Genel and Addax Petroleum Spud Well in Taq Taq Licence
Calgary, Canada (ots/PRNewswire)
- NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN
Genel Enerji A.S. ("Genel") and Addax Petroleum Corporation
("Addax Petroleum" TSX : AXC) are proud to announce the commencement
of drilling activities in their first jointly operated well in the
Taq Taq License Area in the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq.Genel has entered into a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the Kurdistan Regional Government on 20th January 2004. This PSA superseded an earlier document dated 17th July 2002 pertaining to the exploration and exploitation of the Taq Taq License Area. Since the handover on 25th February 2003, Genel has assumed operations in the licensed area.
To supplement and support the technical and operational capacity of Genel, a Technical Services Agreement and a farm in agreement were signed by Genel and Addax Petroleum in July 2005. Since then, Genel and Addax Petroleum have conducted a 2-D seismic data acquisition campaign between December 2005 and April 2006 to define the extent of the Taq Taq structure. The well now being spudded is scheduled to reach a targeted depth of approximately 2,250 m in the oil bearing Cretaceous Shiranish, Kometan and Qamchuga formations.
Genel and Addax Petroleum have jointly established the Taq Taq Operating Company (TTOPCO) as a special purpose entity to carry out the petroleum operations in the license area. TTOPCO conducts its operations through Ankara Operation Office and Taq Taq Field Office with the support of parent companies, Genel and Addax Petroleum
This well is the first of a three well drilling program which Genel and Addax have commenced in response to the urgent local energy requirements of the Kurdish region in Northern Iraq, and in fulfillment of a request from the regional authorities to expeditiously satisfy these needs.
Commenting on this event, Mehmet Sepil, Chief Executive Officer of Genel Enerji said: "This is a very important step and achievement for Genel Enerji being a young independent international oil and gas company. We have spent a lot of efforts together with the local authorities for the realization of this project since the beginning. The first objective of the Taq Taq project is to satisfy energy needs of the region and meet its expectations in an efficient and timely manner. We are confident that this project would be a world class and Genel together with Addax will expeditiously develop the field in accordance with the PSA and international standards by putting suitable work and development programs in place".
Commenting on this event, Jean Claude Gandur, President and Chief Executive Officer of Addax Petroleum said: "This is a significant development milestone for Addax Petroleum. The Taq Taq field has the potential to be a major source of reserve and production growth. The joint drilling programme launched together with Genel will allow our two companies to move forward with the development in a world class oil province."
Genel Enerji A.S. is a Turkish registered company and owned by the Turkish Cukurova Holdings Group. Further information about Genel Enerji is available at www.genel-enerji.com
Addax Petroleum is an international oil and gas exploration and
production company focused on Africa and the Middle East. As a
Canadian registered company, Addax Petroleum trades on the Toronto
stock exchange under the trading symbol ("AXC"). Further information
about Addax Petroleum is available at www.addaxpetroleum.com or at
www.sedar.comThis press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the oil and gas industry (e.g. operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections in relation to production, costs and expenses and health, safety and environmental risks), the risk of commodity price and foreign exchange rate fluctuations, the uncertainty associated with negotiating with foreign governments and risk associated with international activity. Due to the risks, uncertainties and assumptions inherent in forward-looking statements, prospective investors in the Addax Petroleum Corporation's securities should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
For further information: Genel Enerji A.S.: Orhan Duran, Tel:
+90-312-428-2141, o.duran@genel-enerji.com; Addax Petroleum: Mr.
Patrick Spollen, Investor Relations, Tel.: +41-(0)22-702-95-47,
patrick.spollen@addaxpetroleum.com; Mr. Mac Penney, Press Relations,
Tel.: +1-(416)-934-8011, mac.penney@cossette.com; Ms. Marie-Gabrielle
Cajoly, Press Relations, Tel.: +41-(0)-22-702-94-44,
marie-gabrielle.cajoly@addaxpetroleum.com