Rhino Resources completes Farmout transaction with Azule Energy

Rhino Resources (‘Rhino’ or ‘the Company’) is pleased to announce the completion of its Farm-Out Agreement with Azule for Block 2914A (PEL85), Offshore Namibia, following confirmation that all customary third-party approvals from Namibian authorities and joint venture parties have been granted.

Post completion of the transaction the contractor group now consists of Rhino Resources Namibia, Ltd. (Operator, 42,5%) Azule Energy Exploration Angola (KB) Ltd. (42,5%), NAMCOR Exploration and Production (Proprietary) Limited (10%) and Korres Investments (Pty) Ltd (5%).

As per the Farm-Out Agreement, Rhino will retain operatorship through the exploration phase, and Azule has the option to become operator for the development phase.

The drilling campaign commenced with the spudding of the Sagittarius 1-X on 18 December.

Commenting on the completion of the farm-out with Azule, Rhino’s CEO Travis Smithard said:

“We are delighted to have received the requisite approvals to complete this transformative and strategic farmout transaction with Azule and thank the relevant authorities for their support. This represents another key milestone in Rhino’s organic growth strategy which sees the company leveraging our exploration expertise in conjunction with the fast-track development capabilities of Azule to enhance value creation for all stakeholders. The transaction ensures Rhino retains a significant participating interest through exploration and reflects the early mover advantage and large investment we have made in progressing the licence to this exciting stage. We look forward to delivering a safe programme on behalf of our Partners and wider stakeholders.”

Azule Energy’s CEO, Adriano Mongini, highlighted:

“We are pleased with the support from Namibian authorities and our partners Rhino, Namcor and Korres that allowed us to achieve this milestone. Azule is fully committed to leverage on our experience to safely and reliably unlock the hydrocarbons potential of the license, and delivering value for all Namibian stakeholders.”

Media Contacts:

Burson Buchanan:
Ben Romney / Barry Archer
Tel: +44(0) 207 466 5000
Email: energy@buchanan.uk.com

About Rhino Resources

Rhino Resources is a Cape Town based, privately-owned company focused on organic and inorganic growth to become a leading Independent E&P company. The pursuit of energy equality and a just energy transition underpin the company’s vision and purpose. In South Africa, Rhino is exploring onshore for biogenic gas, helium and native hydrogen. Our ambition is to play a role in unlocking the energy potential of South Africa by supplying dispatchable resources required to enable largescale renewable energy adoption. In Namibia, Rhino operates the offshore exploration licence PEL85 in the prospective Orange Basin. Our Senegalese subsidiary is positioned in the AGC sector with two offshore exploration licences Blocks Ultra Profond 3 and 4