AFR.L Regulatory News (AFR)

15 Jun 2007 16:19

Afren PLC15 June 2007 15 June 2007 Afren plc (AIM: AFR) Successful completion of equity raising London, 15 June 2007 - Afren plc ("Afren" or "the Company") announces that ithas successfully raised US$65 million through a placing of shares. Afren today announces the successful placing of 55,320,265 shares at 60 penceraising US$65 million, before fees and expenses. The order book wasoversubscribed, reflecting strong North American and European institutionaldemand. Jefferies International Limited acted as Sole Book-runner and GlobalCoordinator and Tristone Capital Limited and Bridgewell Limited acted asCo-Managers. An application has been made to AIM for the new ordinary shares to be admittedand it is expected that trading will commence on 21 June 2007. The number ofshares in issue following the Placing will be 264,872,553. The proceeds will be used in part for the Okoro Setu development, in addition toappraisal and development drilling on the Ofa Field and other opportunities.The Company remains on track for its production target of 15,000 - 20,000barrels per day in mid 2008 from the Okoro Setu development: • Fully underwritten US$200 million debt facility in place • Government approval for the Field Development Plan has been received • FPSO contract has been secured • Development drilling scheduled to commence in H2 2007 with the Global Santa Fe Adriatic VI drilling unit contracted for a nine month programme • Independent reserves audit estimates 1P oil reserves of 25 mmbbls and 2P reserve level of 32 mmbbls The Ofa Field is an undeveloped oil field located onshore in the Northern NigerDelta, which has the potential to increase the current production target in2008. In May 2007 Afren announced that the Company had farmed into the field,which Gaffney, Cline & Associates recently estimated as having mean Stock TankOil Initially in Place of up to 150 mmbbls. The forward programme includes awell test, which involves re-entry of the Ofa-1 discovery and testing four outof the eight identified oil bearing zones. Afren will also be participating in exploration wells on the Themis Marinlicence in Gabon and the high impact La Noumbi licence in the Republic of Congo(Brazzaville) during the year. Osman Shahenshah, Chief Executive of Afren, commented: "It is very pleasing to see such strong institutional support from both existingand new shareholders. Afren remains on track for 15,000 to 20,000 barrels perday by mid 2008, with the potential to expand the production target from the Ofadevelopment." Enquiries: Afren plc +44 (0) 20 7182 1800Osman Shahenshah Chief ExecutiveEvert Jan Mulder Chief Operating OfficerGalib Virani Investor Relations Jefferies International Limited +44 (0) 20 7618 3500Toby HaywardOliver Griffiths Tristone Capital Limited +44 (0) 20 7399 2480Simon Ashby-RuddMajid Shafiq Bridgewell Limited +44 (0) 20 7003 3000James RenwickChris Madderson Pelham Public Relations +44 (0) 20 7743 6673James HendersonAlisdair Haythornthwaite Background information Afren plc Afren (www.afren.com) was founded in December 2004 by a management teamincluding Dr Rilwanu Lukman, (Chairman), Osman Shahenshah, (Chief Executive) andBert Cooper (Advisor to the Board), with the vision to become the premier panAfrican independent Exploration and Production company. Since its listing onthe AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Afren has rapidly expanded itsportfolio and the management team has delivered ten assets in the JointDevelopment Zone of Nigeria Sao Tome and Principe, Nigeria, Gabon, Angola andCongo Brazzaville. Afren will continue to add to its diversified portfolio of near term developmentand high impact exploration, with the overall objective of creating substantialshareholder value. Note In accordance with the AIM Rules, the reserves and production information inthis press release have been reviewed and signed off by Dr Nick Johnson, who isHead of Exploration and Production at Afren plc and has over 25 years relevantexperience within the sector. He consents to the information in the form andcontext in which it appears. The Company estimates its reserves in accordancewith the guidelines and definitions of the Society of Petroleum Engineers/WorldPetroleum Congress ("SPE/WPC") reserves classification (March 1997) usingaccepted engineering principles. The information contained herein is not for publication or distribution,directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America. This documentis not an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy the shares in theUnited States; the shares may not be offered or sold in the United States absentregistration or an exemption from registration under the United StatesSecurities Act of 1933, as amended. There will be no public offer of securitiesin the United States. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange