Manas Petroleum Inks Seismic Contract With Mongolia

Manas Petroleum has entered into a contract with a seismic company to acquire 300 km of 2D seismic in for its project on blocks 13 and 14 in Mongolia, the company reported in a news release. Manas has agreed to a turn-key rate of $3,500/km, with no stand-by fees, for an aggregate total of $1,050,000, payable according to a specific schedule. Manas is required to provide a bank guarantee over the outstanding amount, which is to be reduced according to the same schedule.
The agreement is with a Chinese data acquisition company known as DQE International, a subsidiary of CNPC Daqing Petroleum, which has been in operation since the 1970's and has a total of 16 seismic crews, 76 drilling crews, 60 well logging crews and 10 cementing crews. This group has established a quality assurance system and all its subsidiaries have passed ISO9000 Series authentication and established HSE management systems. The group has operated various projects in the Peoples Republic of China ("PRC"). Internationally, the group has operated in Venezuela, Sudan, Indonesia, Egypt, Iran and Mongolia.

Manas owns 84 percent of the rights to blocks 13 and 14, 10 percent of which is held in trust for a Mongolian oil and gas company, subject to regulatory approval and negotiation. The two blocks cover an aggregate of over 20,000 square kilometers, or almost five million acres, of land located on Mongolia's southern border. The production contracts provide for a five-year exploration period (with two optional six month extensions allowed) from an effective date of April 21, 2009, and a twenty-year exploitation period (with two five year extensions allowed). The remaining 16% interest in blocks 13 and 14 is held by two investor groups.
Source: Manas Petroleum