Sterling Resources Ltd. on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiary Sterling Resources Netherlands BV, report that operations commenced on the appraisal well on Block F17a in the Netherlands North Sea. The jack-up rig Maersk Resolute was put on contract on December 21, 2011 following weather related delays on the previous contract. Results of the well are expected around the end of January 2012.

F17-09 is Sterling's first well in the Netherlands and marks the initiation of the Company's offshore activities since entering the country just over a year ago, having received approval as an operator from the authorities in the post Macondo regulatory environment.

F17a is one of five blocks covering 1,550 square kilometers which are located 80 kilometers offshore in a water depth of 45 meters. The shallow horizons in these blocks contain four oil discoveries, with several wells which tested oil at flow rates of up to 4,800 barrels per day and API gravities in excess of 30 degrees. The accumulation in F17a, which is now being appraised, was originally discovered in 1982 by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) with well F17-03 and was successfully appraised with well F17-07 in 1984, which was also drilled by NAM.

"We are delighted to start our operations on a field that has the potential to contain commercial quantities of hydrocarbons from a number of structures in close proximity," stated Stephen Birrell, Sterling's Vice President and General Manager Netherlands and France. "This well is intended to define the extent of the oil accumulation discovered 29 years ago. We have already initiated conceptual development design work for an offshore production system should this well and others in the area prove to be successful," added Mr. Birrell.

Sterling Resources Netherlands BV as operator, holds a 25 percent interest in the shallow geological horizons of four blocks (F14, F16, F17a, F18) in the F-Quad and L01b in the L-Quad, with Petro Ventures Netherlands B.V. holding 25 percent, Grove Energy Limited (a subsidiary of Enquest PLC) holding 10 percent and Energie Beheer Nederland BV (EBN) holding 40 percent.

Tags: Sterling Resources