Coastal Energy Company reports the successful results of the Bua Ban North A-03 exploration well.

The Bua Ban North A-03 well was drilled to 5,346 feet TVD and made a discovery in the Miocene interval. The well encountered 125 feet of net pay with 28% average porosity. The A-03 tested a fault block which is south of and deeper than the Miocene discoveries in the A-01 and A-04 wells. The Company estimates that this fault block contains approximately 20 million barrels of oil in place.

The Company plans to suspend the well and then complete it with a workover rig once the MOPU arrives on location in mid-May to begin production testing.

Randy Bartley, Chief Executive Officer of Coastal Energy, commented, "The A-03 well not only significantly increases the oil in place at Bua Ban North A, but reinforces the prospectivity of this part of the basin. Coastal has now discovered an estimated 55 million barrels of oil in place with four wells in less than two months.

"We are moving the rig to Bua Ban North B while the MOPU is being mobilized to Bua Ban North A. Not only will we begin testing further Miocene targets, but we will also test the highly prospective Oligocene and Eocene targets in the northern part of the basin. During this time, we will also be able to fully evaluate the data from the first four Bua Ban North A wells and formulate a larger scale field development plan, including horizontal wells."

Tags: Coastal Energy