ERHC Energy Inc. Confirms Leads in Kenya Block 11A with Closures of Up to 20 Kilometers
Seismic interpretation expected to mature leads to drillable prospects
HOUSTON, November 5, 2014 – ERHC Energy Inc. (OTCBB: ERHE), a publicly traded American company with oil and gas assets in Sub-Saharan Africa, today announced that ongoing interpretation of 2D seismic data on Kenya Block 11A reveals the presence of several viable leads, some with closures of up to 20 square kilometers. CEPSA as operator, along with their partner ERHC, appointed BGP for the acquisition of 1,086.6 kilometers of 2D seismic data, which was acquired between April and July 2014.
"The possibility of existence of stacked reservoirs, as seen in the Lokichar basin, could be a significant factor in computation of field volumetrics associated with these closures," said Dr. Peter Thuo, General Manager of ERHC Kenya Ltd. "Completion of the ongoing detailed seismic interpretation is expected to mature these leads into drillable prospects."
Leads of similar play types, such as the ones associated with major basin-boundary faults, have been successfully tested in the Lokichar Basin, with reserves of producing more than 600 million barrels of oil in place to date. Other significant proven fields in the region include the Muglad and Melut basins in the South Sudan with 3 billion and 2 billion barrels of oil respectively, and the Albertine Basin in Uganda with 1.7 billion barrels of oil in place.
The full tensor gravity gradiometry (FTG) survey conducted earlier on the Block identified two separate basins, Anam and Tarach, which cover 1,600 square kilometers to the west of Block 11A and 2,500 square kilometers to east, respectively. The basins are estimated to contain up to six to seven kilometers of sediments. Based on the analogy with the Lokichar basin, burial history is sufficient to generate commercial amounts of liquid hydrocarbons.
Bell Geospace acquired over 12,000 square kilometers of FTG data in the Block, on behalf of the contracting parties, during the fourth quarter of 2013. The FTG results enabled the optimization of the 2D seismic program layout, designed to image the subsurface structural features within the two basins.
ERHC holds a 35 percent interest in Block 11A after farming out a 55 percent stake to CEPSA Kenya Limited, a wholly owned affiliate of Compañía Española de Petróleos, S.A.U. (CEPSA). CEPSA is the operator of the Block.
In addition to Kenya Block 11A, ERHC's oil and gas exploration interests extend across the African continent, including the São Tomé and Príncipe Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Republic of Chad and the Nigeria- São Tomé and Príncipe Joint Development Zone (JDZ).
Those with questions are encouraged to reference the Company's SEC filings, which are available at http://erhc.com/secfilings/ or contact Daniel Keeney, ERHC's investor relations representative, at dan@dpkpr.com.
About ERHC Energy
ERHC Energy Inc. is a Houston-based independent oil and gas company focused on growth through high impact exploration in Africa and the development of undeveloped and marginal oil and gas fields. ERHC is committed to creating and delivering significant value for its stockholders, investors and employees, and to sustainable and profitable growth through risk balanced smart exploration, cost efficient development and high margin production. For more information, visit www.erhc.com.
About CEPSA
CEPSA is an energy group, 100% owned by International Investment Petroleum Company (IPIC), which employs more than 10,000 professionals working at all stages in the hydrocarbon value chain: exploration and production of oil and gas, refining, transportation and marketing of petroleum and natural gas derivatives, biofuels, co-generation and marketing of electricity. CEPSA has developed a significant petrochemicals department that is highly integrated with its petroleum refining business, where it manufactures and sells raw materials for the production of high added-value products that are used primarily for the processing of new generation plastics and biodegradable detergents. It has a major presence in Spain and, thanks to the gradual internationalization of its activities, also operates in Algeria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Suriname and Thailand, selling its products throughout the world.
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 stockholders' meetings 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 Kenya, Chad, the JDZ and the Exclusive Economic Zone 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.