Emerald Energy Regulatory News (EEN)

26 Apr 2005 12:19

Emerald Energy PLC26 April 2005 26 April 2005 Emerald Energy Plc ("Emerald" or the "Company") New Technical Evaluation Agreements in Colombia Emerald Energy Plc ("Emerald" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that ithas been awarded two new Technical Evaluation Agreements ("TEA") in the LlanosBasin of Colombia. The Cachama and Las Brisas Agreements, in which Emerald has a100% working interest, cover areas of around 2,400 sq. km. each in the southernpart of the Llanos Basin. In October 2004 Emerald was previously awarded twoTEAs, Mantecal and Altamira, that cover some 4,720 sq. km. and are located tothe north of the Llanos Basin. The Company's Campo Rico and Vigia fields arealso located in the Llanos Basin. The term of the TEAs is ten months and during that period Emerald will carry outtechnical studies designed to identify the presence of prospective explorationareas; the Company may then apply to ANH, the National Hydrocarbon Agency ofColombia, for Exploration and Production Contracts for these prospective areas.Emerald has, for the term of the TEAs, the first right of refusal over anyExploration and Production Contract proposed by a third party that includes anypart of the area covered by the TEA. Alastair Beardsall, Emerald's Chairman, said: "The award of the Cachama and LasBrisas TEAs is a further positive step towards increasing Emerald's portfolio ofexploration acreage in Colombia. In the highly prospective Llanos basin we nowhave four TEAs covering a total of over 9500 sq. km. in which we have securedthe first option on future Exploration and Production Contracts without havingto commit substantial funds for a seismic or drilling programme at this stage." Press enquiries: Alastair Beardsall, Chairman and Chief Executive -- 020 7925 2440 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange