MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FIC oil partner exploring in West Africa.

An Australian consortium with interests in the Falkland Islands has started exploration drilling at the Chinguetti oilfield off the coast of Mauritania, West Africa.

According to a release from Perth based Hardman Resources the drilling is expected to confirm the presence of 95 million barrels, "a significant find for a small explorer", in a relatively small field by international standards. Chinguetti 4-5 is the first of four wells to be drilled this year.

Hardman Resources Limited together with Global Petroleum Ltd. (operator) and the Falkland Islands Company also have an offshore exploration initial three year permit covering ten licence blocks with a total area of approximately 57,000 sq. kilometres in the South Falklands Basin, granted under an "open-door" policy introduced by the Falklands' government in 2001.

Hardman Resources Limited that is listed in the Australian Stock Exchange and on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange is also scheduled to begin oil exploration in Lake Albert, Uganda late this month.

Apparently Hardman was first licenced to explore for oil in Uganda in 1997 but pulled out three years later because of a drop in world oil prices, returning in 2001 when oil prices stabilized.

In the mid nineties Hardman Resources embarked upon an international strategy of acquiring acreage in under explored but prospective regions. Besides the Mauritania-Chinguetti operation Hardman has assembled a portfolio of international projects at various stages of development that include offshore French Guiana, offshore Gabon, the Albertine Graben in Uganda, the Great South Basin offshore New Zealand and the Southern Falklands basin.

Hardman's management strategy in the medium term has been summarized as follows:

? to develop the Group's significant position in the offshore Mauritania project areas as the scope of work intensifies and the possibilities for early production are actively investigated; ? to continue to add value to the company's other project areas through focussed technical work and carefully structured joint venture arrangements, and ? To maximize returns to the company's producing asset, the Woodada Gas Field, Western Australia, by prudent management and an innovative exploration and development program.

In July 2002 Hardman Resources Managing Director Ted Ellyard said the timetable for the Southern Falklands basin would include a first year of reprocessing exiting seismic data; in year two shooting for new seismic data and "if the results are encouraging drilling could occur in 3 to 4 years".