Aminex Regulatory News (AEX)

21 Feb 2005 09:45

Aminex PLC21 February 2005 AMINEX PLC("Aminex" or "the Company") Aminex reaches agreement with Petrom Aminex PLC ("Aminex"), the oil and gas company listed in London and Dublin,today announces that Petrom S.A. ("Petrom") and Aminex's subsidiary NdovuResources Ltd. ("Ndovu") have now resolved a long-running dispute with regard tothe costs of the Nyuni-1 well offshore Tanzania, drilled in late 2003/early2004. On 16 June 2004 Aminex announced that its Tanzanian subsidiary Ndovu was indispute with Petrom in relation to unpaid drilling costs. That dispute has nowbeen resolved and, under the terms of a formal settlement agreement: (1) Petrom will pay Ndovu the sum of US$3,400,000 in respect of past costs due for the Nyuni-1 well (2) Petrom will pay Ndovu the sum of US$1,275,000 in settlement of all its other obligations as a joint-venture partner in the Nyuni project. (3) Petrom will have no further rights, obligations or claims under the Nyuni Farm-in and Nyuni joint operating agreements (4) Ndovu is providing an option expiring on 30 June 2006 for Petrom to rejoin the Nyuni project as a full, paying joint-venture partner (5) Ndovu is withdrawing all legal claims against Petrom in the English High Court. Commenting, Aminex Chief Executive Brian Hall said: "This agreement is a very satisfactory outcome to a long running and damagingdispute, resolution of which will enable Aminex to move forward more positivelyin Tanzania and elsewhere. We are grateful to the management of Petrom fortheir constructive approach to this situation." NOTES FOR EDITORS: • Nyuni is a licence area offshore the Rufiji River delta of Tanzania,acquired by Aminex as a consequence of the acquisition of Tanzoil NL in February2002. • Nyuni-1 was drilled to a depth of 3,895 metres and was the firstoffshore exploration well in Tanzania for many years. The well loggedhydrocarbon saturations in Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic formations, encounterednumerous oil and gas shows throughout a thick sandstone sequence and establishedthe presence of oil from a Jurassic source in the region for the first time. • Petrom is the former state oil company of Romania and listed on theBucharest Stock Exchange. Following recent privatisation it is nowmajority-controlled by OMV of Austria. 21 February 2005 FURTHER INFORMATION: Aminex London +44 (0) 20 9240 1600Brian Hall Aminex Perth +61 (0) 8 9221 9888Didier Murcia College Hill +44 (0) 20 7457 2020Jim Joseph This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange