13th Jan 2006 12:00
Gold Oil PLC13 January 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 13, 2006 GOLD OIL PLC ("GOLD OIL" OR "THE COMPANY") GOLD OIL QUALIFIES AS OPERATOR AND SIGNS AN EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION LICENCE FOR BLOCK XXI, NORTHWESTERN PERU OPERATIONS IN NORTHERN PERU Gold Oil, the London-based oil exploration company focused on the South Americanand Caribbean region, announces that in late December 2005, the Company receivedan Operator Certificate from PeruPetro that allows the Company to carry outseismic, drilling and development operations in Northwest Peru. The Promotion Licence signed with PeruPetro on October 15, 2004 with PeruPetrofor Block XI (now renamed Block XXI) onshore Sechura Basin has been converted toan Exploration and Production Licence. The Licence now goes to the Ministry ofEnergy and Mines for approval which could be forthcoming anytime betweenFebruary and May of this year. The terms of the E&P Licence commit the Company to either shoot 120 km of 2Dseismic or drill a well in the first period of five over a seven year term. Theremaining four periods require the Company to either drill a well or drop theacreage. The Licence is for a term of 30 years for oil and 40 years for gas,with a minimum royalty of 5% on wellhead production for the first 5000bopd (30MMscfd for gas) rising to 20% if and when production reaches 100,000 bopd (600MMscfd for gas). Commenting on today's announcement, Gary Moore, Managing Director of Gold Oil,stated: "The qualification as operator and signing of the E&P Licence are majorsteps forward for the Company. We are now actively sourcing equipment to beready to drill up the Block as soon as the approval by the Ministry of Energyand Mines is obtained. We already have the well locations identified and theenvironmental Impact Assessment completed and expect to sign the drillingmanagement contract shortly with a local Peruvian contractor". ENQUIRIES: Gary Moore Managing Director Tel: +44 (0)1737 833597 Email: [email protected] Mike Burchell Chairman Tel: +44 (0)1372 361772 Email: [email protected] Roland Cornish Beaumont Cornish Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7628 3396. NOTE TO EDITORS The Acreage The area of Block XXI is equivalent to just less than 14 UK North Sea blocks.The target reservoirs are mostly at shallow depths of +/-5,000 feet. Rig anddrilling costs enable wells here to be drilled typically for US$500,000 or less.The block lies in a desert area, next to the city of Piura, and to the east ofan existing producing gas field. Both lie within the Sechura Basin, which isadjacent to, and is believed to be a sub-basin of the Talara Basin. The Talara Basin to the north and west has produced over 1.6 billion barrels ofoil over a period of 100 years. Independent assessments put the number ofreserves remaining to be discovered at 2.2 billion barrels and 5.8 trillioncubic feet of gas. Gold Oil also holds exclusive rights over a second area here,Block Z-34, in the offshore sector of the Talara Basin, also immediately offsetfrom producing fields. Previously the Company had been interested in the gas bearing Verdun reservoirsin Block XXI, but the recent well by PetroTech offshore Sechura Basin flowed oilat 1200 bopd from the Paleozoic, a reservoir previously not considered over thelast 100 years as oil bearing. The Paleozoic reservoirs are believed to rununder Block XXI at around a depth of 6000 feet. http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/9085w_-2006-1-13.pdf This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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