Toreador hits more gas in Turkey, prospects in Romania and Hungary.

Toreador Resources Corporation (Nasdaq:TRGL) and its partners TPAO (the Turkish national oil company) and Stratic Energy Corporation today announced that the Bayhanli-1 exploration well encountered natural gas in a new prospect offshore Turkey in the South Akcakoca Sub-basin project area. Analysis of log data indicates natural gas pay in the approximately 25 meters (82 feet) of sands to be tested in the next week, with at least another 25 meters to be perforated after producing the initial intervals. The gas sands are between 760 to 1,115 meters (2,494 to 3,659 feet) true vertical depth in the Kusuri formation. The Bayhanli-1 was drilled on a new prospect to the east of the Dogu Ayazli structure and along the same fault trend.

Toreador will engage its outside reservoir engineers, LaRoche Petroleum Consultants, to provide a mid-year update of the reserve potential in the South Akcakoca Sub-basin project following the conclusion of the current drilling campaign. Results will update the estimate of reserves from the prior study completed in September 2005. The results of the study are expected to be available by mid-July.

President and Chief Executive G. Thomas Graves III is quoted in the Houston Chronicle, " the company should easily reach our initial production targets when we bring first gas ashore by the end of the year." In Turkey, Toreador holds several acreage packages totaling nearly three million gross acres, the company’s largest international acreage package. (Pic Toreador website)


In Romania, the company waits for final permits to sell natural gas from the Fauresti field rehabilitation project to the national grid. Gas sales are expected to begin before the end of the second quarter. Initial production is estimated to be 6 Mn. cubic feet of gas and 30 barrels of condensate per day.

In Hungary, the company began drilling its first exploration well on Monday, May 22, in the Kendares natural gas prospect, located in the northeast of the Szolnock exploration block. The Ken-D-1 is targeting the Miocene-age Lower Szolnock channel sand at approximately 1,625 meters (5,333 feet) depth. The well is expected to take 3 to 4 weeks to drill and complete. If the well is successful, two more offset wells will be drilled on the prospect.

Shares of Toreador Resources rose 67 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $28.80 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange