16th Jan 2006 07:00
Burren Energy PLC16 January 2006 16 January 2006 Burren Energy Plc ("Burren" or "the Company") New Exploration Interests in Yemen and Oman Burren (LSE:BUR), the FTSE250 independent oil and gas exploration and productioncompany, is please to announce the expansion of its exploration activities intoYemen and the Oman. Republic of Yemen Burren has signed a new production sharing agreement ("PSA") on Block 6, anonshore area of 3,900 sq. km., with the Ministry of Oil and Minerals, taking therole of operator with a 92% working interest. Parliamentary ratification isexpected before the end of February. The Block 6 PSA working interests are: Burren Energy (Yemen) Limited (Operator) 92%Delta High Advanced Co Ltd 3%Yemen General Corporation for Oil and Gas 5% Burren will fund, and recover from cost oil, 100% of all costs until payback. Inaddition Burren has granted to our Yemeni partners a 5% royalty interest in theprofit oil, as a result of which Burren's net beneficial interest will be 87%. Block 6 is located in the prolific Shabwa Basin and lies between the major oiland gas producing areas to the west, previously operated by Hunt, and Block S2to the east, where OMV has recently received government approval to commence thedevelopment of its 170 million barrel oil field in fractured basementreservoirs. Burren will focus on the basement potential in Block 6 which has not beenexplored by previous operators. The Company intends to acquire a 3D seismicsurvey over the most prospective area in 2006 and target the basement structuresfor drilling in 2007. Sultanate of Oman Burren has signed a farm-in agreement with Oman Hunt, a subsidiary of Hunt Oil,on offshore Block 50 to acquire a 40% non-operated interest. The assignment iscurrently awaiting government approval. Block 50, which is operated by Oman Hunt and has water depths of up to 100metres, covers 16,680 sq. km. of the offshore Masirah Basin which demonstratessimilarities to the prolific oil and gas basins onshore Oman. Previous drillingin Block 50 demonstrated the presence of an active petroleum system, but poorseismic data quality has prevented the confident definition of drillablestructures. The programme in 2006 is therefore designed to acquire detailed, high quality 2Dseismic over potentially large structures in order to prepare for a decisionregarding a drilling programme at the end of 2006. Trading Update The Company will issue a trading update on Wednesday 18 January, ahead of itspreliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2005, to be announced onThursday 30 March 2006. Commenting today, Finian O'Sullivan, Chief Executive of Burren, said "The additions of these new interests complement our existing portfolio,strengthen our Middle East asset base, and provide the potential for furtherexploration activity impact and newsflow beyond the extensive programme alreadyplanned for 2006." ENQUIRIES: Burren Energy Tel: 020 7484 1900 Finian O'Sullivan, Chief Executive OfficerBrian Thurley, Technical Directorwww.burren.co.uk Pelham PR Tel: 020 7743 6676 James HendersonAlisdair Haythornthwaite Notes to Editors Burren Energy is an independent oil and gas exploration and production group,headquartered in London. It is focused on four regions: the Caspian region ofthe former Soviet Union, West Africa, Middle East and, through a strategicinvestment stake in the Hindustan Oil Exploration Company, India. The company islisted on the London Stock Exchange ("BUR"). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Burford Capital