SEY.L Regulatory News (SEY)

14 Jan 2008 08:24

Afren PLC14 January 2008 Afren plc (AIM: AFR) Gabon Drilling Update London, 14 January 2008 - Afren plc ("Afren" or "the Company") notes theannouncement below from Sterling Energy Plc in relation to recent drilling ofthe THAM-1 well on the Themis Marin permit, offshore Gabon. Afren has a 12.86%stake in the Themis Marin permit. "The THAM-1 well, Themis Marin, was drilled to its target depth of 1,330 metresin 11 days, on budget. The reservoir target was encountered low to prognosiswith limited hydrocarbon shows and the well is now being plugged and abandoned." "The second well in the Gabon drilling programme, ICM-1, is scheduled to spud inApril in the Iris Marin licence (Afren 12.86%). This well has much higherpotential upside and is targeting gross reserves of 11-40 million bbls." Enquiries: Afren plc +44 20 7451 9700Osman Shahenshah Chief ExecutiveEvert Jan Mulder Chief Operating OfficerGalib Virani Investor Relations Jefferies International Limited +44 20 7029 8000Toby HaywardOliver Griffiths Tristone Capital Limited +44 20 7355 5800Simon Ashby-RuddMajid Shafiq Pelham Public Relations +44 20 7743 6676James HendersonAlisdair Haythornthwaite Notes to Editors: Afren Plc Afren (www.afren.com) was founded in December 2004 by a management teamincluding Dr Rilwanu Lukman, (Chairman), Osman Shahenshah, (Chief Executive) andBert Cooper (Advisor to the Board), with the vision to become the premier panAfrican independent Exploration and Production company. Afren has built anexecutive and non-executive management and advisory team with broad andextensive experience in the industry, both in West Africa and internationally;in identifying and completing corporate expansion opportunities and in publiccompany financing. Afren also looks to leverage key relationships across theregion to gain preferential access to opportunities. Since its listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Afren hasrapidly expanded its portfolio and the management team has delivered a portfolioof assets in Nigeria, the Joint Development Zone of Nigeria-Sao Tome andPrincipe, Gabon, Angola, Congo Brazzaville and Ghana. Afren will continue to add to its diversified portfolio of near term developmentand high impact exploration, with the overall objective of creating substantialshareholder value. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange