Chief Operating Officer Updates Shareholders of ERHC Energy Inc.
(Market Wire 07/30 09:20:39)
HOUSTON, TX -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 07/30/08 -- The following update on Company activities was
issued by Peter Ntephe, chief operating officer of ERHC Energy Inc. (OTCBB: ERHE), prior to the opening of the market on Wednesday, July 30, 2008.
"To ERHC Shareholders:
"I am pleased to update the ERHC Energy family on the company's recent
progress.
"We are happy that the London Court of International Arbitration has
resolved the distribution of interests on Joint Development Zone (JDZ)
Block 4 so that we and our consortium partner can focus entirely on
starting drilling in JDZ Block 4 as quickly as possible. The issue related
to a nine percent portion of Block 4 that was recovered from another
consortium partner that had failed to meet certain obligations. The
arbitration process was useful in clarifying the terms of our Participation
Agreement with Addax.
"As a result of the arbitration, ERHC now has a 19.5 percent interest in
JDZ Block 4 (up from 17.7 percent). Addax Petroleum will continue to carry
the costs associated with ERHC's total interests in the Block. Throughout
the process, ERHC and Addax Petroleum maintained their close working
relationship.
"Work continues on refurbishing the deepwater drillship Aban Abraham, which
has been contracted by our technical partners Addax and Sinopec Corp. to
commence drilling operations in the JDZ. We have posted a number of
photographs of the ship on our Web site.
"Addax continues its efforts to mitigate delays in the delivery of Aban
Abraham by looking for a rig of opportunity. Addax is still pointing to the
possibility that drilling in JDZ Block 4 will commence in due course. I
continue to caution that there are many contingencies that affect
operations of this nature and guidance for when exploratory drilling may
commence could change. We will look to the operators of each of the Blocks
to make the relevant announcements.
"Also related to the JDZ, we understand that there have been reports on the
status of our interests in Blocks 5 and 6. Our legal entitlement to those
rights is recognized by international treaty and enshrined in comprehensive
legal agreements. We remain committed to exploiting those rights. The
Company is, however, working to understand the recently expressed concerns
of representatives of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome & Principe.
"Meanwhile, ERHC is moving forward with its growth strategy. We are looking
at the opportunities for listing or acquiring a subsidiary listed on an
appropriate Exchange such as the Alternative Investments Market of the
London Stock Exchange. The move will provide the means, in terms of capital
and structure, for growth of ERHC's asset portfolio.
"We consider this growth strategy essential to diversify and mitigate the
risks associated with being entirely tied to just one set of core assets in
Gulf of Guinea. We have been discussing these initiatives with potential
investors through our presentations at the RedChip Small Cap Investors
Conference in San Francisco, the Growth Company Investors Show in London,
the Sub Saharan Africa Oil & Gas Conference in Houston. We also
participated at the Nortia Capital Partners' Equities Conference by the
Beach in Atlantic City. For those who have not been able to witness any of
the presentations, a replay of the RedChip presentation is available
online.
"The events gave us an opportunity to spread the word about ERHC's past and
present, and its plans for the future. They also enabled us to engage
personally with the investment community, to listen to questions and
concerns, and to describe our vision for ERHC in the years to come. Our
goal is to forge lasting and trusting relationships with investment
bankers, fund managers, institutional investors, research analysts and the
investment community as a whole. The feedback has been very positive and we
are preparing to present at the 2008 Global Investment Symposium in Dubai,
which runs October 26-28, 2008. It will of course take time to spread the
message as far and as wide as we want but we have made it a priority to
continue to tell ERHC's story to the larger investment community.
"Finally, work is well underway on ERHC's third quarter financial report
for the period that ended June 30th. We shall hold an Investor Conference
Call on August 12, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (8:00 a.m. Central Time).
To participate, please dial 877-890-0968 (domestic) or 706-902-1710
(international) five to ten minutes before the call begins and reference
the pass code 57619351.
"A simultaneous live Webcast of the call will be available over the
Internet and will be accessible by going to
www.livemeeting.com/cc/erhcenergy/join and entering the Meeting ID: 7QC7M4
and Entry Code: 8JR#pbw.
"A replay of the call will be available from Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at
10:00 a.m. Eastern Time through August 19, 2008 by dialing 800-642-1687
(domestic) or 706-645-9291 (international) and providing the following
replay code: 57619351. In addition, the Webcast will be available for
replay until September 12, 2008 by going to
www.livemeeting.com/cc/erhcenergy/join and entering the Meeting ID: 7QC7M4
and Entry Code: 8JR#pbw.
"ERHC Energy remains focused on enhancing value for the benefit of its
shareholders. We continue to count on your trust and support."
Sincerely,
Peter Ntephe
Chief Operating Officer
Cautionary Statement
This press release contains statements concerning ERHC Energy Inc.'s future
operating milestones, future drilling operations, the planned exploration
and appraisal program, future prospects, future investment opportunities
and financing plans, future shareholders' meetings, response to the Senate
Subcommittee investigation, developments in the SEC investigation of the
Company and related proceedings, as well as other matters that are not
historical facts or information. Such statements are inherently subject to
a variety of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those anticipated, projected, expressed
or implied. A discussion of the risk factors that could impact these areas
and the Company's overall business and financial performance can be found
in the Company's reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. These factors include, among others, those relating to the
Company's ability to exploit its commercial interests in the JDZ and the
exclusive territorial waters of São Tomé and Príncipe, general economic and
business conditions, changes in foreign and domestic oil and gas
exploration and production activity, competition, changes in foreign,
political, social and economic conditions, regulatory initiatives and
compliance with governmental regulations and various other matters, many of
which are beyond the Company's control. Given these concerns, investors and
analysts should not place undue reliance on these statements. Each of the
above statements speaks only as of the date of this press release. The
Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release
publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to
reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any
change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any of the above
statements is based.
Add to Digg Bookmark with del.icio.us Add to Newsvine
Contact:
Dan Keeney, APR
DPK Public Relations
832-467-2904
Email Contact
S.IW ERHE EU.IW EUEQ.IW EUOG.IW EUPI.IW FS.IW FSCI.IW FSVC.IW
AI
