ERHC Energy Inc. Responds to Announcement of Planned Acquisition of Addax Petroleum by Sinopec Corp.
HOUSTON, June 24, 2009 – ERHC Energy Inc. (OTCBB: ERHE), a publicly traded American company with oil and gas assets in the highly prospective Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa, today responded to the announcement of an agreement for Sinopec Corp. to acquire Addax Petroleum.
Sinopec and Addax are longtime technical partners of ERHC Energy. ERHC was instrumental in helping both companies establish a presence in the JDZ and has worked closely with them on issues related to oil and gas exploration. Sinopec is the operator of Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 2, in which ERHC has a 22 percent interest. Addax is the operator of JDZ Block 4, in which ERHC has a 19.5 percent interest.
“Today’s announcement is the start of an intensive process, which we expect will be beneficial for all parties involved,” said Peter Ntephe, chief operating officer with ERHC. “Most important for ERHC is that we have been assured that today’s announcement will have no impact on the commencement of exploratory drilling in JDZ Blocks 2 and 4.”
According to the operators, drilling in JDZ Blocks 2 and 4 is scheduled for the third quarter and could begin as early as July.
This document contains statements concerning ERHC Energy Inc.’s future operating milestones, future drilling operations, the planned exploration and appraisal program, future prospects, future investment opportunities and financing plans, future shareholders’ meetings, response to the Senate Subcommittee investigation, developments in the SEC investigation of the Company and related proceedings, as well as other matters that are not historical facts or information. Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, projected, expressed or implied. A discussion of the risk factors that could impact these areas and the Company’s overall business and financial performance can be found in the Company’s reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors include, among others, those relating to the Company’s ability to exploit its commercial interests in the JDZ and the exclusive territorial waters of Sao Tome and Principe, general economic and business conditions, changes in foreign and domestic oil and gas exploration and production activity, competition, changes in foreign, political, social and economic conditions, regulatory initiatives and compliance with governmental regulations and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Given these concerns, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on these statements. Each of the above statements speaks only as of the date of this document. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any of the above statements is based.