National Petroleum Company announces positive test results for Muzhil 3

The Muzhil-3 well is the third in a series of offshore wells in the concession. NPC acquired SAZ, a 151-square-kilometer concession located on the eastern side of the Gulf of Suez, from British Petroleum (BP) in 2006 through Petzed, a wholly owned subsidiary of NPC.

Elaborating on these affirmative results, NPC Chairman, Salah Hafez stated,

"At a shallow water depth of 49 feet, Muzhil-3 encountered lower Miocene Nukhul sand formations of excellent reservoir quality with a porosity of 17% an API gravity of 24."

Further adding, "We tested an average daily production of 1,600 barrels from this location."

Muzhil-3 also presented encouraging oil and gas shows in the thick Eocene fractured carbonate layer, however, the company is awaiting further acid frac investigations in order to confirm the results of these highly fractured and vuggy formations.

The well also penetrated Nubia sandstone at a depth of 130 feet below the Matulla, a new discovery not just for the well, but for the entire concession. Nubia sandstone is considered to be among the best reservoirs in the Gulf of Suez based on production.

"This Nubia discovery is a new zone for us. It has a very high reservoir pressure of approximately 5,300 psi and a good productivity index. Initial tests were at 600 barrels per day due to the high gravity oil, which will require extensive pumping. However, our reservoir engineers predict that through the use of enhanced oil recovery methods, the output could potentially increase," commented Hafez.

Muzhil-3 is not the only star well in the SAZ concession. In June 2007, Muzhil-1 tested 900 bopd from the Nukhul and 1,000 bopd from the Matulla formation and in October 2007, Muzhil-2 tested 3,100 bopd from the Matulla formation.

Petzed is currently trying to hasten their production through the use of a drilling template on the creation of their platform, which will be ready in early 2009. Also, plans are currently underway to drill the company's fourth deviated well, Muzhil-4.