29th Mar 2006 07:02
Afren PLC29 March 2006 29th March 2006 Afren plc ("Afren" or "the Company") Nigerian Rig Contract and Appointment of Drilling Manager Afren (AIM: AFR), an independent oil and gas company focused on establishingitself as the leading pan-African exploration and production company, is pleasedto announce that its Nigerian subsidiary Afren Energy Resources ("AER") hassigned a drilling contract to contract the Seadrill-7 Jack-up drilling unit fortwo wells offshore Nigeria in 2006. The Company also announces the appointmentof a new Drilling Manager. Nigerian Rig Contract Afren announces that AER has signed a drilling contract for two wells offshoreNigeria, with Ashbourne Marine Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Seadrill Ltd. Thefirst well is expected to begin operations early in the third quarter of 2006.The Seadrill-7 is currently on location in Nigeria for another operator. Afren intends to use the Seadrill-7 rig to further appraise its provenundeveloped fields in Oil Mining License 90 ("OML 90"). The undeveloped fieldsin OML 90 secured by Afren in the second half of 2005 are located in the shallowwaters of the western Niger Delta. Oil and gas was discovered in a number ofzones by Chevron in 1993, but were not tested. The fields are conventionalNiger delta structures, at moderate depths and are likely to be low costdevelopments as they are close to existing infrastructure. The first well inOML 90 will appraise one of the existing discoveries and will be tested toconfirm fluid type and reservoir performance. Securing the drilling contracts marks an important step in the execution ofAfren's strategy towards achieving near term development and production. Appointment of Drilling Manager Afren is also delighted to announce the appointment of Mr. Graham Ross asDrilling Manager for Afren. Mr Ross is a highly experienced drilling manager,and has worked in the oil and gas industry for over 26 years. Prior to his appointment with Afren, Mr Ross served as Drilling Manager forPremier Oil, where he was responsible for drilling operations in Guinea Bissauand Gabon, as well as the UK North Sea. Before that, he served as Group DrillingManager for Enterprise Oil, where he was responsible for drilling explorationand development wells in Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East. Brian O'Cathain, Chief Executive of Afren commented: "We are pleased to have secured a drilling rig in the current difficultcontracting environment. These two wells will help us add value by proving upreserves and further delineating the proven undeveloped fields of OML 90. Theseare the first steps towards early production in 2007. The Company also continuesto pursue other opportunities in the region and will be able to provide anupdate in due course. We are also delighted to have appointed a Drilling Manager of the calibre ofGraham Ross. His significant operating experience will be invaluable to Afren aswe progress to operate a number of developments in the coming year." Enquiries: Afren +44 20 7182 1800Brian O'CathainOsman Shahenshah Pelham Public Relations +44 020 7743 6673 James Henderson [email protected] Haythornthwaite [email protected] Afren is an independent oil and gas exploration, development and productioncompany, established in 2004 to build an attractive, diversified and balancedportfolio of African assets, with an initial focus on the Gulf of Guinea region.Afren's corporate objective is "Capital appreciation for shareholders throughpreferential access to oil and gas production and exploration acreageacquisition, production growth, deal flow and exploration drilling in Africa." Notes to Editors: The Seadrill-7 is a Friede & Goldman L-780 design jack-up rig built inGotaverken in 1981, and formerly called the Toto. Details of the rig, includinga photograph, can be found at http://www.seadrill.bm/specs/SeaDrill_7.pdf This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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