Timan Oil and Gas plc announces that on 4 October 2007 its main operating subsidiary, NGPT, was successful in its claim to the Moscow Court of Arbitration (“Court”) for the authorisation and issuance of an additional exploration licence in the Timan-Pechora region.
In August 2006, the Territorial Subsoil Agency in the Republic of Komi (Kominedra) agreed to issue NGPT with an exploration licence over the Zapadno-Vodnenskoye area in Timan-Pechora. However, this licence was never issued to NGPT for reasons unknown to the Company. Kominedra’s failure to issue the licence was recently raised in Court by NGPT during its hearing in relation to a separate claim against the Federal Subsoil Agency (Rosnedra) concerning its extension to its exploration and production licence over the Nizhnechutinskoye field.
On 4 October 2007, the Court declared that Kominedra's failure to issue the licence was unlawful and ordered Kominedra to issue the licence to NGPT. Kominedra has to date not appealed this Court decision and NGPT intends to seek enforcement of the decision in due course.
The Zapadno-Vodnenskoye licence lies to the south and west of the Company’s Nizhnechutinskoye field. The Zapadno-Vodnenskoye licence once issued will cover an area of 459 sq km and expire in 2012.
With the inclusion of the Zapadno-Vodnenskoye licence area, NGPT’s total licensed acreage is expected to increase from 1268 sq km to 1727 sq km.
Assuming issuance in due course of the Zapadno-Vodnenskoye licence, NGPT’s licensed areas will then be as follows:
• Combined exploration and production licence over the Nizhnechutinskoye field of 215 sq km with an estimated 191 Mmbbls of 2P resources (Miller and Lents, June 2006) expiring in April 2024;
• An additional exploration licence over the Timanskiy 4 territory covering a total area of 1,053 sq km and expiring in September 2011.
• An exploration licence over the Zapadno-Vodnenskoye field, which is adjacent to the licenced areas above, covering 459 sq km and expiring in 2012.
Alexander Kapalin, CEO of Timan, commented: “We are very pleased that this matter has been successfully resolved. The Zapadno-Vodnenskoye field will increase NGPT’s total licenced area and provide us with an opportunity to further explore prospective areas around our main exploration zone, the Nizhnechutinskoye field.”
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