8 Apr 2015 10:34
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Response to AMNI's allegations regarding Okoro
London, 8 April 2015
Afren plc ("Afren" or the "Company") (LSE: AFR) notes the press reports regarding the purported termination by AMNI Petroleum Development Company ("AMNI") of the Production Sharing and Technical Services Agreement between AMNI, the Company and Afren Energy Resources Limited in respect of the Okoro field (the "PSTSA"). As announced on 13 March 2015, Afren has previously received a notice of breach of the PSTSA from AMNI, which it rejected. Afren vigorously disputes that AMNI is entitled to terminate the PSTSA for the alleged breaches. Afren has offered to meet AMNI to discuss the parties' future collaboration under the PSTSA and operations continue at Okoro in line with the Company's expectations.
The Company continues to make good progress on satisfying the relevant conditions precedent to the provision of the interim funding announced on 13 March 2015 and expects to finalise arrangements for completion of such funding imminently.
Further announcements will be made in due course as appropriate.
For further information contact:
Afren plc Tel: +44 20 7864 3700
Simon Hawkins, Group Head of Investor Relations
Bell Pottinger (public relations adviser to Afren plc) Tel: +44 20 7772 2500
Gavin Davis
Henry Lerwill
Disclaimer and cautionary note on forward looking statements and notes on certain other matters
Certain statements in this announcement are not historical facts and are or are deemed to be "forward-looking". The Company's prospects, plans, financial position and business strategy, and statements pertaining to the capital resources, future expenditure for development projects and results of operations, may constitute forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including, but not limited to; "may", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "plan", "foresee", "will", "could", "may", "might", "believe" or "continue" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other facts that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may be beyond Afren's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performances.
Factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected include, but are not limited to, the following: risks relating to changes in political, economic and social conditions in the countries in which Afren operates; future prices and demand for the Company's products; global oil production; trends in the oil & gas industry and domestic and international oil & gas market conditions; risks in oil & gas operations; future expansion plans and capital expenditures; the Company's relationship with, and conditions affecting, the Company's partners and regulators; competition; weather conditions or catastrophic damage; risks relating to law, regulations and taxation in the countries in which Afren operates, including laws, regulations, decrees and decisions governing the oil & gas industry, the environment and currency and exchange controls and their official interpretation by governmental and other regulatory bodies and by the courts; and risks relating to global economic conditions and the global economic environment. Additional risk factors are as described in the Company's annual report.
Forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release, publicly or otherwise, any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained in this announcement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which any such statement is based unless so required by applicable law.