BY JOSH LEWIS

HORIZON OIL today won its battle to regain its interest in PRL5, which holds the Elevala and Ketu finds, off Papua New Guinea.

Horizon said it had been awarded a 70% stake in the disputed acreage following an ongoing legal battle with the PNG government.

Last year PNG Minister of Petroleum and Energy, William Duma, refused an application to extend PRL5, in which Horizon held a 50% stake, arguing the Australian company and its partners had failed to fulfil the licence conditions.

However Horizon argued it had satisfied the conditions and commenced legal proceedings in the PNG courts, seeking leave for a judicial review of the decision not to renew the licence.

The company also obtained a legal injunction to prevent any further dealings in regard to the acreage while its appeal against the government's decision was being reviewed.

In an announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange today, Horizon said the legal proceedings had now been settled and a new five year licence issued over the disputed acreage, now re-named PRL21.

Horizon has previously estimated PRL 21 to hold recoverable probable reserves of 380 billion cubic feet of gas and 25 million barrels of condensate.

Source: Upstream Online