Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc / Index: AIM / Epic: EOG / Sector: Oil & Gas
22 March 2012
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc (`Europa' or `the Company')
Withdrawal from Cuejdiu Licence in Romania
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, the AIM listed oil and gas exploration and
development company with a combination of producing and exploration assets in
Europe, announces that as part of an on-going review of the Company's assets by
the new management, it has decided, in tandem with its partners Aurelian
Petroleum SRL (45%) and SNGN Romgaz SA (37.5%), to withdraw its 17.5% working
interest from the Block EIII-3 Cuejdiu Concession Agreement in Romania. The
Company remains focused on advancing and developing its core assets including
the Berenx gas appraisal project in onshore France as well as its UK assets
which include three producing fields and a number of exploration licences.
Europa's CEO, Hugh Mackay commented, "Following an in depth review of our
entire portfolio, we concluded that Block EIII-3 Cuejdiu was a non-core asset
and we have therefore decided to join with our partners and withdraw from the
Concession Agreement. We continue to make good progress in advancing our highly
prospective asset base, be it in the form of continuing farm-in negotiations
for a number of our licences or undertaking technical work out in the field.
With this in mind, I look forward to providing the market with updates on our
progress at our core projects, particularly in France and the UK, in due
course."
The end of Phase II of the four year Extension Period of the Initial
Exploration Period for the Cuejdiu licence is 20 May 2012.
Exploration costs of £1.3 million previously incurred by the Company associated
with the Cuejdiu concession will be written off. In addition, a further
non-cash charge of £1.3 million in relation to the Company's withdrawal from
the Brodina concession as announced on 20 January 2012 has also been taken.
Following its withdrawal from the Cuejdiu concession, Europa has interests in
two concession areas in Romania: EPI-3 Brates and EIII-4 Bacau North A (Bacau).
Discussions with potential partners regarding farming-in to Europa's 100%
interest in the Brates concession, which holds the Barchiz prospect, are
on-going. The Bacau concession, in which Europa holds a 19% interest, is
operated by SC Raffles Energy SRL. Work on maturing prospects in the Bacau
concession continues.
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For further information please visit www.europaoil.com or contact:
Hugh Mackay Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc +44 (0) 20 7224 3770
Phil Greenhalgh Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc +44 (0) 20 7224 3770
Sarah Wharry finnCap Ltd +44 (0) 20 7600 1658
Henrik Persson finnCap Ltd +44 (0) 20 7600 1658
Frank Buhagiar St Brides Media and Finance Ltd +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Lottie Brocklehurst St Brides Media and Finance Ltd +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Notes
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc has a diversified portfolio of multi-stage
hydrocarbon assets that includes production, exploration and development
interests, in countries that are politically stable, have transparent licensing
processes, and offer attractive terms. The Company currently produces
approximately 200 barrels per day of oil in the UK, generating sufficient
revenues to cover corporate overheads. In addition, it has highly prospective
exploration projects in the UK, Ireland France and Romania, the most
significant asset being the Berenx gas appraisal project in onshore France.