CALGARY, Canada, July 4 /PRNewswire/ --
- Shallow Water Offshore Exploration Campaign at Ngosso and Iroko License Areas
Addax Petroleum Corporation (TSX: AXC and LSE: AXC) ("Addax Petroleum" or the "Corporation") announces the initial results of its Cameroon exploration campaign where the Corporation has recently completed drilling its first exploration wells in the Ngosso and Iroko license areas. As part of the campaign, Addax Petroleum drilled two wells plus a sidetrack at Ngosso and one well at Iroko.
The sidetrack drilled as part of the Ngosso drilling campaign established a gross hydrocarbon column of 79 feet while the two Ngosso exploration wells were plugged and abandoned as dry holes. The Corporation believes the sidetrack discovery may be developed in the future together with existing oil discoveries in an overall field development. The Iroko well encountered hydrocarbons in the main objective interval and the Corporation is currently evaluating core, pressure and wireline data obtained during the drilling of the well.
Commenting, Jean Claude Gandur, President and Chief Executive Officer of Addax Petroleum said: "While the initial results of the Cameroon exploration campaign were less encouraging than anticipated, we will continue exploration activities on the license areas where there still exist several quality prospects. Addax Petroleum's exciting 2008 exploration campaign continues this quarter with the drilling of the Charlie prospect in the Iris Marin license area offshore Gabon as well as the Taq Taq Deep exploration well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In total, Addax Petroleum will be drilling up to 25 exploration and appraisal wells in 2008 in every major area of its property portfolio."
At Ngosso, the Odiong and Tali prospects on the south-west part of the license area were drilled to depths of 1,680 metres and 2,900 metres, respectively. The sidetrack at Tali encountered a gross hydrocarbon column of 79 feet comprising 62 feet of oil overlain by 17 feet of gas, confirming the Tali accumulation. The Corporation has completed its work commitment for the current period with the drilling of the two Ngosso wells. The Corporation plans to enter the next exploration period, including a commitment to drill one exploration well, and to acquire additional 3D seismic data on the prospective northern part of the license area in the late 2008 and early 2009.
The Iroko prospect on the east part of the Iroko license area was drilled to a total depth of 1,120 metres. The results of the core, pressure and wireline data are currently under evaluation by the Corporation and are necessary before determining the future drilling plans for the license area.
The drilling rig contracted by Addax Petroleum for the Cameroon exploration campaign is currently moving to the Iris Marin license area, offshore Gabon, where it will drill Addax Petroleum's first exploration well at Iris Marin.
About Addax Petroleum
Addax Petroleum is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with a strategic focus on West Africa and the Middle East. Addax Petroleum is one of the largest independent oil producers in West Africa and has increased its crude oil production from an average of 8,800 bbl/d for 1998 to an average of approximately 139,100 bbl/d for the first quarter of 2008. Further information about Addax Petroleum is available at http://www.sedar.com, http://www.londonstockexchange.com or the Corporation's website, http://www.addaxpetroleum.com.
Legal Notice - Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities legislation. Such statements are generally identifiable by the terminology used, such as "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "expect", "plan", "estimate", "budget", "outlook", "may", "will", "should", "could", "would" or other similar wording. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, reference to statements with respect to the Corporation's business strategy and goals, future capital and other expenditures, reserves and resources estimates, the submission of development plans, seismic activity, production levels and the sources of growth thereof, project development schedules and results, results of exploration activities and dates by which certain areas may be developed or may come on-stream, financing and capital activities, contingent liabilities and government approvals. By its very nature, such forward-looking information requires Addax Petroleum to make assumptions that may not materialize or that may not be accurate. This forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: imprecision of reserves and resources estimates; ultimate recovery of reserves; volatility of prices of oil and natural gas; general economic, market and business conditions; industry capacity; competitive action by other companies; refining and marketing margins; the ability to produce and transport crude oil and natural gas to markets; the results of exploration and development drilling and related activities; fluctuation in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; the ability of suppliers to meet commitments; actions by governmental authorities, including increases in taxes; decisions or approvals of administrative tribunals; changes in environmental and other regulations; risks attendant with oil and gas operations, both domestic and international; international political events; expected rates of return; and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Addax Petroleum. More specifically, production may be affected by such factors as exploration success, start-up timing and success, facility reliability, reservoir performance and natural decline rates, water handling, and drilling progress. Capital expenditures may be affected by cost pressures associated with new capital projects, including labour and material supply, project management, drilling rig rates and availability, and seismic costs. These factors are discussed in greater detail in filings made by Addax Petroleum with the Canadian provincial securities commissions.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of important factors affecting forward-looking information is not exhaustive. Furthermore, the forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by applicable law, Addax Petroleum does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
For further information: Mr. Patrick Spollen, Investor Relations, Tel.: +41(0)22-702-95-47, patrick.spollen@addaxpetroleum.com; Mr. Craig Kelly, Investor Relations, Tel.: +41(0)22-702-95-68, craig.kelly@addaxpetroleum.com; Ms. Marie-Gabrielle Cajoly, Press Relations, Tel.: +41(0)22-702-94-44, marie-gabrielle.cajoly@addaxpetroleum.com; Mr. Nick Cowling, Press Relations, Tel.: +1-416-934-8011, nick.cowling@cossette.com; Mr. James Henderson, Press Relations, Tel.: +44(0)20-7743-6673, james.henderson@pelhampr.com; Mr. Alisdair Haythornthwaite, Press Relations, Tel.: +44(0)20-7743-6676, alisdair.haythornthwaite@pelhampr.com
For further information: Mr. Patrick Spollen, Investor Relations, Tel.: +41(0)22-702-95-47, patrick.spollen@addaxpetroleum.com; Mr. Craig Kelly, Investor Relations, Tel.: +41(0)22-702-95-68, craig.kelly@addaxpetroleum.com; Ms. Marie-Gabrielle Cajoly, Press Relations, Tel.: +41(0)22-702-94-44, marie-gabrielle.cajoly@addaxpetroleum.com; Mr. Nick Cowling, Press Relations, Tel.: +1-416-934-8011, nick.cowling@cossette.com; Mr. James Henderson, Press Relations, Tel.: +44(0)20-7743-6673, james.henderson@pelhampr.com; Mr. Alisdair Haythornthwaite, Press Relations, Tel.: +44(0)20-7743-6676, alisdair.haythornthwaite@pelhampr.com
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