Remote Sensing Used to Unlock Africa's Hidden Potential
African Continent Awash With Riches - the Next Great Frontier for Exploration
From satellite data coming down to Earth from more than 500 miles, Terra Energy & Resource Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: TEGR) can provide African nations an invaluable asset that can be used to tap into their vast reservoirs of natural resources.
A country that realizes the advantage of the high-tech method of exploration is the Republic of Cameroon. Charles Sale, the Minister of Industry, Mines and Technological Development has invited representatives from Terra Energy to visit Cameroon to present a plan for the use of the Company's satellite-based data processing technique (STeP(TM)) to assist this West African government identify the locations and nature of natural resources hidden beneath the surface.
"Our technology can provide an analytic and reporting process to discover, confirm, and unify the contrasting information of Cameroon's natural resources," said Dmitry Vilbaum, Terra Energy's CEO. "The end result to the Republic of Cameroon will be that it will have an atlas of Cameroon's resources. Cameroon will benefit greatly by learning about its riches in greater detail, as well as being able to manage its natural resources and mineral rights more effectively."
Sub-Terrain Prospecting Technology (STeP) combines a suite of proprietary techniques, processing satellite-obtained information used to identify viable deposits of hydrocarbons, gold, diamonds, and other valuable raw materials. Perhaps one of the most significant commodities of exploration that STeP supports involves the search for undiscovered blocks with oil and gas potential.
"Last year, Terra Energy provided analysis of potential oil reserves off the coast of another West African country for a major international oil company. Substantial savings to drilling costs can occur when STeP surveys indicate that drilling in a certain location would not be successful. Growing interest from foreign governments demonstrates that there is considerable geopolitical competition for African oil," Mr. Vilbaum said.
The United States, Britain, China, France and India all have increased their investments in exploration for oil and other natural resources in Africa. In 2006, foreign direct investments reached a record $38.8 billion -- an increase of 78 percent from 2004. A United Nations report recently noted that foreign direct investment was divided among a handful of industries, particularly oil, gas and mining. Six oil-producing countries -- Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Sudan -- attracted nearly half of all foreign direct investments in 2006. West Africa supplies about 15 percent of American oil imports, with United States crude imports anticipated to reach 25 percent by 2015.
"Security and political considerations are being put on the backburner as the price of oil rises. Even in difficult political environments oil companies are drilling," said Vilbaum. "Unfortunately, African countries often do not appropriately benefit financially from foreign oil production."
"If STeP can help these countries locate, ascertain, and assess their natural resources faster and cheaper, they would be able to develop their own infrastructure, and in turn put increased proceeds of tenders and royalties from production back into their own economies," he said.
In addition to oil and gas, as well as other commercial minerals, subsurface water is also a commodity found in the African Desert, something unthinkable until only a few years ago.
In 2002, STeP technology was used to accurately predict the presence of water nearly 800 feet beneath the sand dunes of the Western Sahara. The well constructed on the site still provides potable water to more than 50,000 residents of Atar in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
"Many were looking for water there unsuccessfully for several decades, but through the use of STeP it was quickly and economically found," said Vilbaum proudly. "STeP peeled away the topography and helped discover the underground river that had been hidden for years."
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. There are many factors that could cause the Company's expectations and beliefs about its operations or its plans to acquire additional exploration properties, plans to drill or drilling results to fail to materialize, including but not limited to competition for new acquisitions; availability of capital; unfavorable geologic conditions; prevailing prices for oil, natural gas and other natural resources; and general regional economic conditions.
