Empyrean has been advised by Krescent Energy, the operator of the Riverbend Project in Texas, that a drilling contract is now in place for the re-entry and drilling of the Quinn 3H well.

Krescent also advises that over the past weekend they have commenced mobilizing the rig to the drill site. It is anticipated that drilling will commence shortly after the rigging up operations are complete.

The Quinn 3H well is initially targeting the Austin Chalk "B" zone where Krescent has already encountered high pressure gas and significant gas influx during the first drilling attempt.

The newly contracted rig has higher pump capacity and pressure rating that is designed to drill in the high gas pressure environment and allow the partners to complete a lateral of desired length within the target zone prior to moving forward with completion operations.

A further announcement will be made when drilling commences.

Commenting today, Executive Director Tom Kelly said, "Empyrean is excited to be part of the Riverbend Project with Krescent and looks forward to the drilling operations commencing shortly."

Riverbend Project

The project area comprises a total of approximately 40,000 acres under lease or option and an area of mutual interest totaling 50,000 acres targeting the Austin Chalk and shallower Saratoga Chalk plays.

A first well has been drilled on the project - the Quinn 3H well which encountered multiple gas flares and shows in the primary target zone before hitting a very high pressure gas zone that ultimately resulted in a blowout. Krescent took remedial action and was able to plug the vertical section of the well but lost the final 1000 feet of horizontal. The plan moving forward is to re-enter this well with a rig with greater pump capacity, specifically designed to handle the higher gas pressures similar to those encountered during the first attempt, mill a new window, and drill up to an estimated 5000 foot horizontal lateral to complete the well in the Austin Chalk B zone. The well has a sales pipeline already connected and upon successful completion of the horizontal the well will be flow tested direct to sales.

The project comes with access to Krescent's 60 square miles of proprietary 3-D seismic coverage.