Faroe Petroleum Plc Regulatory News (FPM)

30 Jan 2007 10:48

Faroe Petroleum PLC30 January 2007 30 January 2007 Faroe Petroleum plc ("Faroe Petroleum", or "the Company") Faroe Petroleum awarded six new licences in Norway Faroe Petroleum, the AIM listed oil and gas Company focusing on exploration,appraisal and undeveloped field opportunities in the Atlantic Margin, the NorthSea and Norway, announces that it has been awarded its first Norwegian licences,under the Norwegian APA Round, as announced by the Norwegian Ministry ofPetroleum and Energy yesterday. The following six awards have been made to the Company: Halten Terrace Area The Company has been awarded two licences in the prolific Halten Terracehydrocarbon province of the Norwegian Sea. These licences offer excellentexploration and appraisal opportunities in an area which is in activedevelopment. * Part blocks 6506/9&12, Faroe Petroleum Interest: 30% This licence coversapproximately 80 square kilometres and contains a very interesting prospect some8 kilometres to the north of the producing Smorbukk Field. The structure issimilar to the recent Morvin oil and gas discovery 10 kilometres to thesouthwest, which was successfully appraised in 2006. Additional 3D seismic datawill be acquired over the structure to define a location for the explorationwell that will be drilled on the prospect within the next four years. Partnersare Centrica (operator) and Petro-Canada. * Part blocks 6506/12, 6406/2&3, Faroe Petroleum Interest: 30% This licencecovers approximately 240 square kilometres and represents an opportunity toappraise an existing discovery in the Lower Cretaceous. The discovery liesbetween the Smorbukk and Smorbukk Sor fields and already has proven hydrocarbonsin two wells. The work program involves the reprocessing of existing 3D seismicdata to better define the distribution of reserves, prior to a decision beingtaken within two years on whether to drill an appraisal well. Partners areCentrica (operator) and Petro-Canada. Marulk Basin Area The Company has been awarded a licence within a prolific oil-source kitchen arealocated just to the north of the Tampen Spur hydrocarbon province which includesthe Snorre Field. This licence offers an excellent exploration opportunity in anarea which is under-explored. * Part blocks 33/2,3&6, 34/1&4, Faroe Petroleum Interest: 20% This licence,which covers approximately 700 square kilometres, is situated in the MarulkBasin. In terms of structural and depositional setting, the prospects identifiedin the license are analogous to some of the largest fields found in the NorthSea. The resource potential of this licence is significant and will be clarifiedby the forward work programme, which involves obtaining and reprocessing 3Dseismic data and a drill or drop decision within two years. Partners areConocoPhillips (operator), Revus and Petro-Canada. Utsira High The Company has been awarded a licence located to the east of the Frigg Field.This area represents a mature oil and gas province, with discoveries andproduction from many stratigraphic levels. * Part blocks 25/3,5&6, Faroe Petroleum Interest: 20% This licence coversapproximately 570 square kilometres, and comprises several prospects at Jurassicand Paleocene levels. The Jurassic structures are adjacent and analogous to theabandoned Froy Field, which the operator (Pertra) is planning to redevelop. Thework programme includes reprocessing of existing 3D seismic data prior to adecision being taken to drill an exploration well within two years. Partners arePertra (operator), Noreco and PA Resources. East of Ula The Company has been awarded a licence located on the flank of the prolificCentral Graben, approximately 15 kilometres east of the Ula and Gyda Jurassicoil fields. This licence offers an excellent exploration opportunity in an areawhich is under-explored. * Part blocks 7/9&12, 8/7,8,10&11, Faroe Petroleum Interest: 30% This licencecovers approximately 650 square kilometres. The identified prospectivity islocated adjacent to an untested salt diapir and has many analogues in theCentral Graben. The work programme involves reprocessing of existing 2D and 3Dseismic data, with a drill or drop decision within two years. Partners areCentrica (operator) and Petro-Canada. 35/8 Area The Company has been awarded a licence in the vicinity of the Fram/Gjoa fields,in the northern part of the Norwegian North Sea. The prospectivity in thislicence is relatively immature, but there are some interesting leads in moreunconventional plays. * Part block 35/8, Faroe Petroleum Interest: 30% This licence coversapproximately 175 square kilometres and is located in the Sogn Graben, 8kilometres to the northeast of the 35/8-1 Vega discovery. There are a number ofprospective levels in the licence and existing 3D seismic data will bereprocessed and evaluated prior to a decision being taken within two years todrill an exploration well. Partners are Petro-Canada (operator) and Centrica. Graham Stewart, Chief Executive of Faroe Petroleum, commented: "Faroe Petroleum is delighted to have been awarded its first licences in Norway.These new assets complement the Company's existing strategic licence portfolioof key Atlantic Margin and UK North Sea licences and establish Faroe Petroleumas a significant player in the region. "Awarded in partnership with some very strong oil and gas companies, includingConocoPhillips, Centrica and Petro-Canada, these important new licences kick offour portfolio building programme for Norway. Having satisfied the Ministry'spre-qualification process, this award demonstrates clearly our team's ability toextend Faroe Petroleum's portfolio beyond the Faroes and United Kingdom, andinto Norway. We now look forward to working with our new partners to createsignificant shareholder value as we commence our exciting work programmes inNorway." - Ends - For further information, please contact: Faroe Petroleum plc Graham Stewart Tel: 01224 652 810 Financial Dynamics Jonathon Brill/Billy Clegg/Edward Westropp Tel: 020 7831 3113 Notes to Editors: Norway is an attractive market for Faroe Petroleum because it ranks as theworld's third largest exporter of oil and gas, it has an average technicaldiscovery rate of approximately 40% and the mean estimate for the undiscoveredresources in Norway is 21 billion boe of recoverable resources, equivalent tothe quantity that has been produced to date. In addition, the NorwegianGovernment offers a 78 per cent. rebate on all exploration expenditure. On 27 March 2006 the Company announced that it had pre-qualified as a licenceholder on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In February, the Company secured a first-rate Norwegian team of highlyexperienced professionals, and opened offices in Stavanger, Norway. TheCompany's decision to enter Norway relates principally to the country's vastpotential for finding new resources, its outstanding exploration success rateand the fact that it remains an under-explored province. With an estimated 21billion barrels of undiscovered resources, Norway has also recently implementeda very favourable tax structure designed to incentivise exploration The new Norway team, all of whom have worked together for several years on theNorwegian Continental Shelf, has an outstanding track record built up withseveral oil companies in Norway, including Enterprise, Paladin, Shell andStatoil. The team was previously responsible for creating a high valueportfolio of exploration, development and production assets in Norway, and givesFaroe Petroleum an excellent opportunity to expand rapidly its portfolio intoNorway. Heading up our Norway operation as Country Manager is Mr Helge Hammer. MrHammer, who has 19 years of experience in the international upstream oil and gasindustry including 14 years with Shell, joins Faroe Petroleum from PaladinResources where he was Deputy Managing Director, Norway. Mr Andrew Roberts hasbeen appointed Exploration Manager for Norway, also joining us from PaladinResources. Mr Roberts is a highly regarded geophysicist with over 23 years ofindustry experience. Mr Hammer and Mr Roberts will lead our Norway team, whichwill work closely with our UK and Faroes sub-surface and commercial teams inbuilding a strong and complimentary business portfolio in Norway. Key Norway Highlights • Norway ranks as the world's third largest exporter of oil and gas • Oil production (including Natural Gas Liquids and condensate) standsat approximately 3 million barrels per day and net gas production exceeds 2.5trillion cubic feet per year • The first exploration well was drilled in 1966 and only 1,100exploration wells have been drilled, proving 60 billion barrels of oilequivalent (boe) of recoverable resources • The average technical discovery rate is approximately 40% • The mean estimate for the undiscovered resources in Norway is 21billion boe of recoverable resources, equivalent to the quantity that has beenproduced to date This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange