re: risk vs reward I have been reviewing some dated news...

re: risk vs reward I have been reviewing some dated news releases from DNO (Norwegian oiler) about its Kurdistan drilling in Northern Iraq. Its "Tawke 1" well was spudded in November 2005 and subsequently struck a decent oil column. It was not until testing was completed in mid June that an estimate of the oil in place and potential reserves was finally made, and even then was only from one interval. Problems with the other intervals believed to be caused by formation damage (influx of mud, and cement behind the casing) prevented all intervals being tested.

What it says to me, is that even in a country where oil testing equipment etc would be in reasonable supply, they still took ages to evaluate the structure. On this basis I believe the delays in Uganda, a totally new oil province where infrastructure is poor and where geology and lithologies have not been explored, are not entirely surprising.

regards
DF