VANGOLD RESOURCES LTD.: VANGOLD ENTERS INTO EXCLUSIVE PETROLEUM EXPLORATION PRODUCTION SHARING AGREEMENT FOR THE EXPLORATION OF 13,775 SQ KMS IN ARMENIA
M2 Presswire – United Kingdom
Published: May 24, 2007
Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA – Vangold Resources Ltd. (VAN
– TSX Venture), ("Vangold") announces that has entered into an
agreement to participate in a Production Sharing Agreement (the "PSA")
between the Ministry of Energy of Armenia and Blackstairs Energy plc
("Blackstairs"). Vangold will participate as to a 50% working interest
in Blocks 4, 5 and 6, which cover an area of 13,775 sq. km (over 3.4
million acres) in central and southern Armenia. Under the PSA, the
term of exploration is five years, which may be extended (subject to
an agreed work program) by two additional periods, each of two years.
The total financial commitment for five years is US$2.4M of which
Vangold will expend US$1.2M. The Blocks are governed exclusively by
this PSA, which was effective as of April 27th 2007. With respect
to Block 6, Blackstairs and Vangold have yet to complete the exact
terms of Vangold’s acquisition as to a half interest partner.
Dal Brynelsen, President and CEO of Vangold states: "I am very pleased
with this acquisition on two fronts. These particular concessions
encompass half of Armenia and are adjacent to Iran, Azerbaijan and
Georgia, all countries with very extensive oil and gas resources. We
believe a similar potential exists in southern Armenia. We are very
pleased to have aligned ourselves with executive oil and gas experts
from Blackstairs who have extensive exploration and development
experience in both Armenia and in east Africa. We look forward to
working closely with Mr. Sheehan and his crew not only in Armenia but
also in Rwanda and Kenya. The addition of the Armenian sedimentary
basin brings Vangold’s oil and gas concessions in east Africa and
Armenia to a total of 45,200 sq kms."
Blackstairs Energy Plc
Blackstairs, a private company based in Dublin, Ireland, will operate
the Blocks under the terms of the PSA. An office is being opened
in Yerevan, an experienced General Manager, Mr. Tim Papworth, has
been appointed, and the recruitment of key technical and commercial
staff is underway. Mr. Papworth is a UK-based petroleum exploration
consultant with over thirty years of experience in areas including
the North Sea, onshore UK, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Malaysia, Gabon,
Namibia, Georgia and Russia. He has worked intermittently in Armenia
since 1994. The Technical Summary included in this news release was
authored by Mr. Papworth.
The operation in Armenia will also be supported by other members of the
Blackstairs’ team of experienced geological, geophysical and petroleum
engineering staff including the Managing Director of Blackstairs
Mr. Gerard Sheehan, B.Sc., M.Sc., FRAS and Mr. John D. Scott, B.Sc.,
M.Sc. Mr. Sheehan is a former Exploration Manager and New Ventures
Manager for Tullow Oil plc. Throughout his nineteen years with Tullow,
Mr. Sheehan worked on a variety of petroleum projects in Africa,
the Indian Subcontinent and Eastern and Central Europe.
Mr. Sheehan resigned from Tullow in July 2006 to concentrate on the
development of Blackstairs. Mr. Sheehan is member of the Society
of Exploration Geophysicists, the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Mr. Scott is a non-executive director of Blackstairs and is a petroleum
engineer with over 35 years experience in the oil sector. His extensive
career includes the position of Petroleum Engineering Manager for
Tullow Oil plc where he assumed responsibility for all of Tullow’s
field development projects in the UK, Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh
and across Africa. Mr. Scott was also the Engineering Manager for
Ranger Oil from 1986 to 1994. Mr. Scott is a member of the Society
of Petroleum Engineers, the Society of Professional Well Log Analysts
and an Associate of International Petroleum Negotiators.
As reported by Vangold on March 1, 2007, Tullow had announced that
its Kingfisher-1 exploration well in Block 3A in Uganda (50% Tullow:
50% Heritage Oil) was flowing 13,893 bopd in total. This Ugandan
discovery is part of the Albertine Graben which may extend into
Vangold’s White Elephant concession which is 7,208 sq kms in Rwanda,
not 2,708 as previously announced by Vangold.
Vangold is very pleased that Messrs. Sheehan and Scott will also
provide their extensive expertise to the geological evaluation of
this area.
Work Program Armenia
Blackstairs and Vangold will undertake a comprehensive technical
program.
The objective of these programs is to elucidate the petroleum system,
high-grade the most prospective areas, and identify prospects which
may be considered for additional delineation or drilling.
The projects identified for the initial phase of exploration are:
* Collation and re-assessment of the existing technical database
* Reprocessing of suitable geophysical data, including seismic data
* Satellite Imagery interpretation
* Gravity Surveys
* Geochemical surveys
* Field geological mapping
* Acquisition of at least 170 km. of 2D seismic.
Brief Technical Summary of the SE Armenia Licence Area, Blocks 4, 5 & 6
Armenia lies within the Caucasus orogenic belt situated between the
Black and Caspian seas. This orogenic belt was formed as a result
of the closure of a number of Tethyan Ocean tracts, since as long
ago as the Devonian. The remnants of some of these paleo-oceans are
represented in Armenia by up to three narrow, discontinuous belts of
ophiolites, which strike approximately north-west to south-east. The
outcropping ophiolites range in age from Jurassic to Cretaceous. They
do not necessarily represent fully oceanic material, but may instead
be parts of the floors of narrow marine basins similar to the present
Gulf of Suez. These ophiolite belts serve to divide the country into
tectonic zones (see below).
Please click on link provided to view tectonic zones:
basinmay23x1x1.jpg Graphic
hosted by Filing Services Canada Inc. website.
The south-western zone is represented by three basins, the Oktemberyan,
Artashat, and Surinaven. They lie along the course of the present day
River Araks, which forms the border with Turkey. They are referred to
collectively as the Ararat Intermontane Depression. Their sedimentary
section is Tertiary in age, which is floored by ophiolites (Cretaceous
/ Jurassic) or Paleozoic sediments. These basins lie within Transeuro
Energy operated Block 2, due west of Block 4, with part of the
Surinaven Basin within Block 5. Gas prospects exist within the
Oktemberyan Basin.
To the north-east, the section rises onto a regional high composed of
Paleozoic metasediments, before dipping again into a large sedimentary
basin referred to as the Central Depression. These sediments ranging
in age from Devonian to Recent. Folding, wrench faulting, and possibly
reverse and thrust faulting, are all recognised structural phenomena
within this zone. Near the north-western end of the Central depression
lies the Aragats volcano, dormant since Pliocene times.
Further north-east, a major tectonic suture occurs within the
Sevan-Shirak zone, and Cretaceous and Jurassic age ophiolites
outcrop within it and along the northern margin. The Sevan-Shirak
zone itself is represented by Middle Eocene tuffs and associated
volcanic vents and intrusives. Finally, in the north of Armenia, the
Somkhet Karabakh and Bazum zones contain Middle Jurassic to Cretaceous
sediments overlying basement. These are deformed by reverse faulting
and thrusting and penetrated by igneous intrusives. The section dips
regionally northwards into the oil productive Kura Depression of
Georgia and Azerbaijan.
The Central Depression, which covers much the SE Armenia Licence
area, has been subdivided into two tectonic zones – the Yerevan
-Ordubad zone in the north and the Miskham-Zangezur zone in the
south (in Block 6). The former is possibly the more prospective,
with most exploration having been carried out in its western part, in
the Near Yerevan Depression in Block 2, where oil has been recovered
from a borehole east of Yerevan. Similar prospects may exist further
east into Block 4; oil shows were seen in the Yeranos borehole just
southwest of Lake Sevan.
Based upon gravity data, the Central Depression can be subdivided
into at least seven sub-basins, these being, from west to east –
Aragats Depression, Fontan Depression (potential oil source area
in NE Block 2, extending into Block 5), Near Yerevan Depression,
Sevan Depression (in central Block 4), Chatma-Vedi Depression (far
west Block 5), Vardenis Syncline (SE of Lake Sevan) and Vayotsdzor
Depression (central and south Block 5). The Kapan block (Jurassic
and Cretaceous in age) in east Block 6 may also be prospective.
A summary of oil and gas indications for the general area are shown
below:
* oil traces found in the Paleocene/Upper Cretaceous of the Azat-1
well (eight kms from western border of Block 4), and one cubic
metre of oil recovered (and several hundred metres of oil shows)
from Paleocene in Shorakhpur-1P well, eight kms further west;
* oil shows in the Upper Eocene of the Garni-1G well (eight kms from
western border of Block 4), and oil found in the Middle Eocene of
Shorakhpur-1P;
* medium/light oil was recovered from drilling muds in the Mid-Jurassic
of the Akhkaklu-3 borehole, north of Block 4;
* oil seeps seen in the old Yeranos borehole, SE of Lake Sevan
(Block 4);
* gas seeps recorded in Lake Sevan and nearby shallow boreholes
(Block 4);
* gas shows in the Vedi-1T well in the Cretaceous (western part of
Block 5);
* heavy, waxy, asphaltic residual oil found within Triassic coals in
the Ghermanis-4 borehole, west of Yeghegnadzor (Block 5);
* the presence of Permian organic rich, mature, oil- and gas-prone
calcareous shales and mudstones in the general area (blocks 5, 6);
* bitumen found in the Shahumian borehole and the Coniacian of the
Spitakjour River area (Block 6), which may be of Devonian origin, and
* an unsubstantiated report of an oil show in the Meghri area
(Block 6).
Please click on link provided to view Armenian map:
meniamay23.jpg Graphic
hosted by Filing Services Canada Inc. website.
To find out more about Vangold Resources Ltd. please visit our
website at or contact Dal Brynelsen at 604-684-1974
or by email [email protected].
On Behalf of the Board of VANGOLD RESOURCES LTD.
"Dal Brynelsen" Dal Brynelsen, President and CEO
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this
news release.
Vangold Resources Ltd.