BOIL.L Regulatory News (BOIL)

10 Jul 2006 15:06

Plectrum Petroleum PLC10 July 2006 For immediate release: 10 July 2006 Plectrum Petroleum Plc ("Plectrum", "The Company", or "The Group") Plectrum and Gold Oil invited to enter final negotiations for an Exploration & Exploitation Contract covering Block Z-34, Offshore Peru Plectrum is pleased to announce that the Company, together with its AIM listedjoint venture partner, Gold Oil Plc (Gold), has been invited to start exclusivenegotiations with Perupetro S.A. on the details of an Exploration Licencecovering Block Z-34, offshore Peru. This follows formal notification of Gold asan approved offshore operator and Plectrum as an approved contractor. It isexpected that the contract will be signed and approved by Perupetro withinweeks, with formal approval by the Minister of Energy and Mines sometime later. On 8 June 2006 Plectrum announced that it had agreed to form a joint venturewith Gold in respect of Block Z-34, jointly giving notice to convert Gold'sexisting Promotion Agreement into a 30 year Exploration & Exploitation Licence.Final completion of the transaction was subject to the qualification of bothcompanies as approved contractors and the negotiation and approval of theExploration Licence terms by the Peruvian authorities. Mike Evans, Plectrum's Chief Operating Officer, commented: "This is excellent news for Plectrum in our new joint venture with Gold. I lookforward to speedy negotiation of the contract terms so that we can becomeoperationally active as soon as possible." For further information, please contact: Plectrum Petroleum Plc Tel:01330 826 710Mike Whyatt, Executive ChairmanMike Evans, Chief Operating Officerwww.plectrum.co.uk Corporate Synergy Tel:020 7448 4400Oliver CairnsDavid Seal Aquila Financial Ltd Tel:020 7202 2600Peter ReillyVivienne Maceywww.aquila-financial.com Notes to editors Block Z-34 sits in the prolific Talara Basin which has produced to date inexcess of 1.7 billion barrels of oil and 340 billion cubic feet of gas(1). The3,713 km(2) block (equivalent to 14 North Sea Blocks) sits adjacent to existingproducing concessions in water depths of 100-3000m, yet has a sparse existingdata set of just 500km 2D seismic. The initial work programme will be to acquirea conventional modern 2D seismic grid and enhance these data with ElectroMagnetic (EM) studies. Plectrum Petroleum Plc is an AIM listed exploration and production company.Plectrum's strategy is to seek out offshore exploration activities around theglobe that can be significantly de-risked before drilling by the application ofinnovative technologies such as controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM)imaging. Since incorporation, Plectrum has focused on researching and quantifying a widerange of acquisitions and establishing the Company as an industry player. Anumber of applications have been made, and are in progress, for rights toexploration acreage around the world including in the UK, Latin America andAustralia. In June 2006 Plectrum announced it had conditionally acquired a 50%interest and operatorship of the Nabeul Block, Offshore Tunisia. Note 1: Higley D (2004), The Talara Basin Province of Northwestern Peru:Cretaceous-TertiaryTotal Petroleum System: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S.Geological Survey Bulletin 2206-A This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange