Cloudified Holdings Limited Regulatory News (CHL)

5 Sep 2007 15:36

Churchill Mining plc06 September 2007 CHURCHILL MINING PLC ("Churchill" or "the Company") Churchill Awarded Indonesia's First Coal Bed Methane JEA License Highlights: • Project area in East Kalimantan has the potential to host Gas-in-Place of 5,626.3 billion cubic feet • No vendor payment in cash or shares required by Churchill to acquire the Project • Discussions underway with a number of major international oil, gas and CBM companies for involvement in the CBM Project Churchill Mining Plc (AIM: CHL) announces that the Company and its Indonesianpartner, PT Ridlatama Mining Utama, (RMU) which together form the "RidlatamaConsortium", have been awarded Indonesia's first Coal Bed Methane (CBM) JointEvaluation Agreement ("JEA") license in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Churchill and RMU were not required to tender for the JEA, which was issued tothem by direct appointment from the Indonesian Oil and Gas government regulator,DIRJEN MIGAS. Under new regulations in Indonesia, companies holding coaltenements in potential CBM areas have the right to direct appointment CBMlicenses, known as a JEA. However, the granting of a JEA is not automatic andChurchill and RMU were put through a rigorous pre-qualification and applicationprocess by DIRJEN MIGAS, before the JEA was confirmed. This system of JEA direct appointment has enabled Churchill and its consortiumpartner to by-pass the standard tender method (JSA) for CBM blocks, where itwould have been required to bid against a number of large multinationalcompanies who had already expressed an interest in the same project area. Consequently no vendor payment in cash or shares was required to be made byChurchill to another party as the license was granted directly and this was notan asset purchase. Following the JEA Agreement with DIRJEN MIGAS, Churchill and RMU will create aJoint Operating Company (JOC) and will conduct a full investigation of the 800square kilometre block in the Kutai Basin, East Kalimantan. The Company wouldthen proceed to a Production Sharing Agreement with the Indonesian Government atthe appropriate time. Churchill will hold 70% of the JOC and RMU 30%, withexpenditure by each party proportional to their holding. Following geophysical work conducted by Churchill in and around the SendawarCoal Project and prior to applying for the CBM license, Churchill appointed aCBM specialist team headed by Dr A. Haris, to investigate the CBM potential ofthe area. Dr Haris is recognised for his work and expertise in theinterpretation of seismic and down-hole data sets for the oil and gas industry. This study by Dr Haris was based on existing seismic and drill-hole data, fromwork which was previously undertaken by a number of multinational companies toassess the potential of conventional oil and gas in the area. This initialChurchill study identified a number of coal seams located within the appropriatedepth range and Dr Haris reported that the CBM Project area has the potential tohost Gas-in-Place of 5,626.3 billion cubic feet. Churchill has begun discussions regarding the CBM Project with a number of majorinternational oil, gas and CBM companies concerning technical assistance,off-take agreements and financial matters. "The demand for CBM for use in power stations, the chemical and fertilizerindustries, liquefaction and the hydrogen fuel industry is growing rapidly,"said Mr Paul Mazak, Joint Managing Director of Churchill. "The CBM Project is anextraordinary opportunity for the Company and fits perfectly into Churchill'sstrategy of developing into a significant coal and energy company." ENDS Dr A. Haris who has a Doctorate in Geophysics from the University of Kiel,Germany, is the qualified person that has reviewed the information contained inthis release. Enquiries: Churchill Mining Plc Blue Oar Securities Parkgreen CommunicationsPaul Mazak/ James Hamilton Romil Patel Justine Howarth+61 (0)8 9388 0377 +44(0)20 7448 4000 +44 (0) 20 7493 3713 paul.mazak@churchillmining.com james.hamilton@churchillmining.com Notes to editors Churchill Mining Plc listed on AIM in April 2005. Its principle operations arethe South Woodie Woodie manganese project in Australia and the Sendawar and EastKutai coal projects in Indonesia. South Woodie Woodie The South Woodie Woodie project covers approximately 490 square kilometres inthe East Pilbara region of Western Australia. Owned via Churchill Mining'swholly-owned subsidiary, Planet Mining Pty Ltd, the project sits approximately400km southeast of Port Hedland in the highly prospective Pilbara manganeseprovince. Churchill owns the project 100%. To date much of the project area hasnever been explored due to the presence of surface cover. Churchill hasconducted a versatile time-domain electromagnetic (VTEM) geophysics survey todefine targets for drilling. VTEM is a leading heli-borne technology that candetect conductive mineralisation and related structures to depths of 400m belowsurface. Sendawar The Sendawar project in Kalimantan, Indonesia, covers more than 1,000 squarekilometres of prospective ground and lies in close proximity to two operatingopen-cut mines: Thai miner Banpu's newly commissioned Trubaindo operation, whichwill shortly be producing at a rate of approximately six million tonnes perannum (tpa); and the privately-owned Gunung Bayan mine which has been operatingsince 1998 and produces approximately 3.4 million tpa. Coal from these mines istransported by barge via the Mahakam River to the port of Samarinda. TheSendawar project is located approximately 50km from the Mahakam River. East Kutai Churchill announced on 15 February 2007 that it had signed an ExclusivityAgreement with PT Techno Coal Utama to enable it to conduct due diligence workon the thermal coal project. In May 2007 Churchill announced a sales agreementhad been entered into to purchase a 75% interest in the Project. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange