| Thu 7 Sep 2006, 8:17 | | Lonrho Africa Plc - Mobil Commits To Luba Freeport |
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LAF
LOLAF
Lonrho Africa Plc - Mobil Commits To Luba Freeport Facility
Lonrho Africa Plc
(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales)
(Registration number 2805337)
(Share code: LAF; ISIN number: GB0002568813)
("Lonrho Africa" or "the Company")
MOBIL COMMITS TO LUBA FREEPORT FACILITY
Lonrho Africa is pleased to announce that Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc.
("MEGI") and Luba Freeport Ltd ("Luba"), Lonrho Africa"s 63% subsidiary,
have agreed on terms to build a 60,000 square metre logistics facility at
Luba in Equatorial Guinea.
This world-class facility will be the new base for MEGI and underlines
the continued growing importance of Luba to the West African oil and gas
industry. The facility will include warehousing and office space, marine
hose storage, an API (American Petroleum Industry) specification pipe-
yard, inspection shed, wash bay and storage area. Construction is
expected to be completed by 30 June 2007 when the contract will become
effective for a period of seven years with an additional three one-year
extension options. The value of the contract amounts to more than US$30
million over the initial seven-year period.
MEGI is part of ExxonMobil, one of the world"s largest oil & gas
producers. ExxonMobil conducts businesses in almost 200 countries and is
the industry leader in refining and the supply of petroleum products
under the Exxon, Mobil and Esso brands globally. They are a pacesetter
for offshore exploration in the West African region and have adopted
leading-edge technology to increase their production activities in the
Gulf of Guinea. MEGI"s relocation to Luba Freeport increases their level
of commitment to Luba as a regional hub for their expanding operations.
"This agreement is a significant milestone in the ongoing transformation
of Luba Freeport into a major regional hub for the oil and gas industry
in the Gulf of Guinea," said David Lenigas, Joint Chairman and CEO of
Lonrho Africa. "We hope that MEGI"s relocation will have a multiplier
effect and act as a catalyst for other leading oil and gas industry
participants to review the location of their base of operations in West
Africa."
Luba Freeport benefits from naturally occurring deep water conditions
able to handle both oil field supply vessels and ocean-going ships. As
part of the port"s expansion, previously announced, Luba is planning a
new terminal with up to 18m of draft, which will facilitate the servicing
of the largest ocean-going vessels.
Current clients at Luba include: Amerada Hess, Baker Hughes, Marathon,
LOTEG, Schlumberger, Nalco, SBM, Devon Energy, Petronas, Noble Energy and
MI Swaco. Concurrent to new client facilities, plans are in place to
significantly increase the operational capacity of the Freeport,
providing improved services, facilities and logistics to all existing and
future clients.
MEGI"s agreement follows Luba"s recent appointment of the world"s premier
port facilities development group, Jurong Primewide International
("Jurong"). Jurong has been mandated to provide master design and
planning services for the substantial expansion of infrastructure and
facilities of the Luba quayside and 50 hectares of Freeport. In addition
to a fully integrated, short-term expansion feasibility study Jurong will
provide long-term development plans for Luba"s expansion. Following
completion of the feasibility study, Jurong will commence construction of
the facilities through an Engineering, Planning and Construction (EPC)
contract.
For further information on Luba Freeport Ltd, please visit:
www.lubafreeport.com
About ExxonMobil in West Africa
ExxonMobil has a substantial production base in West Africa with
exploration and development `upstream" activities in Equatorial Guinea,
as well as in Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and the Republic of
Congo. Specifically, MEGI enjoys a world-class acreage position in the
high-potential deepwater provinces off Equatorial Guinea and is the
nation"s largest oil producer, operating two blocks (ExxonMobil interest,
71%), covering 1 million gross acres. Presently, total field production
in Equatorial Guinea exceeds 200 thousand barrels per day (gross).
6 September 2006
South African sponsor to Lonrho Africa Plc
Java Capital (Proprietary) Limited
Date: 07/09/2006 08:17:12 AM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
