Below is an extract (17th Feb 2010)from Transatlantic ( operator) on the Edirne gas field which Otto hold a 35% share in.
Thrace Basin In the Thrace Basin, the Company is very near completion of the gathering system and facilities necessary to begin selling natural gas from its discoveries in the Edirne gas field. Weather has been the principal factor in the delay of project. Heavy rains and snows have made roads in the field impassable for extended periods of time and interfered with construction over the past 90 days. The facilities are now largely complete, with the gating item being tying the system into the Botas pipeline. As soon as ground conditions permit, the Company will complete the interconnection. Once the lines are connected, gas sales should commence within a week to 10 days. While the timeline is largely dependent upon the weather, the Company now expects to commence gas sales by early March. "Getting the system on line is critically important to us. We are confident that we are very near that point. We are also confident that once we get production on line, we will build on that production throughout the year," Mr. Mitchell said.
In mid-January, the Company resumed drilling at Edirne and recently spud its third well (Yolboyu-1) of the current drilling campaign of five to seven wells. The Yolboyu-1 is a 6,500 foot exploratory well targeting deeper gas potential to the south of the existing 3D seismic survey. The first (Kumluk-1) and second (Kartal-1) wells have been logged and cased, with logs indicating expected net pay. These wells will be completed as a group with the other wells the Company is drilling in the current campaign.
On the western portion of the Edirne license the Company acquired an additional 81 square kilometers of 3D seismic and has begun to evaluate that data. "We expect our recent seismic shoot to result in the identification of a number of additional high quality prospects similar to the prospects from the initial 3D survey, where we have drilled with a 100% success rate," Mr. Mitchell said.
There is alot more info on their web site regarding Edirne Gas and is well worth a read.
The Tertiary Thrace Basin is located in the European part of Turkey, to the west of Istanbul and the Sea of Marmara. The Thrace Basin is the largest and thickest Tertiary sedimentary in onshore Turkey and is the country's most productive onshore gas province.
The Thrace gas field will be TransAtlantic's second producing asset. Turkey's relatively high gas prices, established infrastructure, good quality reservoirs, and low cost drilling generate excellent economics for Thrace's shallow plays. The Company has an excellent in-country technical team and local knowledge. Thrace is proceeding to commercialization and is anticipated to be online in Q1:10.
Three wells were drilled by the JV in 2006 by former owner Incremental Petroleum, Otto Energy, and Petraco, of which two were gas discoveries. 3D seismic was acquired over the central part of the license in mid 2007, which identified potential gas bearing structures. Post 3D, five more exploration wells were drilled and all were successful.
The Company has a very active drilling program for Thrace over the next 2.5 years. For the most recent information regarding Thrace gas field, please download TransAtlantic's investor presentation. For photos of Thrace gas field, please visit the gallery.
And Their Approach. Approach
Development Maximizing returns by reducing drilling and operating costs Pursue projects that will permit development from existing cash flow, without the need to tie up excessive capital "building reserves" Exploration Prioritizing opportunities, balancing risk with reward and near-term with longer-term projects, resulting in advancing projects with asymmetric upside Working to reduce costs by utilizing the Company's own equipment, planning for "scale," and partnering out risk Joint Venture Opportunities Seek to lower risk and accelerate activity Expand TransAtlantic's opportunities Goal Create a fully funded, international, vertically integrated E&P company
It is also interesting to note our joint venture partner also has its own drilling rig and technical teams on site.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY Malone Mitchell is bringing a little West Texas twang to the oil fields of Turkey.
TransAtlantic Petroleum, which he controls, last year acquired 27 producing wells in fields near the Iraqi and Syrian borders in southeastern Turkey.
The wells produce 1,600 barrels a day, a trickle by Texas standards, but enough to make TransAtlantic one of Turkey's largest producers. Mitchell plans 30 more wells next year, topping 100 by 2011.
I wrote about Mitchell five years ago, when his company, Riata Energy, was leading a resurgence of the West Texas oil patch. Riata had interests in both exploration and oil field services. Mitchell sold his controlling interest and bought a 60 percent stake in TransAtlantic to adapt the same strategy internationally.
We really thought a better opportunity would be to go international and try to replicate what we did, Mitchell said from TransAtlantic's headquarters in Turkey, his West Texas accent still strong as ever.
The next wave Oil companies, of course, have been focusing overseas for years as U.S. reserves play out.
TransAtlantic, though, may represent the next wave, as smaller companies find more lucrative drilling abroad.
Mitchell, a billionaire who made the Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans this year, serves as TransAtlantic's chairman. He's betting he can bolster production from Turkey's under-drilled fields using seismic technology and other enhanced recovery techniques developed in the U.S.
Not exactly hot spots TransAtlantic, which trades over the counter and on the Toronto Stock Exchange, holds about 9 million acres in Turkey, Morocco and Romania, countries that aren't typically considered hot oil and natural gas plays.
Turkey produces only about 3 percent of the oil and natural gas it consumes, leaving it dependent on Russia and Iran to meet its domestic demand. Yet its domestic drilling remains modest. Only 100 wells were drilled in the nation last year.
As a result, TransAtlantic gets a higher price for its production than it would in the states. It sells its natural gas, for example, for about $8.50 per million British thermal units, Mitchell said, compared with a U.S. spot market price of $4.595 as of Friday.
The biggest impediment to new drilling in Turkey is the expense for services. Well logging, for example, costs about 16 times what it does for his private company drilling in Oklahoma, Mitchell said.
It's a real chicken-or-egg situation, he said. Costs are high because there's not much activity, and there's not much activity because costs are high.
His own equipment That's why TransAtlantic is building its own rigs and equipment and importing them. In West Texas, Mitchell's drilling company augmented his exploration business and became one of the largest private drillers in the U.S.
That's the key to the success behind TransAtlantic, said Neal Dingmann with Wunderlich Securities in Houston.
By bringing in his own equipment, Mitchell is keeping drilling costs down, he said.
Mitchell also is concentrating on wells with lower production that wouldn't be economical for a major oil company with higher overhead. Most of TransAtlantic's wells will probably produce 200 to 300 barrels a day, he said.
Many international exploration companies are typically chasing elephants, said Michael Bodino, an analyst with SMH Capital in Dallas who follows TransAtlantic.
Offsetting the risks The company's higher-risk exploration is offset by less risky development projects, he said.
Many of TransAtlantic's existing wells are spaced far enough apart that new wells can be completed between producing ones.
Though the company isn't making money yet, Mitchell believes his strategy will pay off in Turkey, just as it did in his home state.
Working in Turkey to me is like working in Texas, he said.
It's the same business, but with a different accent.
It would seem that Otto's Edirne Gas operator is on the ball,- there is alot of information on this area at the Transatlantic web site and as a Otto shareholder it would seem that a lot more information could be put on Otto's web site about Edirne. However, hopefully, Otto are busy frying bigger fish at the moment, so after researching this I've posted it so shareholders that may be aware and search out what they need to know. It is also stated that Our JV is the first Gas producer to be granted a Wholesale Gas license which means we can choose who we sell gas to and at the best price!
IMO DYOR
OEL Price at posting:
10.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
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