Grant of Permits for Paradox Basin Seismic survey

RNS Number : 5965O

Rose Petroleum PLC

22 August 2017

 

Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

22 August 2017

Rose Petroleum plc

("Rose", the "Company" or the "Group")

Grant of Permits for Paradox Basin Seismic survey

Rose (AIM: ROSE), the AIM quoted natural resources business, is delighted to announce that it has now received all necessary final approvals for its 3D seismic survey on its oil and gas exploration acreage in the Paradox Basin, Utah (the "Paradox Acreage") and the permitting process for the proposed survey is now complete. On 24 July 2017, the Company announced that it had received its final approvals from the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM"), which covers the Federal acreage of the Paradox Acreage. The Company has now received final approval from the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration ("SITLA") in respect of the State acreage of the Paradox Acreage. The SITLA approval was the final stage in the overall permitting process. The permits for the seismic survey cover an area of 61 square miles within the Paradox Acreage. Under the terms of the permits, the Company is able to commence operations from 1 September 2017.

As announced on 2 May 2017, the Company has assembled a highly experienced technical and operational team with specific Paradox Basin experience to assist in the completion of the seismic survey and the subsequent drilling program and the team has now been mobilised to finalise the optimisation and design of the survey within the permitted area.

The Paradox Basin is a natural fracture driven basin, meaning that the drilling process targets "fracture swarms" to enable the natural fracturing to provide the commercial flow rates so "hydraulic fracking" is not usually required. The 3D seismic survey is an essential part of identifying these fracture networks and therefore an essential path to unlocking the value of the Paradox Acreage. The Company is in dialogue with a number of third parties about potential funding options for both the 3D seismic survey and the subsequent drilling programme.

Matthew Idiens, CEO, commented:

"The securing of the approvals is a landmark moment for the Company and I'd like to thank everybody involved in the permitting process for their hard work and commitment in finally getting us to this point. We have all been waiting for this moment for some time, to be able to commence operations in the Paradox Basin, which will finally enable us to initiate the value creation from the Project.

"Our seismic shoot team has already commenced the optimisation designs for the final shoot parameters and as a result of their significant operational experience within the Basin, we expect to be able to cut costs and maximise the efficiency of the shoot.

"We look forward to keeping the market updated in respect of both the progress on the ground and in respect of our funding options."

Enquiries:

Matthew Idiens (CEO) Chris Eadie (CFO)	Rose Petroleum plc	Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Jeremy Porter / James Reeve / Liz Kirchner	Allenby Capital Limited	Tel: [phone]
James Pope / Ben Turner	Turner Pope Investments	Tel: [phone]

 

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