legend1 part 125 May 2012 10:19
25 May 2012
Agriterra Ltd ('Agriterra' or 'the Company')
Acknowledgment of £11,372,682 Compensation Award to Agriterra
Agriterra Ltd, the AIM listed pan African agricultural company, is pleased to announce that following its instigation of international arbitration proceedings, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining of the Republic of South Sudan ('the MPM') has acknowledged in writing the Company's entitlement to receive a compensation payment, as assessed by the country's National Petroleum Commission ('NPC'), of £11,372,682 ('the Compensation'). In the same communication, the MPM acknowledged that compensation should have been paid much earlier and has confirmed that it will be paid to the Company within one year.
The Compensation is acknowledged as being partial recompense for the work undertaken and the substantial investment made by the Company on the Block Ba oil concession area in Southern Sudan, during its previous incarnation as White Nile Limited ('White Nile'), an oil and gas exploration company. White Nile commenced exploration work on Block Ba in 2005 and continued exploratory activities prior to the NPC's decision to prohibit exploration work in the area, in June 2007.
Whilst this recent communication from the MPM is a positive development in the Company's efforts to achieve a resolution to this long running matter, and arises from the Board's initiation of international arbitration proceedings, the Company has now called for a meeting with the relevant authorities in the Republic of South Sudan in an effort to expedite payment of the Compensation.