18 September 2007
Matra Petroleum plc ("Matra" or the "Company"): Russian Drilling Update
Matra Petroleum (AIM: MTA) announces that drilling on its Arkhangelovskoe -12 well in Russia is progressing well and in line with the prognosed schedule, having reached 3045m earlier this morning. An intermediate logging run will be made at 3100m prior to drilling into the target zones. These zones are expected to be encountered below 3200m with the Aphoneski expected at 3675m. (The Aphoneski formation was tested down-dip on the adjacent block and is the formation evaluated by Senergy and referred to in the background information below.)
Due to the extensive requirements for coring and testing over these intervals it may take up to a further 40 days to reach the total depth at 3900m when final logging will be conducted.
Matra has a 100% interest in the well and the Arkhangelovskoe License held through its Russian subsidiary "OOO" Arkhangelovskoe.
The information in this report that relates to technical matters has been compiled by Dr Neil Hodgson (BSc, Phd) Matra's Exploration Director a Petroleum Geologist with more than 20 years experience and who is a Fellow of the Geological Society and a Member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB) .
For further Information, please contact:
Matra Petroleum
www.matrapetroleum.com
Peter Hind, Managing Director +44 (0) 7990 807855
Neil Hodgson, Exploration Director +44 (0) 7973 342822
Aquila Financial Limited
www.aquila-financial.com
Peter Reilly +44 (0) 207 7202 2601
Yvonne Fraser +44 (0) 207 7202 2609
Matra's nominated Advisor is
RFC Corporate Finance Ltd
Contact: Steve Allen +61894802500
Background to Arkhangelovskoe – 12
Arkhangelovskoe – 12 is the first well to be drilled on the Arkhangelovskoe License and Matra's first well in Russia. (NB. The well name and number is designated by the local authorities and is in not indicative of previous drilling or ranking)
The well will test the Sokolovskoe structure which was the subject of an independent review by Senergy Ltd. (Senergy). The well is located up-dip from the 309 well (some 4 kms to the North and outside the Arkhangelovskoe License) which tested at 1850 BOPD.
Senergy were asked to study the data on one of the five potential reservoirs of the Sokolovskoe prospect and they concluded that there was an 80% chance of making a commercial oil discovery with the well and that there was a 40% chance of discovering the most likely estimate of 32 mmbbls of prospective recoverable resources.
Assuming an international oil price of US$ 50/bbl (current actual prices US$ 70-80/bbl) and a 10% discount rate Senergy assessed the Net Present Value to be US$ 93 million and the Estimated Monetary Value (EMV or risked pre-drill valuation) to be US$ 78 million.
This review did not consider the other 4 potential reservoirs or the other identified structures on the License.
In the event of a discovery, approval will be sought to allow test production at the same time as applying for a 25-year exploitation license over the discovery area. Initial production may be achieved within a few months of well completion via existing infrastructure.
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