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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tomas who wrote (2358)	5/3/2001 8:16:36 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

Sudan Awards Petronas and Partners Contract in Block 5B Bernama Malaysian National News Agency, May 3 KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (Bernama) -- Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), the national oil and gas company, along with three others were awarded an exploration and production contract by the Sudan government. The contract for the exploration and production in Block 5B of Sudan soil was given to Petronas, Sudapet Ltd, IPC Sudan Ltd and OMV Aktiengesselshaft (OMV). In a statement today, Petronas said, Block 5B would complement Petronas' existing operations in Sudan's oil rich Muglad Basin, namely Blocks 1, 2, 4 and Block 5A. Block 5B is adjacent to Blocks 1, 2, 4 and 5A. It is a remote area covering 22,232 sq km and is located 800km southwest of Khartoum. The contract was concluded in Khartoum yesterday with the signing of the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) between Petronas and the three companies. Petronas was represented by president and chief executive, Tan Sri Datuk Mohd Hassan Merican, while Sudan's Energy and Mining minister, Awad Ahmed El-Jaz, signed for OEPA. General manager Mohamed El-Mubarak Imam signed for Sudapet, president/chairman Adolf Lundin for IPC Sudan and executive vice president Gerhard Roiss for OMV. The agreement holds the parties involved as partners for Block 5B and Sudan's Oil Exploration and Production Authority (OEPA). Petronas via its wholly-owned subsidiary, Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd (PCOSB) would hold 41 percent interest in Block 5B while IPC, OMV and Sudapet will own 24.5 percent, 24.5 percent and 10 percent respectively. PCOSB would be the operator of Block 5B. Under the agreement, the contractor would reprocess all existing seismic data, acquire and process 1,000 line-km of new 2-D seismic data and drill wildcat wells. The contractor's minimum financial commitment for the contract is RM125.4 million (US$33 million). Petronas said the Block 5B EPSA reflected Petronas' commitment to continue building its presence in Sudan as part of its efforts to seek new oil and gas resources to augment Malaysia's reserves. Petronas made its presence in Sudan via the integrated development of Blocks 1,2 and 4 project which involved the construction of 1,500 km pipeline from the fields to the Sudan port. The project is still being carried by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company Ltd, in which Petronas holds 30 percent. Other consortium members are China National Petroluem Corporation (40 percent), State Petroluem Corporation (25 percent) and Sudapet (5.0 percent). The project first exported oil in August 1999. The project has a recoverable crude oil reserves of 840 million barrels and a production rate of 200,000 barrels a day on average. In Block 5A, Petronas and its partners in the block have made encouraging discovery with potential crude oil reserves of 230 million barrels. Petronas has 28.5 percent interest in the block and its partners IPC (40.375 percent), OMV (26.125 percent) and Sudapet (5.0 percent). Assessments are currently being done on the block by the partners prior to the development stage.