HDR – Don’t be afraid of the Sand-man , page-19

re: HDR �E Don’t be afraid of the Sand-man From todays Age & West Australian. Good publicity.


Oil and gas strikes fire market activity
By Michael Weir
Perth
September 4 2002

A flurry of positive exploration results from oil and gas companies had a mixed effect on investors yesterday.

Unlisted Strike Oil struck gas at the Casino-1 well in the Otway Basin, off the Victorian coast, sending shares in its major shareholder, Perilya, up five cents to 87 cents.

The first production test result from the Chinguetti-4-2 well off the coast of Mauritania saw operator Woodside Petroleum rise seven cents to $13.14 while Hardman Resources fell one cent to 81 cents and minor partner Roc Oil jumped six cents to $1.46.

Adelaide-based Beach Petroleum was up half a cent at 36.5 cents after a wildcat oil discovery in the Cooper Basin.

Strike and Santos, which each have a 50 per cent interest in Casino-1, yesterday reported that the Ocean Bounty semi-submersible rig had drilled to 1792 metres and had gas indications over a 49-metre interval.



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The initial production test from the Chinguetti-4-2 well struck a technical problem, but Hogan & Partners resources analyst Adam Conigliaro said the result was still positive.

The test flowed at a maximum rate of 1560 barrels of oil and 650 million cubic feet a day of gas through a 30/64 inch choke. The flow was lower than expected because sand flowed into the pipes from the reservoir, but Mr Conigliaro said the problem could be overcome during production.

The market is expecting a field with more than 110 million barrels of oil.