Central Petroleum Limited - Preliminary Gas Composition Results for Mt Kitty

Brisbane, Australia (ABN Newswire) - Central Petroleum Ltd. (ASX:CTP) (OTCMKTS:CPTLY) At a technical meeting held on May 6th, Santos Ltd. (STO), Operator of Amadeus Basin petroleum exploration licence EP 125, advised Central Petroleum Ltd. (CTP) of the preliminary results of compositional analyses undertaken on three gas samples collected from four flow tests conducted in the Mt Kitty 1 exploration well. However, results were found to be so disparate that they may not be representative of actual gas compositions in the reservoir.

Based on canister pressures, the sample collected in Flow Test 2 at a depth of 2156m is considered to be the most reliable. It recorded the following results, but contamination of even this sample with some extraneous nitrogen cannot be discounted.

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Mt Kitty      Flow Test 2 at 2156m
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61%               nitrogen
13%               methane
4%                ethane
11%               hydrogen
9%                helium
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Central CEO Richard Cottee said the results were positive but needed to be treated with caution.

"The presence of methane and higher hydrocarbons confirms the presence of a working petroleum system in the permit, and the presence of high value Helium is very encouraging. However, given the limitations inherent in the sampling technique employed, the commercial significance of the Mt Kitty 1 gas discovery is unable to be judged based on results recorded to date."

Santos has advised that it is sufficiently encouraged by results obtained to date to return to the Mt Kitty 1 well to complete logging and sampling operations curtailed by the rig incident previously announced. As operator, it is endeavoring to bring an alternate rig to site to complete operations, but results are unlikely to be known until the end of June.

Santos has recommended to the joint venture that exploration of the permit at large should be progressed with the acquisition of further 2D seismic, contingent upon Santos committing to entering phase 2 of the farm-in agreement.

About Central Petroleum Limited:

Central Petroleum (ASX:CTP) is an ASX listed junior exploration and production company operating what is regarded as the biggest package of prospective acreage in Australia.



Contact:

Central Petroleum Ltd.
Richard Cottee, Managing Director
T: +61-7-3181-3800
F: +61-7-3181-3855
Martin Debelle, Citadel
T: +61-2-9290-3033
M: +61-409-911-189
www.centralpetroleum.com.au