Ascent Resources Regulatory News (AST)

6 Dec 2007 07:01

Ascent Resources PLC06 December 2007 Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas 6th December 2007 Ascent Resources plc ("Ascent" or "the Company") Italian Po Valley Gas Project Farm-Out Update Ascent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and productioncompany, has entered into an agreement whereby Otto Energy Limited ("Otto") willparticipate in the farm out of a 50% interest in the 828 sq km Cento andBastiglia exploration permits in the Po Valley of Italy. The first of two wellsis scheduled to be drilled in the second half of 2008 and targets the Gazzataprospect, which has a third party estimated recoverable reserve of over 100 Bcfof gas. The new agreement supersedes the farm-in agreement with Deltana, previouslyannounced on 1 August 2007. The terms remain essentially unchanged with Deltanaand Otto paying a contribution towards the project back costs and the purchaseof existing seismic data. Deltana and Otto will also pay 100% of the cost ofthe first exploration well and 100% of the cost of a second exploration well ifthe first well discovers commercial quantities of gas. The future value of thefarm-in package amounts to circa €13 million. Ascent Managing Director Jeremy Eng said, "The latest phase of exploration inthe Po Valley uses state-of-the art techniques in seismic processing, whichstill further improves the already impressive success rate in gas exploration inthe region. The Cento and Bastiglia permits, which are among the largest in thearea, have multiple exploration targets as well as established infrastructureclose to hand. This farm-out again confirms the strength of Ascent's strategyand demonstrates the depth of the Company's portfolio of European projects." The Po Valley, which extends across the northern part of Italy from Turin in thewest to Venice and Ravenna in the east, is the one of the most productive areasfor gas and oil onshore Europe. Since the 1950s, over 130 fields have been puton production. Ascent's exploration permits are centrally located near thecities of Modena to the south, Mantova to the north and Bologna to the southeast. Otto Energy Limited is an Australian public company with projects in Turkey,Argentina and the Philippines. The division of the 50% participating interestbetween Otto and Deltana are subject to an agreement between those two companiesand their participating interests are to be finalised by 31st March 2008. * * ENDS * * For further information visit www.ascentresources.co.uk or contact: Jeremy Eng Ascent Resources plc Tel: 020 7251 4905Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477Max Hartley Cenkos Securities plc Tel: 020 7397 8924 Notes Ascent Resources plc has a portfolio of 20 hydrocarbon exploration anddevelopment projects across six countries in Europe: Italy, Switzerland,Hungary, Spain, Slovenia and Netherlands. With the stable European gas market,Ascent's portfolio favours gas over oil. With the exception of the Netherlands,all of its projects are located onshore where operating and development costsare substantially lower than they are offshore. Glossary Bcf Billions standard cubic feet of gas, a measurement of gas volumeAAPG Association of American Petroleum Geologists This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange