NAUT.L Regulatory News (NAUT)

4 Jan 2006 07:00

Global Energy Development PLC04 January 2006 Immediate Release 4 January 2006 GLOBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PLC NEW CONTRACT SIGNED IN COLOMBIA CARACOLI AREA WITHIN THE PROMINENT MARACAIBO BASIN Global Energy Development PLC ("Global" or the "Company"), the Latin Americafocused petroleum exploration and production company (LSE-AIM: "GED"), ispleased to announce that it has signed a new exclusive Exploration andProduction Concession contract for the Caracoli area (the "Caracoli Contract")with the National Hydrocarbons Agency of the Republic of Colombia. The CaracoliContract brings to seven the number of contracts Global now holds in Colombia,all of which are 100% owned by Global. The Caracoli Contract covers approximately 90,000 acres in the Catatumbo basinlocated in north-eastern Colombia, with this basin being a sub-basin of theprominent Maracaibo basin which extends in a south-westerly direction fromVenezuela into Colombia. The Maracaibo basin exported its first oil in 1918, from 1927 to 1970 was thelargest oil exporter in the world, and today remains the second mostpetroliferous basin in the world according to the U.S. Department of Energy andPetroleos de Venezuela S. A. ("PDVSA"), Venezuela's state oil company. PDVSAestimates total original hydrocarbons in place are 320 billion barrels of oilplus 90 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with approximately 40 billionbarrels of hydrocarbons produced through to the end of 2004. The Catatumbo sub-basin has produced over 800 million barrels of oil to date,according to the Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy, from a number ofdifferent fields to the north of and adjacent to the Caracoli Contract area. Due to the high expectations the management of Global have for the CaracoliContract, Global and its technical staff have already extensively studied thearea, completed preliminary geologic analysis and selected the location ofseismic acquisition. Several mapped structures in the Contract area have thesame geologic history as the prolific adjacent oil fields. As a consequence, themanagement of Global consider the Caracoli area to have a favourable potentialfor major oil discoveries. Global will own 100% of the Caracoli Contract subject only to an initial 8%royalty, with the size of the royalty to be determined by future productionlevels. The Contract duration is 30 years divided into an initial six yearexploration phase and a 24 year exploitation and production phase. Under theterms of the Caracoli Contract, Global must acquire within 12 months 90kilometres of 2D seismic and reprocess 210 kilometres of existing seismic.Global can then elect if it so wishes to proceed to phase 2, also 12 months, anddrill one exploratory well and acquire limited amounts of additional seismic.Phase 3 to 6, all optional and 12 months in length, require the drilling of anexploratory well in each phase. Cashflow from Global's current five productivecontracts in Colombia is expected to fund the required work programme. Commenting on the Caracoli Contract, Stephen Voss, Global's Managing Director,said: "Global is extremely excited to have been able to secure such high potentialacreage in what is independently considered to be the second most prolifichydrocarbon area in the world, the Maracaibo basin. The Caracoli Contract ranks amongst the most significant opportunity during theCompany's extensive operating history in Colombia by offering the potential formajor oil discoveries. The substantial analysis the Company has alreadyconducted has provided what the management believe to be an accurate, highlycompelling geologic model of the Caracoli Contract acreage which could havesignificant reserve potential. The Caracoli Contract adds further high potential exploration to Global'sbalanced portfolio which also comprises production and more predictabledevelopmental drilling." For further information: Global Energy Development PLC Catherine Miles, director of Investor Relations +44 (0) 20 7763 7177www.globalenergyplc.com +44 (0) 7909918034 Notes to Editors: Global has been listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange sinceMarch 2002. The Company currently holds approximately 5.16 million acres througheight contracts in Colombia and Peru, an exclusive Technical EvaluationAgreement ("TEA") in Colombia and a concluded exclusive TEA in Panama which isin the process of being converted into an exclusive contract. Global owns 100%of all its contracts, with five of these contracts currently producing. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange