COPLEX TO EXPLORE BIG BLOCK IN NORTH CENTRAL COLOMBIA

July 31, 1995
Colombia has awarded an association contract for a large tract near Venezuela in southern Maracaibo basin to a unit of Coplex Resources NL, Hobart, Tasmania (42548 bytes) . The agreement calls for contractor Coplex Colombia Ltd. to acquire 50 km of seismic data and drill two stratigraphic tests in the Los Toches contract area in the first 2 years of a 6 year exploration term. Coplex after the first 2 years may relinquish the area or continue into years 3 and 4 of the exploration phase by

Colombia has awarded an association contract for a large tract near Venezuela in southern Maracaibo basin to a unit of Coplex Resources NL, Hobart, Tasmania (42548 bytes).

The agreement calls for contractor Coplex Colombia Ltd. to acquire 50 km of seismic data and drill two stratigraphic tests in the Los Toches contract area in the first 2 years of a 6 year exploration term. Coplex after the first 2 years may relinquish the area or continue into years 3 and 4 of the exploration phase by drilling a well in each year.

Coplex also operates Colombia's Rubiales and Piriri license areas.

Coplex Colombia's Los Toches association contract reserves a 20% royalty interest for Colombia and sets a 44.5% tax rate on the company's profits. If a discovery on the tract is declared commercial, state owned Ecopetrol may back in for a 50% interest by paying half of all costs incurred by Coplex.

The Los Toches area covers 123,800 acres in North Central Colombia's Catatumbo subbasin where a unit of Amoco Corp. in the 1980s drilled the 1 Cerrito wildcat to test the Zulima prospect. The well flowed more than 5.7 MMcfd of gas from an undisclosed depth on the crest of the La Luna formation.

OIL PROSPECTS

Coplex said Amoco's well indicated a possible downdip oil leg.

The main export pipeline from Occidental Corp.'s 1 billion bbl Cano Limon oil field crosses the Los Toches area and has spare capacity. So if Coplex establishes production on the tract, early export would be possible.

Seismic surveys in the area, conducted periodically during 1964-88, defined two prospects. La Luna's areal closure at the 1 Cerrito site has been mapped at 4,000 acres. The area of a second structure, the Tonchala prospect, covers about 6,500 acres.

Coplex said because the Los Toches area lies updip on the southern flank of the Maracaibo basin, it is a focal point of oil migration from the basin. Occurrences of large oil fields just north of the contract area confirm the presence of source, reservoir, and seal.

Operators on the Colombian side of the Catatumbo subbasin have produced about 428 million bbl of oil, mostly from Rio Zulia, Carbonera, and Tibu fields. Fields in the Venezuelan portion of the subbasin have produced more than 35 billion bbl of oil.

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