San Leon identifies large oil reserves in Durres

TIRANA, Jan. 17 – Europe and North Africa-focused oil and gas group, San Leon Energy has announced significant progress in its 100% owned Durresi License (4,208 km2) in Albania, in the form of the final processed volumes from its 840 km2 3D seismic survey. The Durresi license was granted to San Leon in February 2011 and the above survey carried out in late 2011. Initial results of the new interpretation of the data by the company’s Albania subsurface team, located in its Warsaw office, have identified several new large oil and gas prospects across the many petroleum systems that exist across the Durresi License.
Nonetheless, the same team is still in the process of integrating the new 3D seismic interpretation. To date the company says that it has identified numerous prospects and leads across the license with un-risked prospective recoverable resources of more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent across the proven petroleum systems.
Of particular interest, the firm has recently signed confidentiality agreements with several large exploration and production (E&P) companies regarding farming into the license; and continues to receive unsolicited interest from other large E&P companies. As a direct result of the above, San Leon has opened its data room early to select companies and has already recently been visited by several companies. ‘Data rooms’ is the name given to what are often physically enclosed spaces only inside of which a company allows potential buyers access to all of its confidential information, so that they may formulate a bid.
Plans to drill the first of a two well exploration program on the block are being made for late 2012/2013.
Oisin Fanning, chairman of San Leon said “We are very excited by the potential of the Durresi License and the interest that we are receiving from industry leading E&P companies to gain access to this high potential area. Albania is quickly becoming a core focus area for San Leon given the huge upside potential, lower risk exploration and the level of interest that we have received from leading E&P companies.”
In early 2011, Australia-based Beach Energy Limited (ASX: BPT, “Beach”) and its joint venture partner San Leon Energy (“San Leon”) launched a 840 square kilometre 3D seismic survey in the Durresi Block, offshore Albania. The Durresi block is situated on the proven Apulian Margin, which extends from Italy into Albania. Southern Albania contains a highly prolific petroleum system, including one of the largest onshore oil accumulations in Europe, the Patos-Marinza field, which is estimated to contain up to 5.7 billion barrels of original oil in place.