Company Press Release Thursday October 23 7:45 AM EDT
ERHC Reports Successful Visit to Sao Tome & Principe
On-Shore Oil Seeps Provide Visual Indication of Oil Reserves
BROUSSARD, La., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ --Representatives from Environmental Remediation Holding Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: ERHC) recently returned from extensive meetings with government leaders
of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome & Principe (DRSTP). This was ERHC's first visit to the country since June, when the DRSTP enlisted ERHC as its oil & gas joint venture partner and primary liaison to the oil and gas industry.
ERHC representatives presented a plan for development of the nation's oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of West Africa. ERHC also gathered important information necessary
to determine offshore concessions and territorial boundaries. The area is estimated to cover some 180,000 square kilometers, or about the size of offshore Louisiana.
Representatives from ERHC included Jim R. Callender, Sr., ERHC's new COO and director of international operations (formerly 30 years at Unocal); Noreen Wilson, chief financial officer;
Vance Hartke, the former U.S. senator from Indiana who serves as an advisor to the company, and his son, Wayne Hartke, ERHC's general counsel.
ERHC representatives spent several hours in various meetings with the President, Prime Minister, President of Parliament and the Head of the Opposition Party. They were also the focus of several
government presentations to the national news media.
The government reviewed and approved the results of a preliminary feasibility study developed by ERHC. ERHC officers also discussed an environmental plan and the structure for a joint-owned oil
and gas company, and formulated a plan of action for the next six months.
''The DRSTP is strategically located in the middle of the Gulf of Guinea, which is rapidly becoming one of the major oil provinces of the world,'' said Callender. ''And ERHC is encouraged
by the data we have acquired from the area. We are particularly excited by the presence of marine shales source beds of Cretaceous age and sandstones of Tertiary age, which offer the main
reservoir potential. These sedimentary beds outcrop on both islands of Sao Tome and Principe and are accompanied by prolific oil seeps.''
ERHC plans to implement 2-D seismic surveys as soon as possible, and probably by the end of thefourth quarter, in order to identify stratographic formations of reservoirs and traps necessary
for commercial production. Remarked Callender, ''We expect to find more extensive oil-prone source beds that are within the 'oil generation window,' along with improved quality reservoir rock to be
present in the offshore area. We can conclude from the factors and information that we have obtained that the conditions offshore are mostly likely to result in the presence of commercial
oil accumulations in the lower Tertiary formations.''
ERHC will assist the DRSTP in submission of its territorial boundaries to the United Nations and the Gulf of Guinea commission, which oversees the development of the region's oil and other
natural resources. The ERHC and DRSTP jointly-owned oil and gas company will hold and manage all available concessions. The joint venture is formulating plans to set up concession lease
boundaries for sale to major E&P companies.
The DRSTP will be the final country in the region to assert its territorial rights, which extend up to 200 miles from shore or halfway between it and its neighbors Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial
Guinea, and Gabon. These countries are members of the United Nations and most have agreed to abide by the Law of the Sea. The Law of the Sea provides clear rules for determining international offshore boundaries.
According to ERHC's president and CEO, Samuel L. Bass, Jr., ''An important part of our initial efforts in this joint venture is the creation of an extensive environmental plan that will protect
the oil and gas operations and the country's natural beauty. This includes the creation of a government agency that will establish rules and regulations for oil and gas exploration, development and production. The implementation of the plan will involve the participation of ERHC's environmental services subsidiaries, Site Environmental Services, and Source Environmental Services.''
The Gulf of Guinea has become the most active exploration and production areas for oil and gas in the African continent, and one of the most in the world. The former Portuguese colony is one of
the last countries in the area to begin oil and gas exploration. The gulf region has been compared to the Gulf of Mexico, with potential reserves equal to those of Kuwait.
The archipelago of Sao Tome & Principe comprises two islands that straddle the equator in the Gulf of Guinea, about 200 miles off the coast of Gabon, West Africa. Sao Tome & Principe is a founding
member of the Gulf of Guinea Commission. |
