IOG.L Regulatory News (IOG)

11 Apr 2008 07:00

Island Oil and Gas PLC11 April 2008 ISLAND OIL & GAS PLC CONFIRMATION OF CONFIRMS MINISTRY APPROVAL OF EXPLORATION PERMITS IN MOROCCO Island Oil & Gas plc, (LSE:IOG) ("Island" or the "Company"), today announcesthat the Ministre de l'Energie, des Mines, de l'Eau et de l'Environment ofMorocco has formally approved the 'Tarfaya Onshore' Petroleum Agreement (the 'Permit') awarded to Island's wholly owned subsidiary Island InternationalExploration Morocco ("IIEM") by the Office National des Hydrocarbures et desMines ("ONHYM") in November 2007. The Permit is effective from 14 January 2008 and is valid for up to eight years.The work programme that has been committed to during the initial two years andsix months phase of the Permit comprises seismic reprocessing and acquisitionand geochemical modeling. A drill or drop decision will be made at the end ofthe initial phase of the Permit. It is currently anticipated that seismic willbe acquired in 2009. The joint venture partners in the Tarfaya Permit are IIEM (40%), the designatedoperator, Longreach Oil and Gas Ventures Limited (30%) and San Leon (Morocco)Limited (30%). Morocco has an attractive fiscal regime relative to other North African oil andgas producing countries - State Participation upon production of up to 25%; a10% royalty on oil production (the first 300,000 tons of production are exempt)and a 5% royalty on gas production (the first 300 million cubic meters areexempt); and 35% corporation tax which is only payable after a 10 year holidayon production. 11 April 2008 Further information: Davy (NOMAD and broker)Anthony Farrell Tel: +353 1 679 6363 Landsbanki (UK broker)Simon Robinson Tel: +44 (0)207 426 9000 College Hill (Financial PR)Paddy Blewer Tel: +44 (0)20 7457 2020Nick Elwes This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange