ERHC Energy Inc. Issues April 2015 Shareholder Update
HOUSTON, April 21, 2015 – ERHC Energy Inc. (OTCMKTS:ERHE), a publicly traded American company with oil and gas assets in Sub-Saharan Africa, today issued the following update on Company activities from Dr. Peter Ntephe, president and chief executive officer.
To ERHC Shareholders:
I am pleased to update the investment community and other interested parties on ERHC Energy Inc.
1. Kenya Block 11A – The exploration team has identified the Tarach-1 prospect as the drilling location for the first exploration well. This decision was based on interpretation of 1,086.6 kilometers of 2D seismic data acquired by CEPSA (the operating partner) and ERHC on the Block. The exploration team considers the Tarach prospect as the most robust mapped prospect.
The interpretation of the seismic data grounds the following conclusions and work program plans:
A. The exploration team has identified 13 drillable prospects and leads in the Tarach basin.
B. Mean prospective resources of all prospects and leads totals 645 million barrels.
C. The basin stratigraphy is believed to be Tertiary/Cretaceous age, which would be similar to the Lokichar basin 200 km to the southeast of Block 11A, where significant discoveries have been made. The Lokichar basin has over 600 million barrels of 2C contingent resources.
D. The Tarach-1 prospect is situated in the central part of the basin. It is a three-way structural closure trapping against a North - South trending normal fault. The mean estimate of oil prospective resources for the prospect is 65 million barrels. The exploratory well is expected to spud in March 2016, if conditions precedent are met.
E. CEPSA and ERHC have commenced preparations for drilling with tendering processes underway on major items.
F. Contingent upon the results of Tarach-1, CEPSA and ERHC might decide to drill a second exploratory well, the Egole-1, to follow shortly thereafter. The Egole-1 prospect is a four-way rollover closure onto a Northwest - Southeast trending fault plain with mean prospective resources of 101 million barrels of oil.
2. Chad Block BDS 2008 – While ERHC's exploration team continues to compile plans for a 2-D seismic acquisition program, management has been in discussions with interested prospective farm-out partners. ERHC currently holds a 100 percent interest in BDS 2008. Based on the result of an aero-magnetic and gravity survey that ERHC completed over the Block in December 2014, total Petroleum Initially in Place (PIIP) for one of ERHC's two focus areas has been estimated at 278 million barrels (with a high case of 876 million barrels).
3. São Tomé and Príncipe Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – Discussions have been encouraging and continue with the International Operating Company (IOC) that signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) related to Block 11 of the EEZ. Under terms of the MOU, ERHC agreed to grant first right of refusal to the IOC for a farm-out of EEZ Block 11 for a period of six months.
4. Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC (DCF) – DCF continues to work with ERHC on the marketing of farm-outs on the Company's oil assets in the Republics of Chad and Kenya.
5. ERHC Operations – The Company is focusing all its resources on the maintenance of its exploration licenses. We continue to minimize expenses sharply on all fronts, including but not limited to investor relations activities, while carefully reviewing the fundraising options available in a constricted oil and gas market.
We thank you for your continued interest in ERHC.
Sincerely,
Peter Ntephe
President and Chief Executive Officer
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.
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.