HRT, Galp Energia Sign Farm-Out Deal for Namibian Licences

Brazil’s HRT PARTICIPAÇÕES EM PETROLEO S.A. (HRT) has signed a Farm-Out Agreement with Galp Energia in regard to the assignment of a 14% participating interest in exploratory rights over three offshore Petroleum Exploration Licences (PEL) in Namibia – specifically PEL 23 in the Walvis Basin and PELs 24 and 28 in the Orange Basin.

HRT will retain the operatorship of these PELs and is set to commence a drilling campaign in 1Q13.

According to the terms agreed to by the parties, Galp Energia will carry part of HRT‘s share of costs, limited by a cap, associated with the drilling of wildcat wells, which are set to be drilled in 2013. The exploration program is expected to comprise the drilling of three exploration wells, in already identified and defined prospects, targeting two prospects in PEL 23 and one in PEL 24. These prospects carry both oil and gas assessments with material volumes, and are expected to be more oil prone.

The three PELs cover an area of 37,744 km2 in water depths ranging from 180 meters to 2,500 meters. Both Walvis and Orange basins are located in a new exploratory frontier area in an emerging hydrocarbon province with potential for oil and natural gas discoveries with already identified, drill-ready prospects.

HRT has carried out the largest 3D seismic acquisition campaign with excellent quality off the Namibian coast, which covered the areas where the three wells will be drilled, decreasing, therefore, the exploration risk.

The main targets of these prospects have a combined estimated gross recoverable resource of almost 8 billion bbl (unrisked mean estimate) with POS (probability of success) in the 20% – 30% range.

“We are honored to have Galp Energia as a partner in these highly prospective assets. This partnership will enable HRT to bring into its drilling campaign the experience of a major company that has had outstanding performance in the search for hydrocarbons in frontier-exploration projects such as the Brazilian pre-salt and also the West-African deep-waters”, CEO Marcio Rocha Mello commented.

The transaction is subject to the requisite regulatory approvals, specifically the Namibian government approval.

[mappress]

November 27, 2012