- Drilling operations for 100% owned Strata-X 19B-1 well on the 1,173,000 acre Serowe CSG Project have commenced.
- Currently drilling to approximately 370 metres for surface casing to be set and cemented.
- After surface casing is in position, drilling operation will continue to targeted bright coals.
- Appraisal wells will be the first to drill and flow test bright and gas saturated coals within Strata-X’s interpreted high graded area.
DENVER and BRISBANE, Australia and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The directors and management of Strata-X Energy Ltd. (“Strata-X” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:SXE) (ASX:SXA) are pleased to announce that drilling operations for the 100% owned 19B-1 well have commenced. The 19B-1 rig contractor, Danos Drilling of Gabarone, Botswana, is drilling ahead to 370 metres where surface casing will be set and cemented into place. After surface casing is in place, drilling will continue to the targeted bright coals with an expected total depth for the well of 480 metres.
Following the Company’s internal interpretation of historical coal cores, drilling and geophysical data in Botswana last year, Strata-X has interpreted a high graded area where the upper stratigraphic section contains multiple high gas saturates in bright coal seams that are highly prospective for commercial CSG. Since then, the Company had increased its tenement holdings and now owns a 100% interest in approximately 320,000 acres within the high graded area of the Serowe CSG Project.
Once the well has reached its planned total depth, the Company will log the well using traditional wireline methods along with a state-of-the-art Borehole Magnetic Resonance (BMR) logging program which, once calibrated and processed, may be used to estimate the gas content and permeability of the target coals. To calibrate the BMR logging, SXE's 19B-1 well is being drilled approximately 2.5 km from a fully-cored well that was drilled in 2003 by the Government of Botswana and intersected bright coals with gas saturations up to 100%.
Strata-X believes that successful calibration of the BMR logging method for the target coals will not only reduce the number of expensive fully-cored drill holes traditionally required for future reserve upgrades but save months of laboratory time required to estimate gas saturations after each core hole, thereby potentially allowing the Company to fast track those reserves.
Once logging is completed, the operations plan is to suspend the SXE 19B-1 well until long term (3-6 months) production testing can commence later this quarter. If the results from SXE's 19B-1 well are sufficiently positive, the Company may consider expanding the drilling program to a pilot program and include the optional second well in that pilot.
The Company holds 4,784 km2 (1,173,000 acres) over the Serowe CSG Project with a certified Prospective Resource of 3.3 TCF.(1) ASX disclosure note - 5.28.2 - The estimated quantities of petroleum that may potentially be recovered by the application of a future development project(s) relate to undiscovered accumulations. These estimates have both an associated risk of discovery and a risk of development. Further exploration appraisal and evaluation is required to determine the existence of a significant quantity of potentially moveable hydrocarbons.
| (1) | Prospective Resources figures are from an audit report prepared by MHA Petroleum Consultant, a qualified reserves auditor, dated and effective 26 March 2018 following their audit in accordance with the COGE Handbook of the available technical data including the geological interpretation, information from relevant nearby wells, analogous reservoirs and the proposed program for the Project, prepared and presented to MHA by Strata-X. Prospective Resources are those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development project. Prospective Resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development. A high level of uncertainty exists with the Prospective resources given the lack of historical drilling, available data and other productivity factors that limit the economic viability of coal seam gas deposits. The Report reviewed only Prospective Resources as the project is not sufficiently developed to assign Contingent Resources or additional Petroleum Reserves to it. Stated Prospective Resource figures are Best Estimate – undiscovered natural gas quantities and net of a royalty and are shown at a 100% working interest in the Project. The total costs associated with establishing the commerciality of this project are unknown at this time given the early stage of the Project’s development. There is no certainty that any portion of the resources will be discovered, if discovered, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources. |
About Strata-X
Strata-X is a Denver, Colorado (USA) based company and is engaged in the business of oil and gas exploration and development with a variety of exploration opportunities in the States of California and Illinois in the United States of America and the Republic of Botswana. Strata-X has 81,201,984 common shares outstanding and trades under the symbol "SXE" on the TSX-V and "SXA" on the ASX.
For further information please contact:
Tim Hoops (USA)
President
+1 855-463-2400
info@strata-x.com
This announcement was made in Canada for the TSX.V and in Australia for the ASX.
Public documents for Strata-X Energy Ltd. can be found at SEDAR (Canada) (www.sedar.com) and ASX.com.au (Australia).
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance, including but not limited to, the completion and size of the Placement, receipt of regulatory approvals and timing thereof, the Corporation’s business strategies and plans for the use of such Placement proceeds, capital expenditure programs and estimates relating to timing and costs, and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions, including, but not limited to the timing and receipt of necessary regulatory approvals and third party approvals and completion of the Placement and stability of general economic and financial market conditions. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", 'may", "will", "project", "should", 'believe", and similar expressions is intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties , including imprecision in estimate capital expenditures and operating expenses, stock market volatility, general economic and business conditions in North America and globally, risks associated with liquidity and capital resource requirements, that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected and the forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. See also "Risks Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Those factors are not, and should not be construed as being exhaustive. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required under applicable securities legislation. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell securities and the Company is not soliciting an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.