Nostra Terra elects to participate in sixth well

Nostra Terra, the AIM-listed oil and gas producer with assets in the USA, has elected to participate in its sixth well in the Chisholm Trail Prospect, an update issued by the group on Wednesday has shown.

The firm said that this represented further acceleration of the play and the beginning of Nostra Terra's participation with multiple operators across 21 potential locations, targeting the same geological formation as Gastar Exploration.

The sixth well is expected to be operated by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alta Mesaof Houston, Texas. Nostra Terra said that it had elected to participate in a net working interest of approximately 5.0% in the horizontal Hunton well.

Alta Mesa is a privately held company engaging in onshore oil and gas acquisition, exploitation and production.

Matt Lofgran, Chief Executive Officer of Nostra Terra, commented: "The strength of activity and quantifiable results in the play mean that we have decided to accelerate preparation of reserve estimates earlier than we had originally anticipated."

He added: "We plan to utilise the results to put a reserve-based lending facility in place which offers an attractive alternative to the use of more dilutive forms of financing as a foundation to further the growth of the company."

Alden McCall, Chief Operating Officer of Nostra Terra, added: "Because this play does not expose operators to either significant geological or drilling risks, the Horizontal Hunton play of Oklahoma is rising to the definition of a 'Resource Play', meaning that results are repeatable within statistical boundaries.

He added: "There have been no 'dry holes' or mechanical failures reported, and so we believe the largest remaining risk is one of economics. We and other operators are satisfied that the risk-adjusted economics are quite attractive."

Nostra Terra Oil & Gas' share price was up 1.04% to at 0.48p at 10:00 on Wednesday.

MF