Faroe Petroleum Plc Regulatory News (FPM)

27 Mar 2006 14:43

Faroe Petroleum PLC27 March 2006 27 March 2006 Faroe Petroleum plc ("Faroe Petroleum" or "the Company") Pre-Qualification for Faroe Petroleum in Norway Faroe Petroleum, the AIM quoted oil and gas company focusing on a portfolio ofexploration, appraisal and undeveloped field opportunities in the AtlanticMargin and the North Sea, is pleased to announce that it has been informed bythe Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy that it has pre-qualified as alicence holder on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In order to encourage new competent oil companies to pursue oil and gasactivities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the Norwegian authorities haveimplemented a system of pre-qualification of both licence holders and operators.The background to the implementation of this system is to give oil companies theopportunity to prove their suitability for participation on the NorwegianContinental Shelf, before the company invests resources on businessopportunities. Faroe Petroleum is actively pursuing plans to participate in the upcoming 2006APA Round, announced by the Norwegian Energy Minister on 21 February 2006, withapplications to be submitted by 29 September 2006. 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. Graham Stewart, chief executive of Faroe Petroleum commented: "We are delighted to have pre-qualified well ahead of the 2006 APA LicensingRound submission deadline and so soon after establishing our new subsidiary andteam in Norway. With the successful hiring of such a competent team andpre-qualification, Faroe is on track to play an important role in exploring forand exploiting undiscovered and undeveloped resources in Norway. "The Norwegian Continental Shelf represents the perfect next stage in thedevelopment of the Faroe Petroleum portfolio of assets. Our knowledge andexperience in this important oil and gas province are second to none and we lookforward to an exciting time ahead." - Ends - For further information, call: Graham Stewart, Faroe Petroleum plc 01224 652 810Billy Clegg/Edward Westropp, Financial Dynamics 020 7831 3113 Notes to Editors 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 value portfolioof exploration, development and production assets in Norway, and gives FaroePetroleum an excellent opportunity to expand rapidly its portfolio into Norway. 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 a specialisation in4D seismic interpretation. Mr Hammer and Mr Roberts will lead our Norway team,which will work closely with our UK and Faroes sub-surface and commercial teamsin building 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) stands at approximately 3 million barrels per day and net gas production exceeds 2.5 trillion cubic feet per year • The first exploration well was drilled in 1966 and only 1,063 exploration wells have been drilled, proving 60 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of recoverable resources • The average technical discovery rate is approximately 40% • The mean estimate for the undiscovered resources in Norway is 21 billion boe of recoverable resources, equivalent to the quantity that has been produced to date This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange