1st Mar 2006 07:00
COPY OF ASX RELEASE MADE BY GREAT ARTESIAN OIL & GAS LIMITEDBusiness Office : Level 2, 161 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW, Australia,2060.Registered Office : Level 1, 1304 Hay Street West Perth, W.A., 6005.Phone (61) 2 9929 3383 Fax (61) 2 9929 3883 Email : [email protected] March 2006Centralised Company Announcements OfficeAustralian Stock Exchange Limited10th Floor, 20 Bond StreetSYDNEY NSW 2000Dear Sir, OILEX and Indian Co-Venturers Farmin to EPP27, Offshore Otway Basin Great Artesian Oil and Gas Limited ("Great Artesian", ASX Code : GOG) ispleased to advise that it has finalised its farmin agreement for EPP 27,Offshore Otway Basin, involving Oilex NL ("Oilex", ASX Code: OEX). Asforeshadowed in Oilex's ASX announcement of 14 February 2006 the farmin alsoinvolves two key players in the Indian oil and gas sector; Videocon IndustriesLimited ("Videocon"), the oil and gas member of the major diversified Videocongroup of companies and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited ("GSPC"), avertically integrated oil and gas company owned by the Government of the Stateof Gujarat.The new agreement between GOG, Oilex, Videocon and GSPC will see the farmineesfunding an exploration well at a location to be determined and acquiring up to$2 million of new 2D seismic data. Planning has commenced for possible seismicacquisition in May - June 2006 with expectations that the well will be drilledduring late 2006 or 2007, subject to government approvals and rig availability.Once the well is drilled Oilex, Videocon and GSPC will each be entitled to a20% interest in EPP 27, with Great Artesian retaining the remaining 40%.All parties have signed the agreements, which are effective from 28 February2006. As announced on 28 December 2005, Great Artesian advised that due to thelack of availability of a rig to undertake the drilling, it had been necessaryto seek a suspension of EPP 27 for up to 12 months, until 21 December 2006. Therevised end of the current exploration phase is 24 February 2007.Great Artesian welcomes the introduction of these major players, particularlyas it is their first venture into an Australian exploration opportunity. Theircontributions will provide both depth and strength to the Joint Venture, whichis looking to commence seismic acquisition at the earliest availableopportunity.Yours faithfully,Dr Raymond D. ShawManaging DirectorGreat Artesian OIl & Gas LimitedENDOILEX NLRelated Shares:
OEX.L