IOG.L Regulatory News (IOG)

19 Jan 2007 11:00

Island Oil and Gas PLC19 January 2007 19 January 2007 ISLAND OIL & GAS PLC Annual General Meeting Statement At the Annual General Meeting of Island Oil & Gas plc (IOG) ("Island" or the"Company") being held today in Dublin, Island is updating shareholders on theCompany's proposed 2007 drilling programme and priorities for the coming year.Island's strategic focus will be upon bringing forward the value of its projectportfolio by accelerating the commercialisation of key projects through furtheralliances with major industry partners and an active farmout programme. Island has built an extensive project portfolio offshore Ireland in the CelticSea and on the Atlantic Margin, and has added strategic international projectsduring 2006. Having proved up the value of a number of its projects throughdetailed technical studies, and through two successful gas wells in the CelticSea, the Company's priority during 2007 is to continue its farmout programme fora number of near-development and exploration projects both on the AtlanticMargin, where Island has multi-tcf gas prospects in the Slyne and RockallBasins, and in the Celtic Sea where the Company's projects are located withineasy access of existing infrastructure. Island has received a good deal ofinterest from a number of parties and will seek to farmout to partners who willcommercialise value through accelerated development programmes, thus minimisingIsland's costs and accelerating the movement of projects through to cashflowgeneration. Island's ability to secure strategic industry partnerships has already beendemonstrated through its Cooperation Agreement with EnCore Oil plc in October 2006 covering the futuredevelopment by both companies of their respective portfolios of exploration andnear- development interests both in Ireland and the UK. Island also announced inSeptember 2006 that Island and Providence Resources plc would develop a commonstrategy report, which is nearing completion, at Providence's expense, for thejoint development of the companies' Celtic Sea oil assets based on a sharedfloating production facility. This year's drilling programme, for which Island has already secured thePetrolia Rig, will continue to focus upon a pre-development well at the Old Headof Kinsale in the Celtic Sea, where drilling is expected to commence late in thesecond quarter of this year. The rig will then move to the Schull Licence todrill a well on a potential gas structure. Speaking at the AGM, Bryan Benitz, Chairman of Island, states: "The past year has seen a major transformation in Island. The Company has builta valuable portfolio of interests offshore Ireland, adding to its acreage in thehighly prospective Atlantic Margin. Island also distinguished itself as anaccomplished operator and has fully delivered upon its stated intention ofadding an international element to the portfolio through the addition ofprojects in the Netherlands and a fully carried interest in Morocco. In theNetherlands, the Company is the first of our size to be named, on the back ofour successfully executed Celtic Sea drilling programme, as an 'approvedoperator' of a field development. "We are now focusing on bringing forward the value in the portfolio by farmingdown our interests in projects and seeking to secure farm-in partners. We havehad great interest from the industry in a number of our projects, and inparticular our Atlantic Margin portfolio. We are actively seeking farm outagreements with those partners focused upon moving projects quickly forwardtowards commerciality." Enquiries: Lisa J NewmanNewman Consulting Tel: +44 (0)1252 878682 +44(0)7747 462574 For further information on Island, please see the Company's website at http://www.islandoilandgas.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange