Rialto Enters into Ghana exploration block

Friday, Dec 14, 2012

Rialto Energy Limited (ASX: RIA and AIM: RIA) is pleased to announce that it has received Ministerial and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) approval to acquire a 12.5% participating interest in the Offshore Accra Contract Area, Ghana, West Africa (the “Accra Block”).

The Company is acquiring its interest alongside fellow new entrants Ophir Ghana (Accra) Limited (“Ophir”, 20%) and Vitol Upstream (Accra) Limited (30%), joining existing partners Afex Oil (Ghana) Limited (20%) and Tap Oil (Ghana) Limited (“Tap”, 17.5%, current operator), together the “Contractor Group”. As part of the transaction, operatorship is transferring from Tap to Ophir.

The Accra Block contains a number of prospects, including Starfish, a rge, deep-water prospect, which according to the current operator is alogous to the Jubilee discovery with unrisked prospective resources stimated to be in the range of half a billion barrels (431 mmbbls (P50); 65 mmbbls (PMean)). The prospect is recommended for drilling in 2013. rther details of the Accra Block are summarized below.

To complete the acquisition of its interest, Rialto is required to pay its 12.5% proportional share of past costs, which amounts to a net payment of around US$3 million, and provide a bank guarantee in respect of its participating interest share of the approved work program and budget for the current Exploration Period.

Overview of Accra Block

The Accra Block is located to the southeast of Accra, the capital of the Republic of Ghana, in water depths ranging from less than 50 metres to greater than 2,500 metres.

3D seismic was acquired over the deep-water portion of the Accra Block in 2011 and processing of this data was completed during the second quarter of 2012. Interpretation of this new seismic data, in conjunction with previously existing and reprocessed 3D has identified a number of prospects within the pre and post-rift Cretaceous section. Some of these prospects are a similar play type to the Jubilee discovery, which is located in the adjacent and analogous basin which also forms part of the West African Transform Margin. The combined un-risked P50 prospective resource of the prospects within the pre and post-rift Cretaceous section has been assessed by the current operator of the Accra Block to be greater than three billion barrels.

Source: Rialto Enters

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