Jun 1 2012
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. is pleased to announce that Namibia's Minister of Mines and Energy has approved today, the assignment pursuant to the Farm-out Agreement with Azimuth Ltd. ("Azimuth") of Hamilton, Bermuda, an exploration and production company backed by majority-owner Seacrest Capital Ltd. and Petroleum Geo-Services ASA ("PGS"), (Farm-Out Agreement announced on April 12, 2012).
With this final condition of the assignment being satisfied, Azimuth is now a 20% registered working interest partner in each of Eco Atlantic's offshore Namibia licenses, namely the "Cooper License" (Block 2012A), the "Sharon License" (Blocks 2213A & 2213B) and the "Guy License" (Blocks 2111B & 2211A) (jointly, the "Licenses") and will fund 40% of the cost of 3D seismic surveys covering 2,500 square kilometers across all three Licenses, the acquisition of which is expected to cost in excess of US$25 million.
As a result of this transaction, Eco Atlantic's interest will be 70%, held through its wholly owned subsidiary, Eco Oil and Gas Namibia (PTY) Ltd., Azimuth has a 20% interest, and NAMCOR will retain its 10% carried interest. Eco Atlantic, through the project management group of Kinley Exploration and Azimuth will be responsible for designing, sourcing and operating all aspects of the 3D seismic program.
Gil Holzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic commented, "Eco Atlantic is pleased to have received the final approval from the Ministry of Mines and Energy of The Republic of Namibia to execute the Farm-out Agreement, thereby securing the relationship with Azimuth as a license and technical partner. We are ahead of schedule to initiate our 3D program together with Azimuth, so to better define the drilling targets on our 9 billion barrels prospect Guy, 7.8 billion barrels prospect, Sharon, and 1.15 billion barrels prospect, Cooper. The 3D program, expected to commence later this year should enable us to define each blocks' drilling targets."
About Eco Atlantic
Eco Atlantic is an oil and gas exploration company focused on the new and bourgeoning petroleum opportunity in Namibia. Through its wholly owned Namibian subsidiary, Eco Namibia, it holds five petroleum licenses issued by the Government of the Republic of Namibia. Eco Namibia holds three offshore license blocks covering more than 25,000 square kilometers (6,177,000 acres), in the Walvis Basin. Eco Namibia also holds two onshore license blocks covering 30,000 square kilometers (7,413,000 acres). Eco Namibia enjoys a strong local presence, and has a longstanding relationship with the energy and oil and gas sector in Namibia and in the region. The terms and conditions of these licenses are regulated by agreements signed by Eco with the Government of the Republic of Namibia in March 2011.
Forward Looking Statements
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain information in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities law. Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with oil and gas production and exploration, marketing and transportation; loss of markets; volatility of commodity prices; currency and interest rate fluctuations; imprecision of reserve estimates; environmental risks; competition; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; ability to obtain government and regulatory approval; changes in legislation, including but not limited to income tax, environmental laws and regulatory matters. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.
In addition, statements relating to "resources" or "prospective resources" are deemed to be forward-looking statements as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, that the resources and prospective resources described exist in the quantities predicted or estimated and can be profitably produced in the future. There is no certainty that any portion of the resources or prospective resources will be discovered. If discovered, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources.
Although Eco Atlantic believes in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because Eco Atlantic can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and Eco Atlantic undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward- looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.
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SOURCE Eco Oil & Gas (Atlantic) Ltd.