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 announced that the National Petroleum Agency of São Tomé & Príncipe (ANP-STP) on behalf of the Government of São Tomé and Principe has confirmed the award to ERHC of 100 percent working interests in Blocks 4 and 11 of the São Tomé & Príncipe Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The confirmation follows ERHCs exercise of rights arising from prior agreements between ERHC and São Tomé & Príncipe.
The ANP-STP has indicated that it expects to invite ERHC to negotiate Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) on the two Blocks in due course.
The São Tomé & Príncipe EEZ encompasses an area of approximately 160,000 square kilometers south and east of the Nigeria/São Tomé & Príncipe Joint Development Zone and surrounding the volcanic islands of Príncipe and São Tomé. Block 4 is situated directly east of the island of Principe. Block 11 is directly east of the island of Sao Tome. A map of EEZ block delineations is available on the Companys website at www.erhc.com/EEZ-Blocks.
We have a special corporate bond with the government and the people of São Tomé & Príncipe and we look forward to the successful negotiation of PSCs in order to take our mutual interests to the next level, said ERHC Chief Operating Officer Peter Ntephe.
ERHC was among the first companies to identify the possibility of significant oil and/or natural gas reserves offshore of São Tomé & Príncipe and has been active in the area since 1997. In addition to the two Blocks already awarded, ERHC has rights to acquire up to a 15 percent paid working interest in two additional blocks of its choice in the EEZ. The ANP-STP has informed the Company that selection of these other blocks will take place at a later date to be determined.