VPC Venture Prod.

RNS Number:5958C
Venture Production PLC
22 August 2007


22 August 2007


                             VENTURE PRODUCTION plc


                       Gas Discovery and Drilling Update


Venture Production plc ("Venture" or "the Company"), the Aberdeen headquartered
UK independent oil and gas production company, today announces the results of
its recent drilling activities on the Channon gas exploration well, the Pilot
and Narwhal heavy oil appraisal wells and the Millburn oil appraisal well.


The Channon well (47/8c-4) (Venture operated - 54%) commenced drilling from the
Noble Julie Robertson jack-up rig on 4th June and reached a total measured depth
of 13,582 feet on 26th July. The well was designed to test two Rotliegend fault
blocks extending across Blocks 47/3h and 47/8c and gas was discovered in both.
Well log data indicates a gas column in excess of 215 feet TVD and net pay of
109 feet TVD and the well has tested gas at stabilised rates up to a gross rate
of 55 million cubic feet per day ("MMcfpd") on a 56/64th choke. The maximum flow
rate was limited by the test equipment and no formation water was produced
during the test. The well has been suspended for later completion as a producer.
Estimated recoverable reserves from the Channon reservoir are 30 to 40 billion
cubic feet ("Bcf") and initial production is expected to be around 35 MMcfpd,
both net to Venture. This is at the top end of pre-drill expectations.


Discovery of gas at Channon creates the potential for a joint development with
the Barbarossa Rotliegend gas discovery located in Block 47/9c (Venture operated
- 90%). Venture will earn its 90% interest in Barbarossa once an appraisal/
development well planned for early 2008 has been drilled by the Noble Julie
Robertson. Expected reserves from this low risk well are around 30 Bcf net to
Venture and the most likely development plan is a 5 km tie-back to the Mercury
gas field subsea manifold. In the success case the development will be
engineered to also tie in the newly discovered Channon field. If Barbarossa is
successful a combined development could be onstream in the fourth quarter of
2008 with initial production of around 70 MMcfpd, net to Venture.


Appraisal well results on the Pilot (Block 21/27a, Venture operated - 70.4%) and
Narwhal (Block 28/2a, Venture operated - 100%) heavy oil discoveries have now
been fully evaluated. Oil samples recovered from the Pilot well are somewhat
heavier and more viscous than those from previously drilled Pilot wells and this
new data will need to be incorporated into the viscosity model that had been
developed. Further work will now be carried out to better determine the extent
of the commercially recoverable oil. To the south of Pilot, the appraisal well
drilled adjacent to the Narwhal discovery failed to encounter hydrocarbons and
the well has been plugged and abandoned. The Narwhal discovery was included in
acreage that was awarded to Venture in the 23rd UKCS Licensing Round in 2005.


The appraisal well drilled on the Millburn (Block 22/22c, Venture operated -
70%) discovery encountered 12 feet of oil-bearing sandstone. However, this
relatively low level of productive reservoir is considered sub-economic and the
appraisal well has been plugged and abandoned.


Commenting on the news, Mike Wagstaff, Chief Executive said:


"I am pleased to be able to announce a successful gas well on Channon. The test
rates achieved and reservoir properties encountered mean that Channon is a
standalone commercial discovery. However, the prospect of a joint development
with Barbarossa which could potentially deliver incremental combined production
of around 70 million cubic feet per day net to Venture by late 2008 provides
additional upside potential.


"The drilling results in our heavy oil accumulations and Millburn are
disappointing but we will now re-examine the reservoir model on Pilot as the oil
in place volumes remain material. Our active 2007 drilling campaign continues
and we now look forward to the drilling results from the Selkirk appraisal well.


"As we head toward the winter gas season the hydraulic fracturing work on the
Chiswick development is progressing well and we have spudded the second
development well. We expect to have first gas on stream in September at rates of
around 55 to 60 million cubic feet per day, net to Venture."


                                      ENDS


Contact:

Mike Wagstaff, Chief Executive
Marie-Louise Clayton, Finance Director
Rod Begbie, Corporate Development Director                          01224 619000

Patrick Handley, Brunswick
Chris Blundell, Brunswick                                          020 7404 5959

John MacDonald, Weber Shandwick (Scottish Press)                    01224 806600



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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