First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. has given Sonatrach formal notice of its intention to relinquish its interest in Rhourde Yacoub Block 406a effective August 10, 2006, in accordance with the terms of the joint venture agreement. At the announcement of FCP’s 2005 results made in March this year, it was stated that a decision on future activity on the block would be made by August 10, 2006 when the licence extension expires.
Richard Anderson, President and CEO, commented: “as stated earlier this year, the ZCH-2 well drilled in the first quarter discovered a small separate hydrocarbon pool isolated from the ZCH-1 discovery. Having completed our joint review of the position with our partner Sonatrach we have agreed, in the light of the limited remaining period, the licence will be relinquished. We believe we can generate more value for shareholders by focusing our exploration and commercialisation efforts on Ledjmet Block 405b. The Company has 3 wells – ZER-1, GSM-1 and GSME-1 - currently operating, with an ongoing oil and gas exploration and appraisal programme utilising
3 rigs planned for the rest of this year and beyond. Our MLE field commercialisation activities are also progressing very well.”
