TIDMTRP
RNS Number : 5363G
Tower Resources PLC
07 November 2018
7 November 2018
Tower Resources plc
New Namibia Petroleum Agreement
Tower Resources plc (the "Company" or "Tower" (TRP.L, TRP LN)),
the AIM listed oil and gas company with its focus on Africa, is
pleased to announce that Tower Resources (Namibia) Limited, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Tower, has signed a new Petroleum
Agreement ("PA") with the Government of the Republic of Namibia
covering an 80% operated interest in blocks 1910A, 1911 and 1912B,
offshore Namibia, together with the National Petroleum Corporation
of Namibia ("Namcor") (10%) and ZM Fourteen Investment CC
(10%).
Highlights:
-- Blocks 1910A, 1911 and 1912B cover 23,297 km(2) in the Walvis
Basin and Dolphin Graben
-- Initial Exploration Period of four years with a US$5 million
work commitment
-- Recent nearby farm-in activity by Exxon, Africa Energy and
Kosmos Energy
The Company has previously advised shareholders that it has had
a long-standing application with the Namibian Ministry of Mines and
Energy ("MME") and has been working to conclude a PA, which was
noted in the 2018 Interim Report to shareholders in September. The
Company can now advise shareholders that the terms of the PA have
been agreed with the MME and signed by all parties. Issuance of the
licence remains dependent on the finalisation of a Joint Operating
Agreement ("JOA") among Tower Resources (Namibia) Limited (80%,
Operator), its carried interest partner Namcor (10%) and its local
partner ZM Fourteen Investment CC (10%), and completion of other
ancillary documentation.
The PA covers 23,297 km(2) of the northern Walvis Basin and
Dolphin Graben, encompassing blocks 1910A, 1911 and 1912B, and a
more detailed description and map of the blocks can be found on the
Company's website. This is an under-explored region in which recent
drilling results have proven the presence of a working oil-prone
petroleum system and good quality turbidite and carbonate
reservoirs. This is also an area that Tower knows well since blocks
1910A and 1911 formed part of Tower's original licence PEL0010,
which Tower and its partners, Repsol Exploration (Namibia) (Pty)
Limited ("Repsol") and Arcadia Expro Namibia (Pty) Ltd ("Arcadia"),
relinquished in 2015.
The PA is structured to comprise an Initial Exploration Period
of four years (which may be extended to five in appropriate
circumstances), followed by options for Tower and its partners to
enter a First and Second Renewal Period of two years each. The work
programme for the Initial Exploration Period comprises regional
play fairway evaluation and acreage high-grading activities
including CRS mapping, sequence stratigraphy, sedimentology and
basin modelling, geochemical, gravity and magnetics analysis, 2D/3D
seismic interpretation and mapping, and petrophysics and well
failure analysis, based on a data base build comprising:
-- Acquisition of 5,000km of existing 2D seismic and relevant
well data;
-- Analysis and, if necessary, reprocessing of existing 2D
data;
-- Acquisition of at least 1,000 km(2) of 3D seismic data;
-- Acquisition of oil seep satellite data and piston-coring
reports.
The minimum exploration expenditure for the Initial Exploration
Period is US$5 million, which is to be supported by a bank
guarantee of US$0.5 million.
If the Company elects to enter the subsequent exploration
periods, these would each comprise a single exploration well
commitment and a minimum financial commitment of US$20 million.
Geological evaluation has identified the presence of Albian
carbonate and Upper Cretaceous and Palaeocene turbidite reservoir
intervals, which has also been proven in offset wells, including
Norsk Hydro's 1911/15-1 well which encountered oil shows in the
1911 block in the 1990s. These intervals may be found in multiple
structural traps across the new licence area. These include giant
(1,000 km(2) +) 4-way dip closured structures in the west of the
licence and 4-way and 3-way fault dependent structural closures
within the Dolphin Graben, which well results such as Wingat-1
indicate is likely to contain mature source rocks. Potential
stratigraphic traps (associated with Cretaceous and Palaeogene
basin floor turbidite systems) have also been identified within the
new licences.
The giant structures in the west of the licence include two
(Alpha and Gamma) which were similar in size and potential to the
Delta structure to the south of block 1911, where Repsol, Tower and
Arcadia drilled the unsuccessful Welwitschia well in 2014.
Significant potential has also been identified within structural
closures (50 km(2) to 125 km(2)) identified and mapped across the
Dolphin Graben, all of which are located directly adjacent to
source kitchens. More than eight 3-way fault dependent and 4-way
dip closed structural traps have been identified so far, all of
which compromise of multiple stacked targets which include
Palaeogene and Cretaceous turbidites (being explored for in the
southern part of the basin) as well as Albian carbonates and deeper
syn-rift clastics.
In addition to the structural plays outlined above, Tower
anticipates that stratigraphic plays exist within Cretaceous and
Palaeogene intervals in the new licence, with potential for
deep-water turbidite reservoir interbedded with mature source rocks
(analogous to plays being explored for by Tullow and other in the
southern part of the basin). These stratigraphic plays will be
worked up as part of the Initial Exploration Period work
programme.
Jeremy Asher, Chairman and CEO commented:
"We are very excited about our new Petroleum Agreement in
Namibia. As a company, we know Namibia very well, and the wells
drilled in the Walvis Basin during the past few years have provided
a much greater level of understanding of the regional geology. As a
result, Namibia and the Walvis Basin and Dolphin Graben, in
particular, are now attracting great attention from well-respected
explorers, both large and small, and are also once more attracting
considerable farm-in interest and investment".
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
Contacts
Tower Resources plc info@towerresources.co.uk
Jeremy Asher
Chairman and CEO
Andrew Matharu
VP - Corporate Affairs
SP Angel Corporate Finance
LLP
Nominated Adviser and
Broker +44 20 3470 0470
Stuart Gledhill
Caroline Rowe
Notes:
In accordance with the guidelines for the AIM market of the
London Stock Exchange, Dr. Mark Enfield, BSc Geology, PhD Geology,
Advisor to the Board of Tower Resources plc, who has over 30 years'
experience in the oil & gas industry, is the qualified person
that has reviewed and approved the technical content of this
announcement.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
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Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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