Albanian / Kosovan Gas/Oil find

Here is a fascinating item that appears to have received little attention

Independent Resource Evaluation Confirms Existence of Giant Oil and Gas Prospects on Manas Petroleum's Albanian Exploration Blocks Manas Petroleum Corp. (MNAP.OB)

Baar, Switzerland, January 10th, 2008 Manas Petroleum Corporation is pleased to announce the results of a Resource Evaluation prepared by Gustavson Associates LLC regarding Manas Petroleum's blocks A, B,D and E in Albania.

The Report considers the licenses 8 primary and recognized prospects identified from approximately 4,000 kilometers of seismic shot by AlbPetrol, Shell, and Coparex on the concession position.

Gustavson assigns 2.987 billion barrels with 3.014 trillion cubic feet of associated gas as the P50 prospective oil resources in its oil with associated gas case. Gustavson notes that because of the depth it is possible that the prospects will hold natural gas. In its oil with a gas cap case Gustavson calculates the prospective resources to total 1.4 billion barrels of light oil and 15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Gustavson estimates that in the event only gas is present the P50 prospective resource is 28 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Gustavson examined the Manas Albanian license position which consists of Blocks A, B, D & E with a total of approximately 780,000 gross acres located along the NW-SE trending fold belt of northwestern Albania. (on the Kosovan border) The plays include potential conventional exploration targets involving sub-thrust hydrocarbon accumulations in fractured carbonates. Gustavson's assessment is limited to the potential undiscovered oil and gas resources underlying the company's licenses.

The report notes that:
"The primary exploration targets are sub-thrust fractured carbonate reservoirs similar to those discovered in the 1990's in the Apennines of Italy. During the same time Shell and Coparex discovered a deep under-thrust structure within the blocks that, by their calculations, has the potential to contain a combined 820 million barrels (MMBO) recoverable of oil."

It states: "Manas has this opportunity because Shell and Coparex suspended all exploration activity and abandoned the blocks in reaction to the extreme unrest in Albania and the conflict in neighboring Kosovo allowing Manas to later acquire these superbly defined, giant, virtually drill ready prospects."

See also
Manas - The ongoing conflict for control of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies