SOFIA, Bulgaria, August 18 /PRNewswire/ --

Direct Petroleum Exploration Inc. (DPE) has finished the initial phase of the completion of its Deventci R1 gas discovery well in northern Bulgaria. Limited flow testing was undertaken on the high pressure Lower Jurassic Ozirovo zone on Sunday 17-August at the well site some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, Sofia. Substantial gas and rich condensate flows were observed at the surface though no verifiable measurements were taken due to the limited availability of testing equipment for the high pressures encountered. The 12 hour shut-in tubing pressure was measured at 8,000 psi. The indicated BHP was ~ 11,500 psi.

Complete control of the well was maintained throughout the operation which was under the supervision of DPE's senior engineering staff and witnessed by management personnel including Mr. David Nelson, Vice President of Exploration and Production and Dr. Kolyo Tonev, Manager of Direct Petroleum Bulgaria, a wholly owned subsidiary of DPE.

"This completion represents a major milestone in our Bulgarian operations. While we were unable to conduct a long-term test due to the high-pressure conditions, the well performed as predicted by our modeling of the reservoir, supporting our technical evaluation of this discovery," reported Mr. Nelson.

"This is the highest pressure gas reservoir ever encountered in Bulgaria" according to Dr. Tonev. "Further testing and analysis will be required to fully assess this discovery."

Flowback of the well was suspended, awaiting the arrival in September of specialized high-pressure testing and production equipment from the United States.

The well is located on a geological feature known as the West Koynare Structure, measuring some 15 to 20 km2 in size as defined by seismic and DPE's proprietary ADD_HR geophysical technology.

DPE is a privately held company based in Denver, Colorado with operations in Bulgaria, Morocco, Russia and the United States.

Web site: http://www.directpetroleum.com

Direct Petroleum Exploration, Inc. +1-303-825-0775