Chinook Energy Inc., Calgary (TSX: CKE), is pleased to announce the initial flow rates from the TT-13 horizontal well, which is the second horizontal well test of the Ordovician Quartzite reservoir in the Bir Ben Tartar concession. Partners in the concession are block holder Enterprise Tunisienne D'Activites de Petrolieres (ETAP), Contractors Chinook (86% interest) and Cygam Energy Inc. (14% interest).

Well completion operations began on September 4, 2012, and following an 11-stage fracture stimulation and well clean-out to ensure all ports were open, production testing began on September 15, 2012. Over the initial 48-hour flow period, the TT-13 well produced at an average oil rate of 2,959 barrels of oil per day (bopd), an average water rate of 1,848 barrels of water per day (38% water cut) and an average gas-oil-ratio of 1,087 standard cubic feet of gas per barrel of oil (scf/bbl). The average daily oil rate over the last 12 hours has been 3,468 barrels of oil (bbl.) per day through a 1.5" choke at a flowing wellhead pressure of 224 psi. Cumulative water recovered to date represents approximately 38% of the load fluid used during the completion operation and water cuts have decreased from 84% to 24% over the flow period to date.

Early trend data in these initial applications of a multi-staged completion of the tight Ordovician sand reservoir should be assessed on more mature initial production data of 30 and 90 days, which will be released as that data becomes available. The TT-13 well was fracture stimulated along the 1,035 meter horizontal section with the placement of approximately 438,850 pounds of sand over 11 stages. By way of comparison, the first horizontal test well (TT-16) averaged 897 bopd over the first 10 days of production from an 832 metre horizontal section with an eight stage completion. The average rate over the first 30 days of production was 825 bbl. per day and the current rate after 54 days production is 665 bopd with an 11% water cut.

The TT-13 well encountered more reservoir by virtue of its longer length, the sand quality, as evidenced by samples, MWD logs and gas shows while drilling, also appears to be better at the TT-13 well when compared to similar data for TT-16. Completed well costs for the two wells is similar at approximately $12 million per well as improvements in the well design and execution of the TT-13 well program were offset by significant lost circulation problems while drilling. Chinook is confident well costs can be reduced materially on a percentage basis as its experience and program size increases.

Chinook is currently drilling the horizontal build section at the third well at TT-11 and expects to finish the drilling operation within 10 days and begin completion operations in early October.