Cadogan Regulatory News (CAD)

24 Jul 2008 07:00



24 July 2008

CADOGAN PETROLEUM PLC

("Cadogan" or the "Company")

RESPONSE TO PRESS SPECULATION

Further to Cadogan's announcement on 22 July 2008 concerning the press speculation regarding Cadogan's Pirkovskoe and Zagoryanska special permits ("licences"), the Company wishes to clarify the following as a result of its investigation of this matter to date:

As mentioned above Cadogan is not directly subject to the court rulings. Neither the Ministry nor any other governmental or regulatory body has taken any action against Cadogan in pursuance of the court rulings. Cadogan has been advised that new legal proceedings would need to be brought against Cadogan and would need to succeed before Cadogan's interests in its licences would be affected.

As an interested party, Cadogan has commenced legal proceedings with a view to challenging the court rulings referred to above and will take all such measures as it considers necessary to protect its interests in the fields. Cadogan does not believe there are reasonable grounds upon which claims seeking to contest its title to its licences can successfully be made. The Company is continuing to investigate the situation as a matter of utmost importance in conjunction with its legal advisers.

On 22 July, dealings in the Company's ordinary shares were temporarily suspended as a result of the uncertainty over the alleged court rulings reported in the Ukrainian media, which contained a number of inaccuracies and misleading comments. The Company has now established the facts above and in the light of this information and the steps the Company intends to take to seek satisfactory resolution of this matter, the Company has requested the FSA to restore its listing and dealings in its ordinary shares. This is expected to occur by 8am today or soon thereafter. 

The Company's operations across its entire asset base continue as normal and it remains focused on achieving its stated operational targets.

Mark Tolley, Chief Executive of Cadogan, commented:

"The results of our initial enquiries support the confidence of Cadogan's Board in the validity of our licences and as today's announcement illustrates, we are working towards resolving this matter.

"Moreover our operations continue on track and we remain resolute in delivering on our strategy of building domestic production and commercialising gas reserves in Ukraine. 

"Cadogan has spent several years building our business in Ukraine, investing significant sums in our portfolio of assets and a Ukrainian employee base of over 350 people. Throughout our time operating in the country, we've enjoyed strong support and partnership in Ukraine. 

We look forward to continue working together with our partners and successfully resolving this matter."

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