Magellan Petroleum Announces Drilling Report - Patron 1

Download as PDF

Pel 93 - Cooper Basin SA

HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Magellan Petroleum Corporation (NCM: MPET; ASX: MGN) ("Magellan") announced that its 100% owned subsidiary, Magellan Petroleum Australia Limited ("MPAL") advises the following drilling report.

The Patron 1 exploration well, the second well drilled under the PEL 93 farmin agreement in the Cooper Basin of South Australia, has been plugged and abandoned without encountering commercial hydrocarbons.

Patron 1 spudded on September 20 and was drilled to a total depth of 1,807 meters RT. A Drill Stem Test conducted over the interval 1,242-1,258 meters to test an oil show encountered during drilling in the Murta Formation recovered 1.5 barrels of rat hole mud and 6.2 barrels of muddy water. On reaching total depth, wireline logs were run which indicated no commercial hydrocarbons were present in the objective Eromanga or Cooper basin sections.

MPAL, entered into a farmin agreement with Stuart Petroleum, Cooper Energy and Red Sky Energy in July 2007, under which MPAL has the option to participate in exploration drilling in part of the PEL 93 area during the current term of the PEL 93 license. The Company funded 49% of the Patron 1 drilling costs; however, as no commercial hydrocarbons were discovered it earned no interest in the Patron 1 prospect.

    Magellan's next drilling activity will be in the Nockatunga area of the
Cooper Basin of southwest Queensland, where the Nockatunga joint venture plans
to drill the Burundi 1 near field exploration well in Petroleum Lease 33 and
the Maxwell 5 appraisal well in Petroleum Lease 50. Drilling is scheduled to
commence within the week, and the company will report when the first well
spuds.

    Patron 1 Details:

    Petroleum Title:     PEL 93, South Australia
    Location:            approximately 14.5 km south of the Worrior oil field
                         and 3.5 km northwest of the Padulla oil field
    Coordinates:         Latitude: 28 degrees 34' 04.8" South
    Longitude:           139 degrees 49' 18.4" East (GDA 94).
    Drilling Rig:        Century Rig 3
    Total Depth:         1801 meters RT
    Objectives:          Primary oil -- the McKinlay Member of the Murta
                         Formation and the Birkhead Formation.
                         Secondary gas -- the Patchawarra Formation and the
                         Epsilon Formation.
    Operations:          Patron 1 spudded on August 20 and 95/8" casing was
                         run and set at 670 meters. The well was then drilled
                         in 81/2" hole to a depth of 1,807 meters RT. A drill
                         stem test was conducted over the interval 1,242-1,258
                         meters in the Murta Formation. Wireline logs were run
                         which indicated no commercial hydrocarbons were
                         present. The well was plugged and abandoned, and the
                         rig released on October 2.
    Progress for Period: 518 meters.

    Participants in Patron 1 are:

      Magellan Petroleum Corporation                        24.5%    *
      Stuart Petroleum Limited (ASX: STU)(Operator)          36.0%
      Red Sky Energy Limited (ASX: ROG)                      24.5%   *
      Cooper Energy Limited (ASX: COE)                       15.0%

      (* subject to a commercial discovery)

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this release which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements about Magellan and MPAL may relate to their businesses and prospects, revenues, expenses, operating cash flows, and other matters that involve a number of uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Among these risks and uncertainties are the extent of the recoverable reserves at those properties and the risk that any wells drilled may fail to encounter hydrocarbons in commercially recoverable quantities. Any forward-looking information provided in this release should be considered with these factors in mind. Magellan assumes no obligation to update any forward- looking statements contained in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Magellan Petroleum Corporation

Released October 2, 2007