18 Jul 2014 07:00
18 July 2014 For immediate release
InfraStrata plc
("InfraStrata" or the "Company")
Exploration Agreement Signed
InfraStrata plc (AIM:INFA), the independent petroleum exploration and gas storage company, is pleased to announce that, together with joint venture partners Brigantes Energy Limited ("Brigantes") and Terrain Energy Limited ("Terrain"), it has signed an agreement with Larne Oil and Gas Limited ("Larne") with respect to onshore Northern Ireland licence PL1/10 and adjacent offshore licence P2123 (the "Agreement").
Larne is a wholly owned subsidiary of Larne Basin Exploration LLC, a recently formed U.S. based investment company set up for the purpose of investing in oil and gas exploration in the Larne Basin, Northern Ireland. Larne is working in partnership with Ardent Oil Ltd ("Ardent") a UK oil exploration company that is providing technical support to Larne.
Under the terms of the Agreement, Larne has purchased an exclusive option to farm in to both licences. If the option is exercised Larne will be credited with the option price and will then fund a disproportionate share of the forthcoming costs for the proposed Woodburn Forest-1 exploration well in licence PL1/10 to earn a 50% interest in the licence. Should the well cost exceed the Authorisation For Expenditure ("AFE") by more than 10% then all partners would pay their respective percentage share of such excess. However, InfraStrata has pre-existing farmout agreements with partners Brigantes and Terrain with respect to the Woodburn Forest-1 well, which mean that any excess cost accruing to its interest in the well would still be carried.
Assuming that the option is exercised before mid-September 2014 then, following agreement of the AFE and Completion of the agreement, the licence interests in both PL1/10 and P2123 will be as follows:
InfraStrata (operator) 20.83%
Larne 50.00%
Brigantes (40% owned by InfraStrata) 16.67%
Terrain 12.50%
The Agreement is subject to approval for the licence interest assignments by Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for licence PL1/10, and Department of Energy and Climate Change for licence P2123.
In P2123, Larne will be assigned a 50.00% interest and will at Completion reimburse its share of certain costs to existing partners.
Woodburn Forest-1 will be the first exploration well on the licence area since 1971, a prospect with three conventional sandstone reservoir targets in the Triassic, Permian and Carboniferous. Combined Prospective Resources for the Triassic and Permian reservoirs have been estimated by the joint venture at 40 million barrels of oil.
Commenting on the update, Andrew Hindle, CEO of InfraStrata said:
"We are very pleased to welcome Larne to the joint venture as we enter the next very exciting phase of exploration in the Larne-Lough Neagh Basin of Northern Ireland. Work on the necessary consents is progressing with a view to drilling the well before the calendar year end. Larne working together with Ardent brings to the project many years of oil and gas investment and technical experience in the U.S., the North Sea and Europe together with a strong investment base."
For further information please contact:
InfraStrata plc
Andrew Hindle, Chief Executive Officer 020 8332 1200
Stewart McGarrity, Finance Director
Financial PR - Buchanan
Richard Darby/ Gabriella Clinkard 020 7466 5000
Nominated Advisor and Broker - Arden Partners plc
Chris Hardie/ Katelin Kennish 020 7614 5917
Notes to Editors:
Background on the Well
Woodburn Forest-1 is a conventional oil and gas exploration well to be drilled to a total depth of 2,000m targeting sandstone reservoirs of Triassic, Permian and Carboniferous age. There is no shale target and no hydraulic fracturing will be used on the well.
Background on Larne and Ardent
Larne is a subsidiary of Larne Basin Exploration LLC a private investment company set up by oil and gas investors and executives in the US focusing on exploration in the Larne Basin.
Ardent is a private oil exploration company based in London UK. The company has six exploration licences in the UK Central North Sea. The management team are experienced oil and gas professionals formerly with Granby Oil & Gas plc.
Background on InfraStrata
InfraStrata is an independent petroleum exploration and gas storage company. The Company is focused on two areas in the UK, in Dorset, England and Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Further information is available on the Company's website www.infrastrata.co.uk.
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In accordance with the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, the information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and signed off by the Chief Executive Officer of InfraStrata plc Andrew Hindle BSc, MSc, PhD, a Chartered Geologist with 30 years' experience, a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, and a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain.