Aminex announces Approval of EIA for Ruvuma PSA

Irish oil and gas exploration company Aminex PLC has announced that the National Environment Management Council (NEMC) of Tanzania has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the acquisition of further 2D and 3D seismic data over the Ruvuma PSA acreage, focusing on the Ntorya discovery area.

The 3,447 square kilometers Ruvuma PSA is located in southern Tanzania within the highly prolific Ruvuma Basin where it has reported that more than 160 TCF of gas has been discovered in recent years. Aminex operates with 75% working interest through its wholly owned subsidiary Ndovu Resources Limited with the remaining 25% held by Solo Oil.

In an operational update on its operations in Tanzania, Aminex also stated that the planned 2018 well in the Ruvuma PSA, formerly designated as Ntorya-3, has now been renamed Chikumbi-1 at the request of the Tanzanian Government.  The well will target the same reservoir tested in Ntorya-1 and in Ntorya-2 in an up-dip position and will additionally test a deeper exploration target. The proposed total depth is approximately 3,400 metres.

The tendering process for a rig to drill Chikumbi-1 is due to close during the current quarter with an expected spud date later in the year, although exact timing of which will be dependent on rig availability.

Aminex also indicated that discussions concerning a farm-out transaction of their interest in Ruvuma PSA, including the Ntorya appraisal area, with an affiliate of the Zubair Corporation, as announced by Aminex on 21 March 2018 are ongoing.

In a separate statement, Neil Ritson, Chairman of Solo oil said that the receipt of a 25-year development licence for the Ntorya discovery remains a key step in Solo's plans to monetise the discovery. "We are pleased that plans to drill at Ntorya continue to advance and that a second target below the Ntorya discovery can additionally be tested with the planned well.  Solo continues to make its own plans, in parallel with Aminex, to fund the eventual development of Ntorya, which we anticipate will follow the Chikumbi-1 well."

According to reports made in January 2018, an independent report which will provide an update on all of Aminex Tanzanian permits is expected to be completed early this year.