Aminex Regulatory News (AEX)

25 Feb 2008 07:01

Aminex PLC25 February 2008 25 FEBRUARY 2008 AMINEX DRILLING UPDATE TWO NEW WELLS NOW SPUDDED Aminex PLC ("Aminex" or the "Company") announces that two further wells in itscurrent programme have been spudded over the last three days. In Tanzania the Kiliwani North-1 well ("KN-1") commenced drilling on Saturday 23February from Songo-Songo Island offshore Tanzania using the Caroil-6 land rig.The well is located roughly 2 km from the producing Songo-Songo gas field in thesouthern part of the island and will be drilled as a vertical exploration wellto a depth of approximately 2,000 metres. KN-1 has been designed firstly tointersect a possible new oil play for the Nyuni block in Palaeocene sands andsecondly to investigate the Lower Cretaceous (Neocomian) sand stones which arethe reservoir at the Songo-Songo producing gas field. Moving the rig from Kiliwani Island to Songo-Songo Island and rig-up has beenachieved well ahead of the provisionally estimated time and experience gainedfrom the last well drilled will be put to good use during the drilling of KN-1. Participants in KN-1 well are: Ndovu Resources Ltd. (Aminex) 39% (Operator) RAK Gas Commission 25% Key Petroleum Ltd. 20% East African Exploration Ltd. 10% Bounty Oil and Gas NL 6% In Egypt the Malak-1 well in West esh el Mellahah Block 2 ("WEEM-2") commenceddrilling on Friday 22 February using the ZJ-46, a new-build 2,000 HP rigrecently arrived in Egypt, owned and operated by the Shengi-Bohai DrillingCompany of China. This vertical well is located on the Malak prospect and willbe drilled to a total depth of 3,800 metres which is expected to takeapproximately 30 days. Malak-1 will be immediately followed by a second wellusing the same rig. Depending on well results, a third and further wells couldbe drilled immediately after completion and testing of the first two. The jointventure participants are Aminex Petroleum Egypt Ltd. (operator, 80%) andGroundstar Resources Ltd. (20%). Shareholders with Aminex PLC in AminexPetroleum Egypt Ltd. are Volant Petroleum, First Energy, Sinopex and FSInternational Corporation. Aminex PLC has a 10% beneficial interest in theWEEM-2 permit which is free-carried by other interest holders through to firstcommercial production. WEEM-2 is in the onshore part of the highly productive Gulf of Suez region,close to the coastal town of Hurghada. The ZJ-46 rig is available to the jointventure on a call-out basis for an eighteen month period. Aminex chairman Brian Hall commented: "After many months of carefulpreparation, these two important wells have coincidentally been spudded within24 hours of each other and should take approximately the same time to drill.Aminex is currently involved in a major drilling campaign for which new fundswere raised in 2007. Shareholders will be kept advised of significant events.A map of the WEEM-2 area showing the Malak-1 location will be posted on theCompany's website in the near future" . For further information: Brian Hall Aminex +44 20 7291 3100 Archie Berens Pelham PR +44 20 7743 6679 ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange