Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc
Award of Exploration Permit
The Directors of Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc ("Europa"), the production and
exploration company, are pleased to announce that the Company has been informed
by the French Government that the exclusive award of the Tarbes - Val d'Adour
Permit to Europa will be completed in January 2008. The licence lies in the
eastern part of the Aquitaine Basin, the main hydrocarbon producing basin in
France.
The permit is situated within the oil producing part of the basin, adjacent to
the producing Castera-Lou and Lagrave Fields, with a combined total production
to date of 22 million barrels of oil. The licence contains the Jacque and
Osmets oil fields, which produced light oil until 1986, when the oil price fell
to around $10 per barrel and the fields were shut-in. The initial flow rate
from wells on these fields was up to 700 barrels of oil per day and the
conclusion of a preliminary review indicates that the fields contain
undeveloped reserves. Europa will conduct a full review of these two fields for
possible redevelopment and assess the remaining exploration potential of the
licence area.
Paul Barrett, Managing Director, said "This permit, containing potential
oilfield redevelopment candidates, is a perfect complement to our existing
exploration licence in the Aquitaine Basin, the Béarn des Gaves permit, where
the hydrocarbon play is for large gas accumulations. Given the current oil
price, we feel the Aquitaine Basin has significant potential for a commercial
renaissance and Europa has now secured a very attractive acreage position in
the basin."
For more information please visit www.europaoil.com
For further information, contact:
Paul Barrett, Managing Director, Europa Oil & Gas +44 1235 553266
Jonathan Wright or Parimal Kumar, Seymour Pierce +44 20 7107 8000