4th Dec 2007 10:31
Afren PLC04 December 2007 Afren plc (AIM: AFR) Sail Away of Armada Perkasa FPSO Singapore and London, 4 December 2007 - Afren plc ("Afren" or "the Company") andits partner Amni International Petroleum Development Company ("AMNI") announcethe Sail Away Ceremony for the Armada Perkasa FPSO (Floating Production, Storageand Offloading vessel) in Singapore. The FPSO will be the primary crude oil production, storage and export facilityat the Okoro Setu Project, offshore Nigeria and is due to arrive at the OkoroTerminal in February 2008. The Armada Perkasa is owned and operated by BumiArmada Berhad, one of the largest owners and operators of offshore supportvessels in Malaysia. The Armada Perkasa, a 211 metre and 33,081 ton vessel, which has beenrefurbished by Keppel Shipyard, will process the total well fluids, producingstabilised crude for storage in the FPSO, with subsequent regular off-take byexport tankers. It has a storage capacity of 360,000 barrels of crude oil and atotal liquids processing capacity of 27,000 barrels per day. The FPSO Sail Away is an important milestone for the Okoro Setu Project. In thebase case field development plan, up to five oil producers will be drilled froma single unmanned well head platform. Oil will be transported by pipeline tothe FPSO, moored 800 metres from the well head structure, for processing andstorage. The Project is on track for first oil by the end of Q1 2008: • The drilling template and well head platform decks have been fabricated in Lagos. • The well head control unit has been completed and factory tested. • Manufacturing of the flow-lines is nearing completion. • The Adriatic VI, which has been contracted for a nine month programme is due to arrive on location in January 2008. The Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum (Gas) Hon Igo Aguma and theHonourable Minister of State for Energy (Gas) Mr Olatunde Emmanuel Odusina,represented the Nigerian Government and the ceremony was also attended by theBoard of AMNI, led by its Chairman, Colonel (rtd) Sani Bello. Osman Shahenshah, Chief Executive of Afren, commented: "We are pleased to have accomplished another key milestone towards firstproduction from the Okoro Setu project and remain on track to achieve first oilin the first quarter of 2008 and production of 15,000 - 20,000 barrels per dayin mid 2008." Col (rtd) Sani Bello, Chairman of AMNI, commented: "AMNI is delighted with the excellent progress on the Okoro Setu Project to dateand the Armada Perkasa Sail Away is another key step towards first oil in Q12008." Mr Hassan Basma, Chief Executive of Bumi Armada, commented: "We are delighted to have completed a quick refurbishment programme on theArmada Perkasa. Keppel Shipyard which has previously worked on the vessel, wasinstrumental in achieving the fast-track timeline. Today, we are proud to bid farewell to our company's FPSO as it leaves forNigeria. The Armada Perkasa will be manned mainly by Nigerian crew and we haveinvested heavily in their training and will continue to do so for the future.We are also happy to have Century Energy Services Ltd, an indigenous NigerianCompany, as our ship management agent in Nigeria." Mr Tong Chong Heong, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, KeppelOffshore & Marine commented: "We are confident that the FPSO has been refurbished to the highestspecifications and are pleased to have achieved another successful delivery ofthe Armada Perkasa." 4 December 2007 Enquiries: Afren plc +44 20 7451 9700Osman Shahenshah Chief ExecutiveEvert Jan Mulder Chief Operating OfficerGalib Virani Investor Relations Jefferies International Limited +44 20 7029 8000Toby HaywardOliver Griffiths Tristone Capital Limited +44 20 7355 5800Simon Ashby-RuddMajid Shafiq Pelham Public Relations +44 20 7743 6673James HendersonAlisdair Haythornthwaite Notes to Editors: Afren Plc Afren (www.afren.com) was founded in December 2004 by a management teamincluding Dr Rilwanu Lukman, (Chairman), Osman Shahenshah, (Chief Executive) andBert Cooper (Advisor to the Board), with the vision to become the premier panAfrican independent Exploration and Production company. Afren's wholly ownedNigerian subsidiary, Afren Nigeria Resources is led by Egbert Imomoh, ExecutiveChairman and Executive Director of Afren Plc. Afren has built an executive andnon-executive management and advisory team with broad and extensive experiencein the industry, both in West Africa and internationally; in identifying andcompleting corporate expansion opportunities and in public company financing.Afren also looks to leverage key relationships across the region to gainpreferential access to opportunities. Since its listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Afren hasrapidly expanded its portfolio and the management team has delivered a portfolioof assets in Nigeria, the Joint Development Zone of Nigeria-Sao Tome andPrincipe, Gabon, Angola, Congo Brazzaville and Ghana. Afren will continue to add to its diversified portfolio of near term developmentand high impact exploration, with the overall objective of creating substantialshareholder value. AMNI AMNI (www.amniinternational.com) is a Nigerian indigenous company incorporatedin 1993. AMNI was granted Oil Prospecting Licences (OPL) 469 and 237 in 1993and 1994 respectively for a term of five years by Nigeria's Ministry ofPetroleum and Mineral Resources. In June 2006, Afren and AMNI announced thesignature of a Financing and Production Sharing and Technical Services Agreementfor the development of the Okoro and Setu fields, offshore Nigeria. Bumi Armada Bumi Armada Berhad (www.bumiarmada.com) is one of the largest owners andoperators of offshore support vessels in Malaysia. Keppel Shipyard Keppel Shipyard (www.keppelshipyard.com.sg) is a wholly owned subsidiary ofKeppel Corporation, through Keppel O&M, a leader in offshore rigs, ship repairand conversion and specialised shipbuilding. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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