18th Oct 2006 12:00
Afren PLC18 October 2006 Afren plc (AIM: AFR) Drilling Starts on Okoro Field, OML 112, Offshore Nigeria London, 18 October, 2006 - AMNI International Petroleum Development CompanyLimited ("AMNI") and Afren plc ("Afren" or "the Company") announce that drillingof the Okoro-3 appraisal well on OML 112, offshore Nigeria, has commenced. An appraisal well was spudded on 14 October 2006 by the Seadrill 7 jack-up rigon the Okoro Field in OML 112. The well is being drilled 1.5km east of theOkoro-1 discovery well, which penetrated two oil bearing sands between 4,900 and5,500 feet. Drilling is expected to take 30 to 45 days. Following drilling of the Okoro-3 well, the Seadrill 7 jack-up rig will be usedto drill a further appraisal well in the Okoro Setu development area. Theresults of these wells will be used to plan the development of the Okoro Setufields which is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2007. A drillingrig has been secured to start the development drilling in August 2007, withfirst oil expected in early 2008 with flow rates of between 15,000 to 20,000bopd. Brian O'Cathain, Chief Executive of Afren commented: "We are delighted to have spudded our first well in Nigerian waters. This marksasignificant step towards achieving our stated target of production of 15,000 to20,000 bopd by early 2008." Enquiries AfrenBrian O'Cathain +44 20 7182 1800Osman Shahenshah +44 20 7182 1800Pelham Public RelationsJames Henderson [email protected] +44 020 7743 6673AlisdairHaythornthwaite [email protected] +44 020 7743 6676 Background information OML 112 In June 2006, Afren announced the signature of a Financing and ProductionSharing and Technical Services Agreement with Amni International PetroleumDevelopment Company Limited for the participation in the development of theOkoro and Setu fields, offshore Nigeria. Under the terms of the Agreement, Afren will finance the development andappraisal programme. On production, Afren will recover these costs, from over 90percent of the barrels produced net of operating costs and royalties. Followingcost recovery Afren and Amni will share the production. Two wells were drilled on Okoro in the 1970s. The first well discovered oil intwo sands and the follow-up appraisal well confirmed the presence of bothreservoir sands. The field is covered by good quality 3D seismic data which wasacquired by Mobil Corporation. Afren Afren (www.afren.com) was founded in December 2004 by a management teamincluding Dr Rilwanu Lukman with the vision to become the leading pan Africanindependent Exploration and Production company. Since its listing on the AIMmarket of the London Stock Exchange, Afren has rapidly expanded its portfolioand the management team has delivered assets in the Joint Development Zone ofNigeria Sao Tome and Principe, Nigeria, Gabon and Congo. Afren will continue to add to its diversified portfolio of production, near termdevelopment and high impact exploration with the overall objective of creatingsubstantial shareholder value. Note In accordance with the AIM Rules, the drilling update information in this reporthas been reviewed and signed off by Dr Nick Johnson, who is Head of Explorationand Production at Afren Plc and has over 25 years relevant experience within thesector. He consents to the information in the form and context in which itappears. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
AFR.L