Agreement reached with Petrom
Aminex PLC
21 February 2005
AMINEX PLC
("Aminex" or "the Company")
Aminex reaches agreement with Petrom
Aminex PLC ("Aminex"), the oil and gas company listed in London and Dublin,
today announces that Petrom S.A. ("Petrom") and Aminex's subsidiary Ndovu
Resources Ltd. ("Ndovu") have now resolved a long-running dispute with regard to
the costs of the Nyuni-1 well offshore Tanzania, drilled in late 2003/early
2004.
On 16 June 2004 Aminex announced that its Tanzanian subsidiary Ndovu was in
dispute with Petrom in relation to unpaid drilling costs. That dispute has now
been resolved and, under the terms of a formal settlement agreement:
(1) Petrom will pay Ndovu the sum of US$3,400,000 in respect of past costs due
for the Nyuni-1 well
(2) Petrom will pay Ndovu the sum of US$1,275,000 in settlement of all its other
obligations as a joint-venture partner in the Nyuni project.
(3) Petrom will have no further rights, obligations or claims under the Nyuni
Farm-in and Nyuni joint operating agreements
(4) Ndovu is providing an option expiring on 30 June 2006 for Petrom to rejoin
the Nyuni project as a full, paying joint-venture partner
(5) Ndovu is withdrawing all legal claims against Petrom in the English High
Court.
Commenting, Aminex Chief Executive Brian Hall said:
"This agreement is a very satisfactory outcome to a long running and damaging
dispute, resolution of which will enable Aminex to move forward more positively
in Tanzania and elsewhere. We are grateful to the management of Petrom for
their constructive approach to this situation."
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
• Nyuni is a licence area offshore the Rufiji River delta of Tanzania,
acquired by Aminex as a consequence of the acquisition of Tanzoil NL in February
2002.
• Nyuni-1 was drilled to a depth of 3,895 metres and was the first
offshore exploration well in Tanzania for many years. The well logged
hydrocarbon saturations in Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic formations, encountered
numerous oil and gas shows throughout a thick sandstone sequence and established
the presence of oil from a Jurassic source in the region for the first time.
• Petrom is the former state oil company of Romania and listed on the
Bucharest Stock Exchange. Following recent privatisation it is now
majority-controlled by OMV of Austria.
21 February 2005
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Aminex London +44 (0) 20 9240 1600
Brian Hall
Aminex Perth +61 (0) 8 9221 9888
Didier Murcia
College Hill +44 (0) 20 7457 2020
Jim Joseph
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange