Serica Energy Regulatory News (SQZ)

21 Aug 2006 12:00

Serica Energy plc21 August 2006 SERICA ENERGY PLC ANNOUNCES AWARD OF LICENCE OFFSHORE IRELAND London, August 21, 2006 - Serica Energy plc (AIM and TSX Venture: SQZ) ispleased to announce that, in the 2006 Irish Offshore Licensing Round, it hasbeen awarded a Licence covering Blocks 27/4, 27/5 (part block) and 27/9 ("theBlocks") which covers an area of approximately 611 sq km in the Slyne Basin offthe west coast of Ireland. Serica is the operator and will hold a 100% interestin the Licence. The Blocks are already covered by modern 3D seismic data and Serica will bereprocessing around 300 square kilometres of this data as part of its workprogramme to assess the prospectivity of the Blocks in the first phase of theLicence. If Serica elects to proceed to the second phase of the Licence it willdrill at least one exploration well. Chris Atkinson (Chief Operating Officer) commented: "We are delighted to have been awarded these Blocks offshore Ireland as part ofour strategy to expand into new areas in which we have technical knowledge. Ourtechnical team has a detailed understanding of the Slyne Basin and is lookingforward to re-evaluating its undoubted prospectivity with the benefit of modern3D seismic data." Background Notes The Blocks lie in water depths of 200 to 300 metres, about 40 km south of theCorrib Gas Field. Corrib was discovered by Enterprise Oil plc in 1996 and isnow being developed by Shell. It is expected to produce up to 350 million cubicfeet of gas per day at peak production. A number of prospects have been identified in the Blocks in the TriassicSherwood Sandstone, the producing reservoir in the Corrib Field. There are alsosecondary targets in the Middle Jurassic sandstones. Serica Energy plc is an international oil and gas exploration company withoperations in Indonesia, the UK North Sea and Spain. The Company's ordinaryshares are listed in London on AIM and on the Canadian TSX Venture Exchangeunder the symbol "SQZ". The 2005 Annual Report and Accounts are available atwww.serica-energy.com and www.sedar.com. Enquiries: Serica Energy plcPaul Ellis, pellis@serica-energy.com +44 (0)20 7487 7300 Chief Executive OfficerChris Hearne, chearne@serica-energy.com +44 (0)20 7487 7300 Finance Director Pelham Public Relations -UKJames Henderson james.henderson@pelhampr.com +44 (0)20 7743 6673Alisdair Haythornthwaite alisdair.haythornthwaite@pelhampr.com +44 (0)20 7743 6676 CHF Investor Relations - CanadaJan Moir jan@chfir.com +1 416 868 1079 x237Heather Colpitts heather@chfir.com +1 416 868 1079 x223 Forward Looking Statements This disclosure contains certain forward looking statements that involvesubstantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyondSerica Energy plc's control, including: the impact of general economicconditions where Serica Energy plc operates, industry conditions, changes inlaws and regulations including the adoption of new environmental laws andregulations and changes in how they are interpreted and enforced, increasedcompetition, the lack of availability of qualified personnel or management,fluctuations in foreign exchange or interest rates, stock market volatility andmarket valuations of companies with respect to announced transactions and thefinal valuations thereof, and obtaining required approvals of regulatoryauthorities. Serica Energy plc's actual results, performance or achievementcould differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forwardlooking statements and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of theevents anticipated by the forward looking statements will transpire or occur, orif any of them do so, what benefits, including the amount of proceeds, thatSerica Energy plc will derive there from. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To receive Company news releases via email, please contact heather@chfir.com and specify "Serica press releases" in the subject line. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange