Press Release Addax JDZ BL 1
Could OILPHANT have been right - re. JDZ Chatter ??
Addax Petroleum announces agreement to acquire interest in deepwater Joint Development Zone
Tuesday September 25, 2:55 am ET
To acquire a 40 per cent working interest in JDZ Block 1
CALGARY, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - Addax Petroleum Corporation ("Addax Petroleum" or the "Corporation") (TSX:AXC and LSE:AXC), today announces that its has agreed to acquire Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria-Sao Tome (One) Limited's 40 per cent working interest in Block 1 of the Joint Development Zone (the "JDZ"). The JDZ lies in the deepwater between Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe in the Gulf of Guinea which is one of the most prolific petroleum regions in the world.
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Commenting today, Addax Petroleum's President and Chief Executive Officer, Jean Claude Gandur, said: "This acquisition will expand and consolidate our leading position in this world class exploration region. The addition of Block 1 to our existing interests in JDZ Blocks 2, 3 and 4 is consistent with our strategy that a focused, JDZ-wide exploration campaign will demonstrate the full potential of the region and bring about its earliest development. In that respect, Block 1 is particularly important as it already contains a well which encountered hydrocarbons and has several further prospects. I believe this acquisition to be an important building block in our broader deepwater Gulf of Guinea portfolio that will deliver value to our shareholders and stakeholders."
Addax Petroleum and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria-Sao Tome (One) Limited have entered into a sale and purchase agreement whereby Addax Petroleum has agreed to acquire Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria-Sao Tome (One) Limited's 40 per cent working interest in Block 1 and, as consideration, to pay US$77.6 million and 2 per cent of Addax Petroleum's share of profit oil produced from Block 1. Completion of the sale and purchase agreement is subject to the approval of the Joint Development Authority of the JDZ.
Block 1 is operated by Chevron, which holds a 45.9 per cent working interest. Block 1 is located approximately 300 kilometres offshore Nigeria in water depths ranging from 1,600 to 1,900 metres, directly west of JDZ Block 2 and directly north of JDZ Blocks 3 and 4. Block 1 contains the only well drilled to date in the JDZ, Obo-1, which is significant because it encountered hydrocarbons when drilled in 2006. There are no further exploration commitments on Block 1 during the current exploration period.
Addax Petroleum continues to hold the largest acreage position in the JDZ, as tabulated below.
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Addax Petroleum's working interest
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Block % Acres Operator
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Block 1 40.00% 69,600 Chevron
Block 2 14.33% 24,500 Sinopec
Block 3 15.00% 24,700 Anadarko
Block 4 38.30% 81,100 Addax Petroleum
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Total 199,900
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The oil prospectivity of Blocks 2, 3 and 4, but not Block 1, as announced by Addax Petroleum on May 22, 2007, was previously assessed by the Corporation's independent reservoir engineers, Netherland, Sewell and Associates ("NSAI"). NSAI reviewed 18 prospects on Blocks 2, 3 and 4 and estimated unrisked and risked prospective oil resources respectively to be 286 MMbbl and 225 MMbbl attributable to Addax Petroleum's working interest as at December 31, 2006.
The Corporation, along with Sinopec, has contracted the Aban Abraham deepwater drillship to drill up to ten exploration and appraisal wells, commencing during the fourth quarter of 2008, in the JDZ and at OPL291, the Corporation's other deepwater Gulf of Guinea license area.
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 123,000 bbl/d for the second quarter of 2007. Further information about Addax Petroleum is available at www.addaxpetroleum.com or at www.sedar.com.
