Regulatory Filings • Dec 18, 2014
Regulatory Filings
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FIRST RENEWAL PERIOD ON SENEGAL LICENCE
African Petroleum Corporation Limited ("African Petroleum Corporation" or the
"Company"), an independent oil and gas exploration company operating ten
licences in five countries offshore West Africa, is pleased to announce that its
subsidiary African Petroleum Senegal Limited has just received confirmation
from the President in the form of a Presidential decree of entry into the First
Renewal Period on licence Senegal Offshore Sud Profond ("SOSP"). Prior to
entering into the First Renewal Period, Petrosen (the National Oil Company of
Senegal) agreed to defer the existing well commitment of the First Renewal
Period of SOSP by 18 months to allow for further technical work by the
Company prior to drilling.
The initial exploration period on SOSP expired on 2 November 2014, with
African Petroleum Senegal Limited exceeding all obligations, having acquired
3,600km2 of 3D seismic data, purchasing 2,000km2 of 2D seismic data,
processing and interpreting both datasets and investing more than US$21
million in the licence.
The Company has now entered the First Renewal Period, with effect from the
date of the Presidential decree namely 15 December 2014, for a three-year
period that has been split into two 18-month sub-periods. The first sub-
period requires the Company to carry out further technical work over SOSP and
the second sub-period, should the Company elect to enter into, requires the
drilling of an exploration well. In accordance with the terms of the licence, the
Company has relinquished 30% of SOSP upon entering the First Renewal Period.
SOSP has significant potential for both deep-water submarine fans and shelf
edge platform plays, both of which have recently been proven in nearby
acreage by the Cairn Energy operated wells FAN-1 and SNE-1. The Company
has proposed Pre-Stack Depth Migration (PSDM) over the licence area to
improve definition of the material prospects identified through technical work
to date. The forward programme, agreed with Petrosen, provides an
opportunity to analyse the data fully prior to making a commitment to drill the
exploration well in the second sub-period of the First Renewal Period.
Chief Executive Officer, Dr Stuart Lake, comments; "The entering of the next
phase on licence SOSP demonstrates our commitment to our operations in
Senegal. In addition, the deferral of the well obligation in SOSP until after June
2016 allows the Company time to leverage learnings from the two recent
significant oil discoveries by Cairn Energy in nearby acreage, and complete
seismic reprocessing and interpretation over the licence area prior to drilling
our first exploration well."
For further information, please contact:
Stuart Lake, Chief Executive Officer
Stephen West, Finance Director
Tel: +44 20 3435 7700
Angeline Hicks, Company Secretary
Tel: + 61 401 489 883
Media Contacts:
For UK and International media - Bell Pottinger
Nick Lambert /Charlie Stewart
Tel: +44 20 3772 2500
For Norwegian media: First House
Geir Arne Drangeid
Tel: +47 913 10 458
Geir Gjervan
Tel: +47 908 79 108
About African Petroleum Corporation
African Petroleum Corporation is a dynamic, independent oil and gas
exploration company operating ten licences in five countries offshore West
Africa. The Company's assets are located in fast-emerging hydrocarbon
basins, principally the West African Transform Margin, where several
discoveries have been made in recent years, including African Petroleum
Corporation's Narina-1 discovery in February 2012, which proved a working
hydrocarbon system in the Liberian basin. With a combined net acreage
position of 30,963km2 through its licences in Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Senegal,
The Gambia and Sierra Leone, the Company has matured its portfolio rapidly,
acquiring more than 18,500km2 of 3D seismic data and successfully drilling
three wells, one of which was the first hydrocarbons discovery in the offshore
Liberian deep-water basin.
For more information about African Petroleum Corporation, please see
www.africanpetroleum.com.au
This information is subject to disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-
12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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