Licence Award

11 Aug 2005 07:00

Island Oil and Gas PLC11 August 2005 PRESS RELEASE 11 August 2005 ISLAND OIL AND GAS AWARDED FRONTIER EXPLORATION LICENCE 05/3 IN THE NORTHEAST ROCKALL BASIN OFFSHORE IRELAND Island Oil and Gas plc, ("Island"), today announces that it has been granted a100% interest in Frontier Exploration Licence 05/3 covering blocks 18/10, 19/1and 19/6 in the Northeast Rockall Basin. The Licence, newly named as the 'Killala Licence', was awarded in the Northeast Rockall Licensing Round. Islandintends holding the Licence in its subsidiary Island Rockall JV Limited, whichwill be the operator. The Killala Licence, which covers an area of approximately 715 squarekilometers, is located in deep water on the Atlantic margin approximately 70kilometers off the west coast of Ireland and approximately 35 kilometers northof the Corrib gas field. The licence contains one very significant exploration prospect covering an areaof up to 80 square kilometers together with a number of other prospects andleads. Frontier Exploration Licence 05/3 is effective from 01 July 2005 and is validuntil 30 June 2021 unless surrendered or revoked. The first phase of the licenceexpires on 30 June 2009 unless a well is committed to on or before 01 April2009. The work programme committed to during this first phase of the licenceincludes regional desktop studies, seismic and reservoir modeling work and newseismic acquisition. Commenting on the award of the new Frontier Exploration Licence Paul Griffiths,Chief Executive of Island, stated: "The Irish sector of the Rockall Basin has been tested by only two wells todate, the second of which, 12/2-1, confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons inthis vast and as yet under-explored area. The basin however contains severalvery large structures and therefore the potential for future large hydrocarbonfinds is high. The addition of this licence to Island's portfolio of licencesoff the west coast of Ireland ensures that Island is strategicallywell-positioned with regard to exposure to future potential exploration successin the most prospective but sparsely explored sedimentary basins off the westcoast of Ireland ". Enquires : Lisa J Newman MCIPR MIRS Tel: +44 (0)1252 878682 Newman Consulting Email:newmanconsulting@hotmail.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange