Aminex PLC
19 December 2002
Aminex plc
("Aminex" or "the Company")
Farmout and Drilling Agreement in Tanzania
Aminex PLC, the oil and gas company listed in London and Dublin, announces that
it has established a strategic partnership for development of its interests
offshore Tanzania. The Company's wholly-owned Tanzanian subsidiary Ndovu
Resources Ltd. ("Ndovu") has signed a farm-in agreement with Petrom SA ("Petrom
"), the state oil company of Romania. Under the agreement Petrom will pay 50%
of all costs of drilling and completing the two wells to earn a 30% working
interest in the licence. The 100% cost of the two well programme is estimated
to be $15 million.
In addition to the farmin agreement, Aminex and Petromar SA ("Petromar"), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Petrom, have executed heads of agreement for the use
of Petromar's Orion type jack-up rig "Atlas" to drill the two wells on Nyuni. A
definitive drilling contract is due to be executed no later than 31 January 2003
and the "Atlas" rig is scheduled to leave the Romanian port of Constanza during
the first week of February 2003 with a view to being ready to spud the Nyuni #1
well in late March. The initial licence term and well commitments for Nyuni
expire in May 2003 but Ndovu has applied to the government of Tanzania for an
extension of the licence to cater for the new timetable and anticipates an early
and favourable response.
It has taken longer to reach this point than initially estimated. However
Aminex is pioneering a new drilling initiative in offshore Tanzania and
considers it essential that such a programme is carried out properly and on the
most advantageous terms possible for the company's shareholders. Aminex
believes that the agreements with Petrom and Petromar will help to ensure this.
Petrom SA is a corporation controlled by the government of Romania and is the
principal oil producer in Romania, one of the world's longest established oil
provinces. Petrom is a highly experienced oil company and also owns and
operates a number of offshore and onshore rigs which have carried out drilling
operations for international companies in several different areas of the world.
Commenting on the announcement, Aminex Chief Executive Brian Hall said:
"We are very pleased to have established this partnership with Petrom which is
an experienced international company. Having held an international drilling
tender earlier in the year we have carefully reviewed all the drilling options
for Nyuni and conclude that a jack-up rig is the most effective and appropriate
option for drilling in this area. We consider that the two prospects to be
drilled at Nyuni represent first class exploration opportunities for Aminex."
19 December 2002
ENQUIRIES:
Aminex PLC Tel: 020 7240 1600
Brian Hall
College Hill Associates Tel: 020 7457 2020
Archie Berens
Dennehy Associates Tel: 00 353 1 676 4733
Michael Dennehy
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange