8 May 2015 07:00
Northern Petroleum Plc
("Northern Petroleum" or "the Company")
Completion of Italian farm out to Shell
Northern Petroleum confirms that, further to the announcement on the 5th March 2015, the farm out of the Italian onshore permit, Cascina Alberto, to Shell Italia E&P S.p.A. ("Shell"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, completed on the 7th May 2015. The Italian regulatory authorities have approved the transfer of 80 per cent of the permit interest to Shell and Shell has paid to Northern Petroleum US$850,000 as agreed under the farm out agreement.
The work programme has started with the re-processing of existing seismic data to determine whether there is a requirement for further seismic acquisition to help delineate a proposed target for an exploration well. Shell will carry Northern Petroleum for the costs of the exploration campaign, which will include a carry on the acquisition of any new seismic until the seismic costs reach US$4 million and a carry on an exploration well until the well costs reach US$50 million.
Keith Bush, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"We are very pleased with the approval of our farm out to Shell by the Italian regulatory authorities. The Cascina Alberto permit provides the opportunity of significant value creation for our shareholders through a carried exploration programme and is just one of the multiple exploration and appraisal opportunities that the Company is progressing within the Italian portfolio."
For further information please contact:
Northern Petroleum Plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7469 2900
Keith Bush, Chief Executive Officer
Nick Morgan, Finance Director
Westhouse Securities Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0)20 7601 6100
Alastair Stratton
Robert Finlay
FirstEnergy Capital LLP (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0)20 7448 0200
Jonathan Wright
David van Erp
Camarco Tel: +44 (0)20 3757 4980
Billy Clegg
Georgia Mann
Note to Editors:
Northern Petroleum is an oil and gas company focused on production led growth. The Company is undertaking a redevelopment and production project in north west Alberta and has a broader portfolio of exploration and appraisal opportunities in countries of relatively low political risk, primarily Italy. Comprehensive information on Northern Petroleum and its oil and gas operations, including press releases, annual reports and interim reports are available from Northern Petroleum's website: www.northernpetroleum.com