NEWS BULLETIN

June 02, 2015 --- Vol. 21, No. 23June 2015

Repsol pleased with drilling results

Repsol E&P USA Inc. is touting "better-than-expected" results from its recent North Slope exploration campaign but continues to hold off on a development decision.

The subsidiary of the Spanish supermajor reported "positive" results from the Qugruk No. 8 and Qugruk No. 301 wells drilled this past winter in the Colville River Delta.

Repsol has already committed to conducting a fifth exploration season on its North Slope acreage this coming winter and says it has begun permitting a development "in the Nanushuk and Alpine areas." Yet the company hasn't sanctioned a development in Alaska and has said the decision will likely come next year. "We are very satisfied with the latest results from Alaska," Executive Vice President of Exploration and Production Luis Cabra said in a statement. "The positive news from this year's exploration campaign, combined with the recent changes in the state's tax structure, make Alaska a compelling area to continue to invest and generate the potential for development."

Through four previous seasons, Repsol has drilled 16 "positive" wells and sidetracks, according to the company. This year, Qugruk 8 flowed 30-degree API gravity crude at rates up to 2,160 barrels per day and the horizontal Qugruk 301 yielded rates as high as 4,600 bpd. Those are the first productions rates released from the program to date.

Those results, "added to the positive results from previous campaigns, confirm the significant development potential of the area," the company said in its statement.

Repsol has been conducting the exploration program on behalf of a three-company joint venture. Repsol holds a 70 percent working interest. The Armstrong Oil and Gas subsidiary 70 & 48 LLC holds a 22.5 percent interest and the Colorado-based independent GMT Exploration Company LLC holds the remaining 7.5 percent interest.

- ERIC LIDJI

See story in June 7 issue, available online Friday, June 5, at www.PetroleumNews.com.


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