Aminex Increases Stake in Nyuni PSA, Tanzania

Aminex PLC (‘Aminex’ or the ‘Company’) announces that it is proposing to increase its interest in the Nyuni Production Sharing Agreement in Tanzania (‘Nyuni PSA’) from 50% to 65% through a farm-in arrangement. Binding heads of agreement have been signed.

Under the terms of the farm-in, Aminex will fund a 20% share in the dry hole cost of the forthcoming Nyuni-2 exploration well in Tanzania in return for assignment to the Company of a 15% interest. The farm-out party is Key Petroleum Ltd. (‘Key’) which is refocusing its activities to onshore United Kingdom production and onshore North Perth Basin exploration in Australia. Once the farm-out conditions have been met, Key will become a 5% partner and responsible for 5% of ongoing costs, including any testing and completion costs of the Nyuni-2 well. The additional 15% being acquired by Aminex includes 15% of the tested Kiliwani North gas discovery and of the logged but not tested gas discovery in Albian-Aptian sands in the Nyuni-1 well, drilled in 2004.

Nyuni-2 is due to be spudded in April and a rig contract is in the final stages of negotiations. Nyuni-2 will be drilled from Nyuni Island at an angle of approximately 30 degrees from vertical to target a large gas prospect in Neocomian age (Lower Cretaceous) sandstones. A commercial discovery could be tied back via a 20 kilometre subsea pipeline to Songo-Songo and would be relatively quicker and less expensive to develop than, for instance, a discovery in deep water.

Aminex chairman Brian Hall commented: ‘A further acquisition of interest in the Nyuni PSA is a logical expansion of our activities and confirms our strong commitment not only to the Nyuni PSA itself but to Tanzania and the East African margin generally, now a focus of high oil industry interest. We are pleased to have been able to come to a mutually satisfactory arrangement with Key, which meets the strategic objectives of both companies’.

Partners in the Nyuni PSA after the farm-out terms have been fulfilled will be:

Ndovu Resources (Aminex subsidiary) 65% (operator)

RAK Gas Commission 25%

Key Petroleum Ltd 5%

Bounty Oil 5%

The agreement is subject to formal consent of the Government of Tanzania.

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Source:Aminex, February  4, 2011;