HOUSTON, July 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: HNR) (Harvest or the Company) today announced that a Declaration of Commerciality (DOC) has been signed with the Gabonese Republic (Gabon) pertaining to the Dussafu Block offshore Gabon. Furthermore, on July 17, 2014, Gabon awarded an Exclusive Exploitation Authorization (EEA) for the development and exploitation of oil discoveries on the Dussafu Block.
The EEA provides for exploitation of the pre-salt oil discoveries on the Ruche (2011), Tortue (2013), Moubenga (1981) and Walt Whitman (1996) prospects. These discoveries will be named, respectively, Ruche A, Ruche B, Ruche C and Ruche D, and collectively will be called the Ruche Field. The area awarded by the EEA covers 850.5 square kilometers, which is the equivalent area of 36.5 offshore blocks in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed Field Development Plan (FDP) includes a single Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) and sub-sea wells which will be tied back to the FPSO. Once installed, the production infrastructure should allow for rapid and economic development of the full potential in the Ruche Field that will be appraised as part of the exploitation plan. Harvest will submit the proposed FDP within the next 90 days for sanction by Gabon.
Harvest President & CEO, James A. Edmiston, said "The award of the EEA is a major milestone toward bringing the Dussafu Block into production. In addition, the area of the EEA should enable an efficient exploitation of the numerous defined undrilled structures immediately adjacent to all four discoveries and, as such, we expect the recoverable resources within the EEA to grow considerably in the coming years."
Harvest holds a 66.667% interest in the Dussafu Block through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Harvest Dussafu, B.V., and Panoro Energy ASA holds a 33.333% interest.
About Harvest Natural Resources:
Harvest Natural Resources, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an independent energy company with principal operations in Venezuela and Gabon, and a business development office in Singapore. For more information visit the Company's website at www.harvestnr.com.
CONTACT:
Stephen C. Haynes
Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
(281) 899-5716
This press release may contain projections and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. They include estimates and timing of expected oil and gas production, oil and gas reserve projections of future oil pricing, future expenses, planned capital expenditures, anticipated cash flow and our business strategy. All statements other than statements of historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements. Although Harvest believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Actual results may differ materially from Harvest's expectations as a result of factors discussed in Harvest's 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other public filings.
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SOURCE Harvest Natural Resources, Inc.