africa oil shows progress with its seismic program in puntland somalia

Africa Oil Shows Progress With Its Seismic Program in Puntland Somalia

07-23-2008

Africa Oil Corp. announced that seismic recording in the Dharoor Valley of Puntland, Somalia commenced on July 9, 2008. The Company plans to acquire approximately 2,600 kilometers of 2D vibroseis data on the Dharoor Block before drilling 2 wells in each of its two Puntland concessions.

In the Nogal Basin, Africa Oil has acquired all of the more than 4,000 kilometers of good quality 2D data which was recorded in the late 1980s.

The Company holds an 80% interest in the Nogal and Dharoor blocks. The concessions encompass two highly prospective hydrocarbon basins and cover an area of 81,000 square kilometers or more than 20 million acres.

The two sedimentary basins were contiguous with the prolific Marib and Masila basins in Yemen during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Over 9 billion BOE have been discovered in Yemen but exploration has been limited to date in Somalia. Only 3 wells have been drilled in basinal settings in these concessions before operations ceased in the early 1990s. Those wells confirmed thick sedimentary sequences, encountered oil in Cretaceous sandstones and proved the presence of active petroleum systems in both basins.

"We are very pleased with the progress made in our concessions and appreciate the excellent support received from both the Puntland Government and the Transitional Federal Government. Commencement of the seismic program has also reduced the logistical demands on our Puntland infrastructure and we are now working hard to reinstate the drilling program in order to commence drilling during 2008," commented Rick Schmitt, President and CEO of Africa Oil.