25th Apr 2006 07:03
Soco International PLC25 April 2006 SOCO International plc ("SOCO" or "the Company") Thailand Participation Agreement SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company,headquartered in London traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent ofthe FTSE 250 Index. The Company has interests in Vietnam, Yemen, Thailand andthe Republic of Congo with production operations in Yemen. SOCO announces that its subsidiary, SOCO Exploration (Thailand) Co. Ltd. ("SOCOThai"), has signed a Participation Agreement (the "Agreement") with GFI Oil andGas Thailand Inc. ("GFI"), and TOPoil LTD. ("TOPoil") (together the "Farmee"),wherein Farmee can earn up to a 60% working interest in the Bualuang field inthe Gulf of Thailand. A 20% interest can be earned by the Farmee upon the conclusion of a Phase I workprogramme wherein the Farmee must conclude a high resolution 100 kilometre 2Dseismic programme and drill one well in the Bualuang Field. At the election ofFarmee, a further 40% working interest can be earned in the Phase II workprogramme. The Phase II work programme, during which SOCO Thai would fund only8% of the cost, requires the Farmee to drill up to eight wells, install aplatform and take the project to first oil. After the end of the Phase II Period, GFI shall be designated the operator ofthe project and shall engage an independent reservoir engineer to perform ananalysis of the proven reserves contained in the Bualuang Field. The Farmeeshall pay SOCO Thai an amount equal to one dollar (US$ 1.00) for each barrelover ten million four hundred thousand (10,400,000) barrels. The assignment of interests in the Agreement is subject to approval of theappropriate regulatory authorities of the Government of Thailand. Ed Story, chief executive of SOCO, commented, "This is a transaction thatbenefits all the parties involved. It allows SOCO to focus resources on higherprofile projects in Vietnam and Yemen, but can accelerate the development of ourThailand project and provide meaningful production as early as the end of 2007." 25 April 2006 ENQUIRIES: SOCO International plcRoger Cagle Deputy Chief Executive and Tel: 020 7747 2000 Chief Financial Officer Pelham Public RelationsJames Henderson Tel: 020 7743 6673Alisdair Haythornthwaite Tel: 020 7743 6676 Notes to editors: SOCO holds its interests in Thailand through its wholly owned subsidiary SOCOThailand, LLC., which in turn has a 99.93% shareholding in SOCO Thai. SOCO Thaiholds a 100% working interest in the Bualuang Field (formerly Pornsiri) in theGulf of Thailand over which it acquired government approval for a fielddevelopment licence in March of this year. GFI is a subsidiary of GFI Oil and Gas Corporation, a company incorporated inAlberta, Canada, traded on the Toronto Venture Exchange (symbol "GFI"). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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