Agriterra Ld Regulatory News (AGTA)

8 Jul 2005 15:12

White Nile Limited08 July 2005 8th July 2005 White Nile Limited ('White Nile' or 'the Company') 'Signs Joint Study Agreement with Ethiopian Government' White Nile Ltd, the AIM listed oil and gas exploration company, is pleased toannounce that it has agreed terms with the Ministry of Mines of the FederalDemocratic Republic of Ethiopia for a Joint Study Agreement ('the Agreement')covering the area of southern Ethiopia known as the 'Southern Rift Basins'. Theapproximate 70,000 sq km area is adjacent to Petronas' Gambela Block in thenorth and borders South Sudan and Kenya to the south. The Agreement is over a two-year period during which White Nile, incollaboration with the Petroleum Operations Department of the Ministry of Mines,will conduct geological and geophysical studies aimed at evaluating theprospective nature of the area for oil. At the conclusion of the Agreementperiod or at any time before that, the terms allow the Company to enterexclusive negotiations with the Ministry of Mines for an Exploration andProduction Sharing Agreement. Exploration in the area is based on the geological concept that thepetroliferous Cretaceous and Early Tertiary basins of South Sudan extendsouth-eastwards beneath the younger and less prospective East African rifts. TheCompany, which has an initial cash commitment of US$450,000 plans to begingeophysical operations in September with magneto-telluric and gravity surveys. White Nile has recently commissioned an extensive seismic survey on its Block Baexploration concession in South Sudan. The Company is aiming to build a strongregional presence focussing on oil exploration and production. White Nile Chairman Phil Edmonds said: "We are very pleased that we have agreedterms with the Ethiopian Government and hope this is the start of a long runningrelationship. We will work closely with the Ministry of Mines to evaluate thearea, which both parties believe has strong potential for future development,especially due to it being adjacent to the highly prospective Gambela region.Following the conclusion of the exploration work programme and the analysis ofthe data collected, we aim to progress the project in tandem with the EthiopianGovernment to maximise the potential of the region as quickly as possible. "We have recently raised an additional £7 million from institutions and haveengaged Canadian company Terra Seis Geophysical Ltd to conduct an initial2,000km seismic survey on the Block Ba concession area in South Sudan. We arealso continuing to work closely with our partners and advisors to identifyfurther concession areas in Southern Sudan and adjacent countries, which willfulfil the Company's strategy of creating a strong presence within the regionand help in the enhancement of its oil potential." * * E N D S * * Contacts: Phil Edmonds White Nile Ltd Tel: 0845 108 6060Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange