strong oil shows from 2542.8 ? 2546.2m, a core was cut from 2546.2 ? 2555.0m.
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The core recovered is still undergoing detailed analyses and will be sent to Weatherford laboratories in Brisbane to test for permeability, petrology, oil typing and saturation and other properties. Two zones of particular interest in the cored interval showed fracture permeability from 2547 - 2550m. and 2551m. ? 2554m. with light oil bleeding from the fractures with the remainder of the core appearing to have low permeability on initial review.
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Last night a RFT (Flow Rate Tester) was run in to the well to attempt to test three zones (one within the cored interval, (2547-2550m.), one just above the cored interval (2543m. to 2546m.) and one higher zone (2497.7m. to 2498.7m), for permeability, fluid content and pressure drawdown data with a view to recovering fluid samples to surface in the tool?s sampling chambers.
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Whilst tripping out of the well to pick up the core barrel, very light oil was swabbed in from a zone from 2498m. to 2499m. This zone is of interest for testing with the FRT.
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Further reports will be made when and if significant results come to hand.
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It is not possible to predict what fluid samples will be recovered if any or the possible commercial significance of results to date.
The Lower Stairway Sandstone is the first primary target in the well and it is hoped that the core will intersect further oil shows which may be pressure and/or flow tested later in the programme.
The top of the Stairway Sandstone had been interpreted at a TVD of 2,450m, some 131m higher than prognosed.
A summary of the Surprise-1 Prospect is as follows:
Prognosed Objectives: Stairway Sandstone (at 2581m KB) and Pacoota Sandstone (at 2694m KB) formations
Primary target size: 50 million bbls oil initially in place at ?high? estimate
Location: Longitude 23 degrees, 42 minutes 50.758 seconds South and Latitude 129 degrees 59 minutes 36.091 seconds East
Equity Interest: Frontier Oil & Gas Pty Ltd (a Central wholly owned subsidiary) (90% and Operator), Trident Energy Ltd (10%)
Should hydrocarbons be discovered, and the wireline logging results are positive, it is planned to evaluate the reservoir by conducting a flow test or tests.
Central will continue to update the market on Surprise-1 drilling operations as more significant information comes to hand.