www.meridianpetroleum.com

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200909240700095757Z.html
http://www.meridianpetroleum.com/admin/News/Docs/2008%20Results.pdf

http://www.meridianpetroleum.com/admin/News/Docs/Operations%20Update%20March%2009.pdf

http://www.oilbarrel.com/news/display_news/article/conference-report-2-petroceltic-international-targets-multi-tcf-resource-in-algeria-meridian-petro/771.html



Producing Oil/nat gas from the ELV field/USA....45% of Oil/Gas produced hedged at $100/bbl and $10.90 per mcf)

http://www.oilbarrel.com/fileadmin/content/pdfs/oilbarrel/presentations/merid%20pres.pdf


Drilling ELV.....Suspended until gain consent for sidetrack...casing and wellhead left in for future re entry

3D Seismics have been shot on PEL82 Otway Basin Australia....results are excellant!
PEL 82 Potential resource increased from 150mbbls Oil tooooooo 430mbbls Oil!



Also trading on Plusmarkets
http://www.plusmarketsgroup.com/data.shtml?ISIN=GB00B3DDP128/GBX/PLUS-exn

TD achieved and dry....bugger!!.....ELV next up to the plate..

SP settled and slowly rising again ahead of seismic results.

Nice 10% gain today

Up another 13% today so far....re rating continues.

Another mark up due.

While Petroceltic is on the hunt for hydrocarbons in Algeria, Meridian Petroleum is on the acquisition trail. The AIM company, which focuses on North America and Australia, listed in 2004, brought its first significant production on-stream in 2007 and reported a maiden profit the following year. That producing field, the Orion sour gas field in Michigan, has served Meridian well, with a US$4 million investment in a sulfa-treat plant enabling the company to drain an otherwise abandoned deposit. At its peak last summer, Orion was producing 6 million cubic feet per day but it is now in decline, flowing around 2 million cf/d, and should cease production in the fourth quarter of this year.

Efforts to find an Orion look-alike came to naught when the Pontiac well came in dry, leaving rather a space in the portfolio. The company has already taken steps to plug this gap, spending US$10 million last year on the East Lake Verret field in Louisiana. It was critical to our business to get another asset online because we were dependent on just one well and that made us vulnerable if it came offline, explained Gutteridge.

East Lake Verret is home to six producing wells that provide net production of 1 million cf/d of gas and around 50 bpd of oil. The 2P reserve number is 1 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which only 30 per cent is currently in production, providing substantial low risk upside. Meridian plans to get after this upside, with a two to three well programme on the books this year to bring onstream another 500,000 boe, which should lead to a 50 per cent increase in production by the end of the year. This would take output to 1.5 million cf/d and 75 bpd but could be higher if partner negotiations see Meridian take on a bigger slug of the drilling costs and thus eventual production.

The company is also looking for other acquisitions and has a US$35 million war chest courtesy of a US$50 million debt facility. We prefer onshore, and we want to buy proven production with low risk upside, said Gutteridge, who has pushed for six deals this year, none of which have come off. I must be acquiring a reputation as a perennial under-bidder, he said None of those assets have been sold, however, which shows there is a bit of gap to close between buyer and seller aspirations.

Meridian also has a collection of exploration assets in South Australia. These include the Delores gas prospect in PEL 132 in the Arrowie Basin and three 50 million barrel prospects in PEL82 in the Otway Basin. The company isnt allowed to use its debt facility for exploration purposes, which means that drilling on these licences will involve farm-outs or a partial sale of Australian operating company.

The prospective resources in Australia are large enough to attract attention, said Gutteridge, pointing to a possible 226 million barrels of oil equivalent resource.


http://www.oilbarrel.com/news/display_news/article/conference-report-2-petroceltic-international-targets-multi-tcf-resource-in-algeria-meridian-petro/771.html

Not going to take many more buys before a tick up.

Small tick up this morning...not long till 3D results on PEL82

RNS Number : 8473S
Meridian Petroleum PLC
27 May 2009

MERIDIAN PETROLEUM plc

('Meridian' or 'the Company')

Change of Adviser

Meridian Petroleum (AIM : MRP), the oil and gas exploration and production company with producing assets in the USA and exploration licences in Australia, is pleased to announce the appointment, with immediate effect, of Evolution Securities Limited as Nominated Adviser and Broker.

Chav, this is now a new beginning. Watch carefully imho. Things will now get interesting.

Evolution can be/has been slow however I do believe we are arriving at the finished article with this animal.

More sells than buys this Morning and the sp is up 9%...large buy order being filled?....3D results leaking?..

sp up a bit this morning again despite large sells yesterday.

chav, seems it was wins trying to squeeze. Hasn`t fallen back much though. Would expect an update before the AGM ON 18TH

Current Gross Monthly Income (approx)

ELV............................$334,400
Orion..........................$195,800

Total..........................$530,200

AGM Thursday should have some fresh news regarding PEL 82,ELV spud date, etc....maybe RNS tomorrow to provide some talking points at the AGM on Thursday.

RNS Number : 0860U
Meridian Petroleum PLC
18 June 2009

Thursday, 18 June 2009

MERIDIAN PETROLEUM plc

('Meridian' or 'the Company')

Operations Update

Meridian Petroleum (AIM : MRP), the oil and gas exploration and production company with producing assets in the USA and exploration licences in Australia, announces an update on the Company's current activities.

Development Update

East Lake Verret ('ELV'), Louisiana, USA

As previously announced, the latest Competent Person Report on ELV by DOR Engineering (as at 1 January 2009) showed Total Proved Reserves of 2.629 bcf of natural gas and 360,000 bbls of oil. Over 60% of these proved reserves are currently undeveloped and, over the remainder of this year, the Company plans to implement a drilling programme to bring a substantial proportion of these reserves on-stream. Two wells have already been identified (McKerall B-9 and McKerall 1 sidetrack) and further locations are being evaluated

McKerall B-9 Well

The primary target for the McKerall B-9 well is proven undeveloped ('PUD'), gross natural gas reserves of 3-5 bcf in two potential producing zones at depths of around 11,000 feet. Our evaluation has also highlighted substantial possible oil reserves both at this depth and at around 10,400 feet.

In order to drill the well, a new drilling and production unit needed to be formed, and this was submitted at a State of Louisiana public hearing on 28 May 2009, with approval expected shortly. Meridian will be the operator for the well, with an initial 23% working interest, and will shortly be requesting partner approval of drilling expenditure of just under US$3 million. Partners have 30 days to confirm their approval and if any partners decide not to consent the Company will increase its working interest, potentially to over 50%.

The McKerall B-9 well is considered to be the most attractive PUD location at ELV, with initial gross production potential assessed at over 3 mmcfd. The Company is already planning for completion of the well and production through the existing ELV processing facility. Completion costs are currently estimated at around US$2.8 million. At the increased working interest level, Meridian's total expenditure is estimated at some US$3 million and the Company is currently in discussion with Macquarie Bank on the optimum approach for funding the well.

McKerall 1 Sidetrack

The McKerall 1 well is currently producing around 20 barrels of oil per day ('bopd') and 125,000 cfd of natural gas. Meridian has a 45% working interest in the well. Gross reserves currently in production are less than 15,000 bbls of oil and minimal quantities of gas, but the sidetrack of the well is intended to access significant, up-dip PUD oil reserves which should be producible at a higher rate with less water.

In order to drill the sidetrack, the existing well will be permanently abandoned and this decision will require 100% approval from existing partners, which cannot be guaranteed. The Company is currently in discussion with partners to obtain this approval, or alternatively to acquire their interests, and if we can achieve full agreement in a timely manner, there is the potential to drill the well immediately following on from McKerall B-9, which would result in considerable savings on rig mobilisation costs.

Australia

The Company has received initial feedback on the processing of the 3D seismic data on PEL 82. Data processing remains on schedule for completion by the end of June and very detailed processing is currently being undertaken to filter out any 'noise' around the data and ensure a high quality end product. Initial interpretation will begin shortly and will continue through July. Processing so far has revealed a significant improvement in the amount of workable data at target depths compared to the old 2D data, which will enable better mapping of the potential reservoir structures and clearer identification of other features such as fault trends.

Although it is too early to judge the outcome of the 3D interpretation, a number of potential drilling partners have now been contacted, opening up the opportunity for more detailed discussions once the fully interpreted 3D data is available in the third quarter.

Production Update

ELV, Louisiana, USA

The strong March production at ELV, highlighted in the previous update, has continued through April and May with net gas production of 33.4 mmcf and 33.8 mmcf respectively. Net oil production was 1,327 bbls in April and 1,325 bbls in May.

Average daily rates of production were 230 and 224 barrels of oil equivalent per day ('boepd') in April and May respectively. In terms of net production, ELV has been the Company's largest producing asset since March 2009 but, with much lower costs than the sour gas Orion field, it has been the Company's major cash generator since before the end of 2008.


The average gas price received for ELV production over the April/May period was US$3.70/mcf.

The Company's hedging contracts delivered profits of US$268,000 in April and US$175,000 in May.

Orion 36 Well, Michigan, USA


Average gross daily gas production was 1.72 mmcfd in May and has averaged 1.55 mmcfd so far in June.

Net production to Meridian in May (based on a Net Revenue Interest of 54.589%) was 29.1 mmcf of gas and 977 bbls of liquids. This equates to a production rate of 188 boepd.

Current flowing well-head pressure is in the range of 140-145 psi. Since production start-up in August 2007, Orion has produced 2.17 bcf of gas up to the end of May 2009, 90% of projected recoverable reserves, and both production levels and well-head pressures have performed almost exactly in line with the independent projections of RPS Energy. The Company expects to be able to physically produce the well down to pressures of 20 -25 psi, although continued low gas prices combined with the relatively high operating costs may make it uneconomic to do so. On that basis the Company expects Orion to be shut-in sometime during Q4 of this year and provision for any associated costs was made in the 2008 Accounts. The Company is currently evaluating options to maximise the cash generation potential of Orion over the rest of 2009.

The average price for Orion gas sold in May was US$4.04/mcf.

Stephen Gutteridge, Chairman of Meridian, said:

'The further development of the proven reserves at ELV is an attractive project with substantial targets and low drilling risks. It has taken time to complete the various unitisation and partner consent processes, but, subject to finalising funding, we expect to commence drilling the McKerall B-9 well no later than August. Depending on our working interest level, this well alone is projected to increase our ELV net production by 60% to 150%, and together with the potential for higher US gas prices this winter, this would substantially enhance our existing, positive cash-flows.'

crystal ball says its time for me to add before the news comes

RNS Number : 6387U
Meridian Petroleum PLC
29 June 2009

Monday 29 June 2009

MERIDIAN PETROLEUM plc

('Meridian' or 'the Company')

Sale of Orion Interest

Meridian Petroleum (AIM: MRP), the oil and gas exploration and production company with producing assets in the USA and exploration licences in Australia, announces the sale of its working interest in the Orion 36 well, Michigan, USA.

Meridian has concluded an assignment contract with Wellmaster Production Company ('Wellmaster') whereby Wellmaster will acquire Meridian's 72.75% working interest in the Orion 36 well, together with the associated leases and production facilities, for US$207,000. The contract is effective from June 10 2009. The sale will have no impact on the Company's hedging contracts.

The Orion 36 well has been in production since August 2007 and has produced over 2 bcf of natural gas together with associated natural gas liquids. Meridian invested approximately US$4 million in the well and the production facilities, and successfully recovered that investment by mid 2008, at which point Meridian's net revenue interest reverted to 54.589%.

According to independent estimates by RPS Energy, remaining gross natural gas reserves are less than 300 mmcf and production will cease some time in Q4 of 2009. There will be abandonment and clean-up costs, expected to be in the range of US$75,000 - 100,000 and most of the on-site equipment is leased from Wellmaster, leaving little of residual value to the Company. The reduction in the Company's proved and probable hydrocarbon reserves as a result of the sale will be less than 3% (30,000 barrels of oil equivalent)

As a sour gas well, Orion 36 has always been high cost operationally, and based on current US gas prices, the Company is currently forecasting that future net cash flow from Orion production would only be sufficient to cover abandonment and clean-up costs. The sale will therefore deliver total cash-flow benefits in excess of US$250,000 which will be used to further reduce debt.

Wellmaster is the contract operator for the well and already owns a 25% working interest. It provides much of the equipment and labour resources, and is in the best position to manage the final months of production.

Stephen Gutteridge, Chairman of Meridian, said:

'Orion has been a very successful well for the Company and enabled us to acquire the much larger, lower cost and longer-lived reserves at East Lake Verret ('ELV') last year. We have also re-invested cash generated by Orion in drilling and seismic projects. As recently announced, we now have much larger prospects under development in ELV, which the Board believes will significantly increase our current production levels.'

June 30, 2009

End Of An Era For Meridian Petroleum As It Sells The Depleting Orion 36 Sour Gas Project





With its Orion 36 gas field in the US nearing the end of its productive life, Meridian Petroleum has decided to sell off its interest rather than the keep the high cost asset on its books. Wellmaster Production Company, contract operator for the well, has agreed to buy Meridian's 72.75 per cent working interest in the Orion 36 well and associated leases and production facilities for US$207,000.
The divestment makes sense given the easing in natural gas prices: on current projections, future net cash flow from Orion would only be sufficient to cover abandonment and clean-up costs of around US$75,000 to US$100,000. By selling the field now, Meridian should derive total cash-flow benefits of more than US$250,000, which will be used to further reduce debt.

The AIM firm brought the sour gas field onstream in August 2007, since when it has produced over 2 billion cubic feet of gas and natural gas liquids. It invested US$4 million in the single well project, an investment that was successfully recovered by mid-2008. But with remaining reserves of less than 300 million cubic feet, the field is expected to cease production some time in the fourth quarter.

It is the end of an era for Meridian, with production from Orion it flowed as much as 6 million cubic feet per day helping the company to post a maiden profit in 2008. Efforts to find an Orion look-alike came to naught when the Pontiac well came in dry, leaving a looming gap in the portfolio as Orion went into decline as expected. The company has already taken steps to plug this gap, spending US$10 million last year on the East Lake Verret field in Louisiana.

"Orion has been a very successful well for the Company and enabled us to acquire the much larger, lower cost and longer-lived reserves at East Lake Verret (ELV) last year, said chairman Stephen Gutteridge. We have also re-invested cash generated by Orion in drilling and seismic projects. As recently announced, we now have much larger prospects under development in ELV, which the Board believes will significantly increase our current production levels."

East Lake Verret is home to six producing wells that provide net production of 1 million cf/d of gas and around 50 bpd of oil. The 2P reserve number is 1 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which only 30 per cent is currently in production, providing substantial low risk upside.

Meridian plans to get after this upside, with a two to three well programme on the books this year to bring onstream another 500,000 boe, which should lead to a 50 per cent increase in production by the end of the year. This would take output to 1.5 million cf/d and 75 bpd but could be higher if partner negotiations see Meridian take on a bigger slug of the drilling costs and thus eventual production. The first well, McKerall B-9, is expected to spud no later than August.

Depending on our working interest level, this well alone is projected to increase our ELV net production by 60 to 150 per cent, and together with the potential for higher US gas prices this winter, this would substantially enhance our existing, positive cash-flows, said Gutteridge.

http://www.oilbarrel.com/news/display_news/article/end-of-an-era-for-meridian-petroleum-as-it-sells-the-depleting-orion-36-sour-gas-project/771.html