Serica Energy Regulatory News (SQZ)

31 Jan 2007 07:02

Serica Energy plc31 January 2007 For immediate release: Wednesday 31 January 2007 SERICA ENERGY ANNOUNCES ENTRY INTO NORWAY WITH AWARD OF TWO NEW OFFSHORE LICENCES AND NEAR TERM DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL London, January 31, 2007 - Serica Energy plc (AIM and TSX Venture: SQZ)announces the award of its first two exploration licences in Norway. Serica has been awarded a 20% interest in both of the two licences that itapplied for in Norway's 2006 Awards in Predefined Areas ("APA") Licence Round.The two offshore licences are contiguous and lie in the Egersund Basin, about120 kilometres southwest of Stavanger, Norway's fourth largest city and largestport serving the oil industry. The northern licence covers an area of approximately 725 square kilometrescomprising parts of the following licence blocks: 17/8, 17/9, 17/11, 17/12, 18/7and 18/10. It includes the Bream oil discovery (1972) and the Brisling oildiscovery (1973). The southern licence covers an area of approximately 900 square kilometrescomprising parts of the following blocks: 8/3, 9/1, 17/12, 18/10 and 18/11. Itincludes the 18/10-1 oil discovery (1980). The Bream discovery was one of the very first discoveries in the Norwegiansector of the North Sea. The well was tested at rates of up to 1,000 barrelsper day of 30 degrees API oil. Due to the size of the field and the lowproduction rates achieved during the tests, it was regarded as uneconomic in the1970s. Following analysis of modern 3D seismic data that defines the field boundaries,Serica estimates that the recoverable reserves of the Bream field lie within arange of 40-100 million barrels. Using modern highly deviated or horizontalcompletions should enable individual wells to produce at rates in excess of6,000 barrels per day. The oil rates achieved during the Brisling and 18/10-1 flow tests wereapproximately 2,200 barrels per day and 1,800 barrels per day respectively, butwhilst the flow rates were higher the discoveries are smaller than Bream andrequire further evaluation. Paul Ellis (Chief Executive) said: "This is the first time that this area of the Egersund Basin has been availablefor licensing since the 1980s and we are very pleased to have been awarded thesetwo licences as our first entry into Norway. In particular, the Bream licencewas one of the most highly sought after licences in the 2006 APA Round, as itcontains an oil discovery that Serica believes to be potentially commercial. Welook forward to working with our new operators and partners to appraise theBream discovery and to carry out further exploration in the licence areas." Enquiries: Serica Energy plcPaul Ellis, pellis@serica-energy.com +44 (0)20 7487 7300 Chief Executive OfficerChris Hearne, Finance Director chearne@serica-energy.com +44 (0)20 7487 7300 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 1079Heather Colpitts heather@chfir.com +1 416 868 1079 Background Notes Serica Energy plc is an international oil and gas exploration company withoperations in Indonesia, the UK North Sea, Spain, Ireland and Vietnam. TheCompany's ordinary shares are listed in London on AIM and on the Canadian TSXVenture Exchange under the symbol "SQZ". The 2005 Annual Report and Accounts canbe obtained from the Company's web-site www.serica-energy.com and atwww.sedar.com. 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