Petroceltic International plc (AIM: PCI) (“Petroceltic”), the oil and gas production, development and exploration company focused on North Africa, the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, is pleased to announce the launch of an invitation to tender for the provision of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) services in respect of the Ain Tsila gas and condensate development in Algeria.

Groupement Isarene, the joint operating organisation responsible for executing the Ain Tsila field development plan established by Sonatrach (the National Oil and Gas Company of Algeria), Petroceltic and Enel, has completed a pre-qualification process to select a short list of EPC contractors with Algerian experience which would be capable of delivering the Central Gas Processing Facility and associated works envisaged for the Ain Tsila development.

Following completion of that process, four companies (or consortia) have been invited by Groupement Isarene to tender for the Ain Tsila EPC contract:

· Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd

· GS Engineering Corporation and Dodsal Engineering & Construction PTE Ltd (acting as a consortium)

· JGC Corporation and JGC Algeria S.p.A (acting as a consortium)

· Tecnidas Reunidas SA and Bonatti S.p.A (acting as a consortium)

The scope of work for the EPC contract comprises a central processing facility, an industrial base, an administration/ accommodation base, well gathering system, and product export system. This scope of work is based on the Front End Engineering and Design (“FEED”) outputs being generated by Chicago Bridge and Iron (“CBI”) Company on behalf of the Groupement. The surface facilities have been designed to process up to 420 million standard cubic feet/day of wet gas, and transport the resultant product streams of dry gas, liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) and condensate to existing tie-in points in the Algerian national hydrocarbon export infrastructure.

Following a technical and commercial evaluation of the offers, it is anticipated that the EPC tender process will complete with an award recommendation targeted for year end 2015, with first Ain Tsila gas export scheduled for 2018.

The approved Ain Tsila plan of development envisages the production of gross reserves of 2.1 Trillion Cubic Feet of sales gas, 67 million barrels of condensate and 108 million barrels of LPG extracted from an annual average wet gas plateau rate of 355 million standard cubic feet/ day. Development drilling is due to start in Q4 2015 with a newly built rig, contracted from Sinopec, which is currently en route to Algeria. Up to 24 new wells will be drilled and 6 existing wells recompleted prior to first gas, with a production plateau of 14 years maintained by further drilling.
Petroceltic holds a 38.25% interest, Sonatrach a 43.375% interest, and Enel an 18.375% interest in the Isarene PSC. Petroceltic continues to benefit from a carry of its development costs in respect of Ain Tsila following the completion of the sale of an 18.375% interest to Sonatrach in July 2014.

Commenting on the update, Brian O’Cathain, CEO of Petroceltic said:
“We are delighted to see the continued solid progress of the Ain Tsila project towards the EPC contract award, and onwards towards first gas in 2018. The anticipated award of the EPC to an EPC contractor with significant Algeria experience will be a major milestone in de-risking that schedule.”

About Petroceltic

Petroceltic International plc is a leading Upstream Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Company, focused on North Africa the Mediterranean and Black Sea Regions, and listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM Market and the Irish Stock Exchange’s ESM Market. The Company has production, exploration and development assets in Algeria, Egypt, Bulgaria and Italy.

For more information, please visit: www.petroceltic.com

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