Abu Dhabi, 3 October 2007 - Aabar Petroleum Investments Company PJSC (Aabar) announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, PEARLOIL (Ragay) Ltd (Pearl), has assumed operatorship of Ragay Gulf Service Contract 43 ("SC43") and has increased its participating interest to 64% following approval by the government of the Republic of the Philippines of a deal with Premier Oil.
Prior to the agreement Pearl held 42.5% participating interest in SC43. In exchange for the transfer, Pearl will carry Premier's share of the costs of the Monte Cristo-1 exploration well, which is scheduled to be drilled in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Participating interests in the SC43 joint venture are now as follows:
PEARLOIL (Ragay) Limited : 64% (Operator)
Premier Oil Philippines B.V. : 21%
PNOC Exploration Corporation : 15%
"We are delighted to take over as operator of the Ragay Gulf licence ahead of what we expect to be an exciting period of exploration drilling towards the end of the year. We will also be acquiring offshore reconnaissance seismic in November to investigate a Nido reef limestone play with the potential for large reserves," said Chris Gibson-Robinson, Aabar's VP Operations and VP New Ventures (Southeast Asia).
Background:
Aabar is an oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Abu Dhabi and is a public joint stock company listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market. Aabar is engaged in exploration and production in Southeast Asia, where its net working interest production currently stands at 20,000 barrels of oil per day from four fields in Indonesia and Thailand. The group plans to drill 10-15 exploration wells in 2007.
-Ends-
For more information, please contact:
Richard Lorentz
VP New Ventures & Corporate Relations
+9712 626 4466
rlorentz@aabar.com
Tanya Pang
New Ventures & Corporate Relations Manager
+9712 626 4466
tpang@aabar.com
Press Release 2007
