eCORP and Advanced Drilling Solutions Enter into Agreement to Provide Slim Hole Evaluation Drilling Services

HOUSTON, May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- eCORP International, LLC subsidiary eCORP Europe Holding Limited ("eCORP") and  Advanced Drilling Solutions GmbH affiliate BG Management Consulting ("ADS")  are pleased to announce that they have executed an agreement to develop a diagnostic unit for examining the earth's crust, comprised of a specially designed drilling (coring) rig and a mobile geological laboratory, called a Slim Hole Evaluation Drilling ("SHED") unit. This equipment will yield technical data which will be of interest to the scientific community and critical to energy companies developing oil, gas and geothermal energy as well as other minerals-oriented endeavors. Due to the small borehole size, the rig, which is patterned after a hard minerals coring rig but is enhanced with an automated, fast response fluids handling system to effect positive control over the well, has a small footprint and a correspondingly minimal impact on the surface during operation. It is designed for onshore use. eCORP expects to be the first company to deploy the SHED unit in European operations. The Company will strictly adhere to, or exceed, regulatory requirements while drilling and currently plans to permanently plug and abandon these "needle biopsies" prior to rig move-out so that there is virtually no residual effect from the earth sampling process. In the event a need for future scientific data-gathering is foreseen, the wells could be equipped with downhole data-gathering electronics compatible with the permanent abandonment. While on location, the SHED unit will retrieve samples of the rock cored continuously through the depths being drilled, up to design depths of 3500 meters, and immediately record all relevant onsite data measured on the core.

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Pursuant to the SHED Agreement, eCORP and ADS will complete market and regulatory research followed by design and construction of an initial set of equipment to be deployed in Central and Western Europe where eCORP holds a number of well-situated licenses in premier basins with discussions under way to materially expand its holdings. Additional units are expected to be produced in the future.

Bouchra Lamik-Thonhauser, Managing Director of ADS, stated, "This partnership will allow us to utilize unique technology we are developing and leverage our know-how in the development of drilling and evaluation tools to allow exploration activities with the smallest possible environmental footprint."

Gerhard Thonhauser, Chief Technology Officer of ADS, commented, "The SHEDS system will be a game changing technology as an exploration tool in Europe and other global markets. The integration of a compact drilling and evaluation system utilizing the latest technology in terms of automation and remote operations support will allow us to reach unique efficiency in terms of cost and environmental impact."

John Thrash, Chairman and CEO of eCORP, noted, "The SHED unit represents another important component we are adding to our ensemble of high quality, low cost, low impact exploration tools. We are fortunate to be associated with pioneers of this technology, whose experience in proving this technology dates back to the 1980s."

During the field production phase, eCORP plans to drill wells employing "pad" drilling where a number of wellheads are confined to a small surface location, and other proven drilling technology that presents a smaller footprint than historical approaches. A companion, environmentally sensitive production enhancing tool eCORP expects to employ is propane reservoir stimulation which is being offered by ProStim, another service provider co-owned by eCORP. This use of gelled propane to enhance production from hydrocarbon reservoirs is a natural solution to well stimulation concerns vocalized recently -- propane, which is used in millions of households, is a constituent of the natural gas being produced, albeit usually in low concentrations. We believe this game-changing technology will be embraced by, not only regulators and the industry, but the general population as well. GASFRAC, eCORP's partner in the ProStim venture, has successfully employed this technology in North America, pumping over 1,350 stimulations in reservoirs from Alberta, Canada to south Texas, USA. In addition, eCORP has extensive experience with gaseous propane and butane, having used these substances in enhanced oil recovery operations in conventional reservoirs in South Texas in the 1980s.

Founded in 1978, eCORP and its predecessor companies have extensive oil and gas experience including underground natural gas storage, natural gas transportation, enhanced oil recovery in conventional reservoirs using propane and butane, exploration for and production of conventional and unconventional reservoirs, electric power generation and marketing of electricity and gas. The company was an early mover in the Marcellus play in Pennsylvania and New York, USA and recognized its potential while developing its highly acclaimed Stagecoach Storage project in New York. The company acquired European prospective acreage after farming out holdings in the Marcellus. The company's world class management team expects to apply its broad background in Europe as well as the US to develop oil and gas fields, gas storage and power generation taking maximum advantage of its ensemble of environmentally friendly exploration and development tools.

ADS were founded in 2008 with a research and development mission to expand the drilling envelope and to develop cutting edge drilling technology as well as surface and downhole measurement systems. Technologies include composite drill pipe solutions for extended reach drilling, unique surface monitoring systems to evaluate drilling equipment as well as downhole communication and measurement systems. Drilling technology is developed for the oil and gas industry as well as geothermal applications, e.g. geothermal storage solutions. ADS build high quality engineering teams in electronics, embedded systems and automation as well as mechanical engineering and material science.

eCORP media requests should be directed to:
Mark Stauss
Director of Commercial Operations
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 713-416-0280

SOURCE eCORP International, LLC