Salamander declared a reserves upgrade to the Bualuang oil field and the commencement of its drilling program in the B8/38 license, Gulf of Thailand. Salamander is operator and holds a 100% interest in the B8/38 license.

Bualuang Field Reserves Upgrade Following analysis of the performance of the Bualuang field and modeling of the individual wells, Salamander has revised its estimates of recoverable reserves attributable to the field. As part of its year-end reserves assessment, the Group has commissioned an independent reserves audit of the Bualuang oil field.

Commencement of B8/38 Drilling Program The B8/38 license contains both the Bualuang oil field as well as a number of prospects and a drilling campaign is planned to both further develop the field as well as test the exploration potential. The Ocean Sovereign jack up rig has been contracted until the end of June 2011 for the drilling campaign.

At the request of the Department of Minerals and Fuels in Thailand, the Group has agreed to accelerate development drilling on the field. The rig is currently on location at the Bualuang Well Head Platform preparing to spud the first well in a program of six development wells. This current phase of development drilling is forecast to result in an increase in average daily production rate from 8,200 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") in 2010 to 11,000 bopd for the current year.

James Menzies, Chief Executive of Salamander, commented, "We are pleased to be able to report a further material reserves upgrade for the Bualuang field. As operator, we have taken a major step forward in our understanding of the asset and in our ability to predict reservoir behaviour. Through continued, optimized development we plan to deliver 15,000 bopd in 2013 from this field alone."

Tags: Salamander Energy