Ascent Resources plc, the AIM listed European oil and gas exploration and production company, is delighted to announce that it has signed a series of key agreements with its Slovenian partners, which lay the foundation for the commercial development of its Petisovci gas field.
These include:
- A revised Joint Venture agreement which will significantly simplify the relationship between the partners and remove the issue of consents which had thwarted previous attempts to secure project finance. Ascent's partner in the Petisovci Joint Venture is Geoenergo which is owned in equal parts by Petrol dd and Nafta Lendava doo.
- An infrastructure agreement with Petrol Geoterm doo; which will facilitate the construction of the plant to process hydrocarbons for the Slovenian domestic market.
- A service agreement with a Petrol Geoterm doo; who will oversee the processing of hydrocarbons and their transmission to the national grid.
The signing of these documents is the culmination of months of close cooperation amongst the partner group and lays a solid foundation for an effective future working relationship.
As a result of signing these documents the Company has resolved the longstanding problems with consents and can now move forward with finalising project finance and bringing Petisovci into production next year.
Len Reece, Ascent's Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"The signing of these agreements marks a significant step forward towards bringing our Petisovci asset into production. While we finalise project finance, work has begun to secure the local permits required to expand the capabilities of the gas processing facility and to construct additional pipelines to connect to the international distribution network."
