Niko Says its Hazira Alpha Platform En Route to India

Niko Resources

Niko Resources reports that the Hazira "Alpha" Platform sailed for India Friday, January 30, 2004 from the construction yard in Laem Chabang, Thailand and is expected to arrive in India prior to March 1, 2004.

The Precision 703 drilling rig, which was specifically designed for the platform, sailed from Vancouver, Canada on January 29, 2004 and will be put on deck in March 2004.

The Company is the operator and holds a 33.33 percent working interest in the Hazira natural gas field. The field, which covers an area of 50 square kilometres, lies adjacent to a large industrial corridor about 25 kilometres southwest of the city of Surat. There are 21 wells on production. Field production during the last fiscal year averaged 105 mmcf per day gross (35 mmcf per day net), compared to 60 mmcf per day gross (20 mmcf per day net) in 2002 and is currently producing between 130 and 140 mmcf per day gross (43 mmcf per day net).

The majority of the field lies offshore in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Cambay. The eastern half of the field is accessed by a causeway extending 1.5 kilometers into the Gulf of Cambay to the Land Based Drilling Platform (LBDP). The drilling on the LBDP was completed in fiscal 2003. There are three vertical and 13 deviated wells on the LBDP. All are completed and tied back to the gas processing facilities located on land by two 12-inch pipelines. The rest of the field will be drilled from an offshore platform. The Company awarded the tender for engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) of the offshore production platform for Phase II development of Hazira to Clough Engineering of Australia in December 2002. Production is expected to start during the first quarter of 2004. The oil zone discovered on the last appraisal well will be evaluated through the initial gas wells to be drilled from the platform. Space has been set aside on the platform to provide for future oil production.

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