ECHO.L Regulatory News (ECHO)

9 July 2015

 Independent Resources plc

("IRG", the "Company" or the "Group")

Update re Ksar Hadada license

IRG is pleased to announce that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Scotforth Limited to undertake a remote sensing hydrocarbon survey of the Ksar Hadada permit in Tunisia. The intent is to complete this within 6 weeks. IRG is confident that this will allow it better to identify the hydrocarbon resource potential of the permit to support and improve the prospects of a farm-in.

If successful, IRG expects that it will allow it to accelerate the timing of the first well being drilled.

Greg Coleman, CEO of IRG commented: "We are excited to have entered into this agreement with Scotforth and we are looking forward to working with them, seeing the results of their survey and sharing those results with potential farm-in partners."

Peter Hutchison, MD of Scotforth Limited, commented: "My team is delighted to be working with IRG. We are confident that, using our proprietary RSDD-H survey technology, we will rapidly map the hydrocarbon potential within the entire 2,252 sq. kms. Ksar Hadada permit area and provide IRG with technology informed insight that may prove vital for the next stage in their exploration."

For more information, please visit www.ir-plc.com or contact:

In relation to Scotforth Limited and the survey technology: www.scotforth.com 

Note for editors: Background to RSDD-H (Remote Sensing Direct Detection of Hydrocarbons) 

It has long been known that sub-surface hydrocarbons cause changes in surface landscapes. Direct measurement and mapping of surface materials such as vegetation, soils and rocks etc has been part of the exploration process for decades. One surface attribute that is a reliable indicator of the sub-surface presence of hydrocarbons is the photo-spectral radiance of the landscape.

Scotforth's RSDD-H uses an array of multi-spectral and hyper-spectral imagery (gathered from satellite data remotely) to detect variations in photo-spectral patterns and hence to identify the hydrocarbon footprints. This involves collection of data from parts of the electromagnetic spectrum both inside and outside the visible range, applying complex computer algorithms and analyses and making detailed comparisons of these results with other results from known analogous petroleum habitats.

Over many years, Scotforth has built a library of hydrocarbon footprints that now provide a reference database that allows the team operating RSDD-H to make reliable predictions of hydrocarbon locations across most landmasses.

In February 2015, in the latest large-scale performance analysis of its RSDD-H surveys in several countries and across 65 recent industry wells, an industry-enabling 80% success rate was achieved in detecting the presence or absence of hydrocarbons