Aminex Regulatory News (AEX)

24 Mar 2006 07:00

Aminex PLC24 March 2006 24 March 2006 AMINEX PLC FARMOUT OF RUVUMA BASIN, TANZANIA Aminex PLC, the oil and gas company listed in London and Dublin, is pleased toannounce that its wholly-owned subsidiary Ndovu Resources Limited ("Ndovu") hassigned a Farmout Agreement with Hardman Resources Ltd. ("Hardman"), theAustralian based oil and gas company. The Farmout Agreement provides for Hardman to earn a 50% interest in the RuvumaProduction Sharing Agreement ("PSA") in exchange for funding 100% of the costsof an onshore 2D seismic survey, at an estimated cost of US$3,000,000. Oncompletion of the earning commitment the interests in the PSA will be: Ndovu 50% Hardman 50% 334 kilometres of new 2D marine seismic were acquired within the PSA area byAminex in 2005 and the additional onshore seismic to be acquired by Hardman willadd significant value to the PSA area. The onshore seismic survey is expectedto consist of approximately 500 kilometres of data and is scheduled to becarried out during 2006 with a view to firming up drilling targets for the jointventure's first exploration wells in this area. The PSA is located approximately 500 km south of Dar es Salaam along theMozambique border and comprises the Mtwara and Lindi licences, covering a totalarea of 12,360 square kilometres over the onshore and near shore Tanzanian partof the Ruvuma Basin. The PSA is adjacent to the Mnazi Bay gas field currentlyunder commercial development. Prior to the award of the PSA to Aminex in late2005 less than 1,400 kilometres of seismic data had been recorded. Severalleads have been identified by previous operators over the PSA area, some withpotential reserves in excess of 100 million barrels. Initial targets will be Tertiary and Cretaceous reservoirs, expected at depthsof 1,000 - 3,000 metres. Oil seeps have been recorded in the area. The Mozambique portion of the Ruvuma Basin attracted significant interest in arecent bidding round and all five blocks offered for exploration were fullysubscribed with substantial work commitments. Hardman is an Australian oil and gas company listed on the Australian StockExchange Limited and on the AIM market in London. It has established itself asAustralia's fifth largest oil exploration and production company, and iscurrently the seventh largest company on AIM in terms of market capitalisation.Hardman has projects in five countries and a major presence in the emergingoffshore Mauritania petroleum province. The Farmout is subject to formal approval from the Tanzanian government. Commenting, Aminex Chief Executive Brian Hall said: "We are very pleased to havereached this agreement and welcome Hardman to Tanzania and as our partner in theRuvuma Basin. Hardman brings additional African experience to the joint ventureand its recent successes in Uganda are particularly relevant. We are confidentthat Hardman will make a significant technical contribution to the joint ventureand we very much look forward to working with them on this exciting project". Further info: Brian Hall Chief Executive, Aminex +44 (0) 20 7240 1600 Archie Berens Pelham Public Relations +44 (0) 20 7743 6679 or +44 (0)7802 442486 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange