Central Petroleum Limited

Central Petroleum (ASX:CTP) : market capitalisation of ~A$60 million recently announced the successful flow testing at 380 barrels of oil per day via a 32/64" choke for its Surprise-1 Re-entry H well in the Amadeus Basin the Northern Territory. What were the background circumstances that led Central Petroleum to drill the well and conduct the flow testing?

Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) advises that further initial flow testing of the Surprise-1 Re-entry H (S1REH) well has finished after recording a sustained flow rate via a 32/64" choke of 380 bbls/day with a low 4.4% drilling fluid and/or water cut as previously announced.

Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) advises that further flow testing today of the Surprise-1 Re-entry H (S1REH) well has resulted in a c.20% increase in sustained flow rate via a 32/64" choke to 380 bbls/day with a low 4.4% drilling fluid and/or water cut-reduced from a previous average of 8%.

Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) ("Central" or the "Company") advises that initial flow testing of the Surprise-1 Re-entry H (S1REH) well has resulted in a maximum sustained flow rate via a 24/64" choke of 300 bbls/day with a low water cut. The oil flowed to date is a "light sweet crude" with an API Gravity averaging 40 Degrees. There is no evidence of Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S).

Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) advises shareholders that flow testing of the well is planned to commence late this week. A Measured Depth of approximately 2,854m with a True Vertical Depth of approximately 2,534m has been reached with approximately 230m of horizontal drilling in the target reservoir.

Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) advises shareholders that at 0600 this morning CST, the Surprise-1 Re-entry H well was drilling ahead horizontally at approximately 10 metres/hour at a Measured Depth of 2,630m and a True Vertical Depth (TVD) of 2,543m. Approximately 75m of horizontal well bore has been drilled.

Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) advises shareholders that a window has been successfully milled in the 7" casing and the angle building section of the well is proceeding. It is anticipated that the horizontal section will commence by Friday 23 December 2011 and be completed as a barefoot horizontal completion (uncased horizontal section) ready for evaluation by the end of the first week in January 2012.

Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) advises shareholders that due to the continuation of horizontal drilling and testing operations at Surprise 1 ST-1 the closing date for the Share Purchase Plan (SPP) has been extended to the 25th of January 2012.

Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) ("Central" or the "Company"), has pleasure in announcing that interpretation of electric logs, cuttings sampling, gas chromatography and coring to date has indicated a possible gross oil column in the Lower Stairway Sandstone of up to c.17m, with permeabilities ranging up to 420 Millidarcys measured in a 9m cored zone. Smaller hydrocarbon zones up to c.1m in the Middle Stairway Sandstone and up to c.2m in the Top Pacoota Sandstone have also been interpreted.

Central Petroleum Limited (ASX:CTP) has completed running electric logs at the Surprise-1 well and is in the process of utilising a Modular Formation Dynamics Tester (MDT) tool which measures formation pressures and samples reservoir fluids. The data obtained from these processes will help establish the fluid content and hydrocarbon saturation of the reservoir, and to an extent, the permeability and producibility of the reservoir. In addition, seismic check shots and rotary sidewall cores are planned to add to the database being used to assess the hydrocarbon content of the Surprise prospect.