GEEC.L Regulatory News (GEEC)

2 Mar 2007 07:30

Great Eastern Energy Corp Ltd02 March 2007 For Immediate Release: 7.00am Friday 2 March 2007 Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd Field Development Plan Approved Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd. (Great Eastern), a Company involved in theexploration, development and production of coal bed methane (CBM) in India, ispleased to announce that it has gained approval from the Directorate General ofHydrocarbons in India (Government of India) for its field development planrelating to its license area in the Raniganj Coalfields, West Bengal. This isthe first time a field development plan for the production of natural gas fromcoal beds has been approved in India. Approval both independently certifies Great Eastern's plan for developing thelicense area as well as overcomes regulatory requirements needed to be met forits further development. Certification encompasses the whole project, includingall exploration, development and production aspects. The approved plan covers the complete first phase of developing Great Eastern'slicense area, including the first 100 wells and construction of the GasGathering Stations, which is a key part of managing the distribution of gasproduced to the end user. Current production is 600 Mcfd, a near 40% increase over that being producedonly a month ago, firmly putting the Company on target to reach initialproduction expectations of 1.5 Mcfd. As outlined in previous announcements, significant work has already been carriedout on the construction of the Gas Gathering Station. The survey report anddesign work have been finalised and the equipment needed has also now beenfinalised / contracted. The station remains on schedule for completion in themiddle of this year. Commenting, YK Modi, Chairman and CEO of Great Eastern, said: "Approval of the plan not only independently certifies what we have already doneand achieved but also opens the way for Great Eastern to reach meaningfulsaleable production of natural gas in India. Gaining approval for such plans inIndia is an in depth process that takes a considerable amount of time and so itsapproval can be considered yet another milestone for the Great Eastern." The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), added: "The approval of the Development Plan put in place by Great Eastern to developthe license area is the first in India for the production of CBM. The commercialproduction of CBM in India is now a reality. Results from the explorationcarried out by Great Eastern in its licensed area have been very encouraging. With continuing strong growth in the Indian economy, business surveys point to aready market for gas resources and CBM in India being a key part of thisresource. India, having the fourth largest proven coal reserves and being thethird largest coal producer in the world, holds significant prospects forcommercial recovery of CBM." -ENDS- For further information: Great Eastern EnergyYK Modi Chairman & CEO + 44 (0) 20 7743 6673 Pelham Public RelationsJames Henderson +44 (0)20 7743 6673Philip Dennis Arden PartnersRichard Day +44 (0)20 7398 1632Steve Pearce Notes to Editors: Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd. ("Great Eastern") raised £19m in December2005 through an admission of Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) on the AIMmarket. The Company has a notional market capitalization of £141.6m. Great Eastern holds a licence to explore for CBM in the 210 sq km block in theRaniganj Coalfields, West Bengal. An independent report by Schlumberger awarded3P reserves of 817bcf and gas in place reserves of 1.386tcf, with average gascontent of 250 scf per ton of coal. The project plan involves drilling of 100 production wells over an estimatedfour year period in the first phase at an estimated investment of USD $150m. Inaddition to 3 pilot production wells, the first 20 production wells have beendrilled and completed. 18 wells are dewatering prior to production. The marketfor natural gas in India is growing rapidly on the back of strong economicgrowth. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange