dana petroleum signs rig contract for drilling onshore morocco

Dana Petroleum Signs Rig Contract For Drilling Onshore Morocco

08-21-2008

A drilling rig contract for the drilling of an exploration well on the Bouanane license onshore Morocco has been entered into by the Operator, Dana Petroleum plc, on behalf of the partner group including Tethys Oil and Eastern Petroleum.

The drilling rig, owned by Aladdin Middle East Ltd.,Tethys' partner in Turkey, is an American built 2,000 horsepower model with a depth capacity of 5,000 meters. The rig is currently being mobilized from Turkey to Morocco. It will first drill a well for another operator in Morocco before being mobilized to Bouanane to drill the Tafejjart-1 exploration well.

Tethys has a 12.5% interest in the Bouanane license and is carried for the first US $12 million of drilling cost.

"The Tafejjart-1 well offers an excellent risk reward for Tethys, with no cost for us up until $12 million of drilling cost and a very large upside if the well encounters natural gas," commented Tethys’ Managing Director Magnus Nordin.

Dana is the Operator of the Bouanane license holding 50% interest, with Tethys and Eastern holding 12.5% each. The Moroccan state oil and mining company, ONHYM, has a carried 25% interest.