Investment Update

14 January 2009 AIM: XTR XTRACT ENERGY PLC ("Xtract" or the "Company") INVESTMENT UPDATE - ELKO ENERGY INC Xtract Energy Plc ("Xtract") is pleased to provide the following update on its investment in Elko Energy Inc ("Elko"). Elko yesterday sent a message to its shareholders confirming the appointment of a new President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Peter Moir. Peter will take up the position full-time starting on Monday January 26, 2009. Peter's appointment is the latest in a series of Board changes at Elko since December 12, 2008. The changes to the Board were the outcome of a process initiated by Xtract and DM Bray Capital, LLC ("DM Bray"), the two largest shareholders of Elko on November 4, 2008. These two shareholders, representing approximately 48% of the voting interests in Elko called for the replacement of the Board with a new slate of directors. In their letter, Xtract and DM Bray expressed disappointment with the performance of the incumbent Board. As a result of the changes, Andy Morrison, CEO of Xtract, remains a Director of Elko and is joined on the Elko Board by fellow Xtract Director, Mr John Conlon. Andy Morrison is acting CEO of Elko until Peter Moir takes up his duties on January 26, 2009. Commenting on the changes, Andy Morrison said, 'I would like to thank the incumbent Board for the professional way in which they responded to our proposal, which was aimed at increasing the alignment of Elko's strategy with the interests of all shareholders. I also take this opportunity to thank Mr Rudi Kleiber, founder and former CEO, for his role in establishing Elko as a promising independent operator. With the new Board now in place, I believe that Elko is better positioned to advance its attractive asset portfolio and bring it to market when conditions permit'. Xtract currently holds approximately 35.2% of the issued capital of Elko. The full text of the Elko Chairman's message to shareholders is given below. "Shareholder Update I am writing to you as the new Chairman of Elko Energy Inc. ("Elko" or the "Company"), having been appointed to the Board on December 12, 2008 and having been elected Chairman at a Board meeting held on December 16th. A great deal has happened in the world since our Annual General Meeting which was held in Toronto on June 20, 2008 - investment conditions have deteriorated considerably as a result of the decline in oil prices and the tightening of credit. Whilst the assets of the Company remain potentially valuable, we will need to be more creative and adaptable in taking them forward within more constrained financial resources. I am delighted to be able to inform you that following a further board meeting held on January 9, 2009, Mr. Peter Moir was elected to the Board. Peter will take up the position of President and CEO starting full-time on Monday, January 26th. Together with our new colleagues on the board, Peter and I look forward to developing the assets and to bringing Elko to a liquidity event as soon as we can. Recent Board Changes At a Board meeting held on December 12th three independent non-executive directors of the Company resigned (Messrs. Denis Clement, John Cullen and Adrian Jackson), together with the CEO, Rudolf Kleiber. John Conlon and I were appointed and Jeremy Kane agreed to remain as an independent non-executive director for a temporary period to continue to represent the interests of the minority shareholders. Andy Morrison, CEO of Xtract Energy Plc ("Xtract") also remained on the Board and became Acting CEO, pending the appointment of a full-time replacement. At a further Board meeting held on January 9th, Peter Moir was appointed as director, President and CEO of the Company. He will be based at our UK offices and will commence full time employment on January 26, 2009. Originally qualified as a Petroleum Engineer, Peter has spent his whole career in the upstream energy business. His recent senior executive positions include Asset General Manager for the Central North Sea area for British Gas (BG Group Plc). From 2003 until joining Elko, Peter was a senior consultant to the Kashagan project to develop a 10 billion barrel oil field in the Caspian Sea. Peter brings a combination of technical, strategic and operational experience that will help guide the Company in the tough market conditions. The changes to the Board were the outcome of a process initiated by Xtract and DM Bray Capital, LLC ("DM Bray"), the two largest shareholders of the Company on November 4, 2008. These two shareholders, representing approximately 48% of the voting interests in the Company called for the replacement of the Board with a new slate of directors. In their letter, Xtract and DM Bray expressed disappointment with the performance of the incumbent Board. The incumbent Board formed a special committee of independent non-executive directors to evaluate the proposal of the then dissident shareholders. Having gone through due process, the special committee negotiated and accepted the proposal and agreed to implement it voluntarily. Business Update Through its Danish subsidiary Elko Energy A/S the Company operates the largest exploration licence in Denmark with an area of 1.3 million acres offshore. The licence area offers P50 un-risked net prospective resources of 1.8 billion barrels oil or 8.4 Tcf of gas (independently evaluated by Tracs International, an independent reservoir engineer, in May 2008). The Company owns 80% of License 02/05, located offshore Denmark, with 20% held by a Danish government entity. In the Netherlands sector of the North Sea, the Company operates two gas-bearing exploration blocks. Block P1 is located on the southern margin of Southern Permian Gas basin and covers approximately 209 km2 (51,623 acres). Seven wells have been drilled by previous operators, of which five encountered gas on three separate structures. Block P2 is directly adjacent and east of Block P1. The Company is operator and holds a net 33% interest in the two licences. Partners are Oyster Energy BV ("Oyster") which owns a 27% working interest and Energie Beheer Nederland B.V. which owns a 40% working interest. Progress on the Dutch assets has been hampered during 2008 by the lack of a joint operating agreement and the inability of Oyster to attract interest in the intended disposal of its holding. This situation has become more acute with the decline in oil and gas prices. At the time of writing, the new Board is in discussions with Oyster to resolve this situation satisfactorily and to enable the assets to be developed without further delay. Although the decline of gas prices is not helpful to the project economics, the assets continue to have significant strategic value and we believe can attract financing partners even in the current environment. As you will be well aware, the Company did not meet its objective of making an Initial Public Offering and a listing on a recognized stock exchange within one year of the pre-IPO fund-raising completed in December 2007. Although much of the preparatory work was completed, it was not possible to get independent sign-off of the reserves in the required time frame and the Company's financial advisors, Cormark Securities Inc. and Jennings Capital Inc. suggested the IPO be delayed due to market volatility. Achieving reserve status for gas deposits requires commercialization paths to be more clearly articulated than they have been to date. With equity and debt markets now largely inaccessible to small-cap companies, we expect to find funding partners amongst strategic and industry participants. The new Board intends to improve communication with shareholders and we will provide further updates from time to time. Jack Bray Chairman January 13, 2009" Further information on Elko can be found at www.elkoenergy.com. As an unquoted company, Elko is not subject to the AIM Rules and the information contained in this announcement has not been reviewed by a named "qualified person" as defined and required by the AIM Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies. Enquiries please contact: Xtract Energy Andy Morrison, CEO +44 (0)20 7079 1798 Smith & Williamson David Jones +44 (0)20 7131 4000 Corporate Finance Azhic Basirov Scott Harris Ian Middleton +44 (0)20 7653 0030 James O'Shaughnessy About Xtract Energy Xtract identifies and invests in a diversified portfolio of early stage energy sector technologies and businesses with significant growth potential. The Company aims to work closely with the associated management teams to achieve critical project milestones, to finance later development stages, and to build and crystallise value for all shareholders and partners. For further Information on Xtract please visit www.xtractenergy.co.uk A short description of the principal assets of Xtract is set out below. These assets are either held directly or through wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company. MEO Australia Ltd ("MEO") MEO (ASX: MEO) aims to become an integrated Australian Gas-to-Liquids ("GTL") company. In 2008, MEO made significant gas discoveries in the Australian Timor Sea, in an area of shallow water known as Tassie Shoal. Early commercialisation of these discoveries is planned through construction of Liquified Natural Gas ("LNG") and Methanol plants and export terminals on the off-shore Tassie Shoal. MEO has already secured Australian Government environmental approvals for two large scale (1.8 Mtpa) methanol plants and a 3 Mtpa LNG plant on Tassie Shoal. Xtract owns approximately 13.9% of MEO's issued share capital. Elko Energy Inc. ("Elko") Elko is a Canadian registered oil & gas exploration company which has interests in exploration and production licences in the Danish and Dutch North Sea. Its major asset is in the Danish North Sea; an 80% interest on 26 offshore blocks in a 5,400 sq km exploration and production licence close to the prolific Central Graben oil field. Technical work indicates the potential for significant reserves. Elko also holds a 33% operating interest in gas-bearing license blocks P1 and P2 in the Dutch North Sea. Xtract owns approximately 35.4% of Elko's issued share capital. Extrem Energy AS ("Extrem Energy") Extrem Energy is an exploration and production joint venture with Merty Energy of Turkey. The JV's aim is to create a new medium-sized oil and gas exploration and production business, initially focused on Turkey where Merty Energy has particular experience and expertise. Extrem Energy has a portfolio of licence interests including the high potential prospect at Candarli Bay in south-west Turkey. Xtract owns 20% of the issued share capital of Extrem Energy and has the option of increasing its shareholding to 34% before 30 June 2009. Xtract Oil Ltd ("XOL") Xtract's wholly owned subsidiary, XOL, is focused on the development of the Company's oil shale resources in Australia and the technology for oil extraction from oil shale resources. Xtract has oil shale exploration rights over mining tenements in the Julia Creek area of Queensland. In addition to evaluating third party technologies, XOL has been developing proprietary technology for the commercial extraction of liquid hydrocarbon products from oil shale. Xtract Energy (Oil Shale) Morocco SA ("XOSM") XOSM is a joint venture with Alraed Limited Investment Holding Company WLL, a company controlled by His Highness, Prince Bandar Bin Mohd. Bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. XOSM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines for the purposes of evaluation and possible development of an oil shale deposit near Tarfaya, in the south west part of Morocco. Xtract currently holds 70% of the joint venture. Wasabi Energy Ltd ("Wasabi") Wasabi (ASX: WAS) is a diversified investor in traditional and renewable energy technologies. Amongst its listed assets it holds approximately 38% of Rum Jungle Uranium Ltd (ASX: RUM) which has interests in uranium exploration licenses covering some 4,150 sq km of Australia's Northern Territory and approximately 12.5% of Greenearth Energy Ltd (ASX:GER) which aims to explore and develop geothermal resources in Australia and the wider Pacific Rim. Xtract owns approximately 19.4% of the issued share capital of Wasabi. Zhibek Resources Ltd ("Zhibek Resources") Zhibek Resources is an oil and gas exploration and production company which has a 72% interest in the Tash Kumyr and Pishkoran exploration licences in the Kyrgyz Republic. Xtract has entered a farm-out agreement to fund a seismic and drilling programme for 2008-09. Xtract owns 25.0% of the issued share capital of Zhibek Resources. ---END OF MESSAGE--- This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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