New World Oil and Gas Plc has drilled the Rio Bravo well located in the productive Petén Basin in Northwest Belize to a measured depth of 2,746 m (9,010 ft) on April 21, the company announced in a press release.

Following analysis and consultation with New World's partners, Blue Creek Exploration Ltd. and the Government of Belize, it was determined that insufficient commercial quantities of moveable hydrocarbons were present to economically justify running casing and well testing operations. As a result, the company has deemed the well non-commercial and decided to plug and abandon Rio Bravo.

The logs and core samples were independently analyzed, as well as mud logs and all other available data. It has been determined an active hydrocarbon system exists and, as in the company's previous well, live oil shows were measured in the Y3 and Hill Bank formations. Extensive residual oil was also present along with high saturations of formation water. It is the company's prognosis that the primary issue in the sub-surface was that the timing of oil migration occurred prior to trap formation. However, the company remains of the opinion that the technical data, produced by the Rio Bravo well, demonstrates that the New World acreage has received a petroleum charge and likely contains productive reservoirs, and will play an important role during the drilling of the future wells in Belize. Accordingly, the company is in initial talks with potential farm-in partners in order to fund further exploration on the Blue Creek license.

Additionally, the company has submitted an application to the Government of Belize for the assignment of the final 25% working interest in the Blue Creek license, which will elevate the company's working interest to 100%. Approval from the government is expected in the coming weeks, according to the release.