Dart Commences Drilling Ops at China Daijing Proj.

- Dart Commences Drilling Ops at China Daijing Proj.

Thursday, September 08, 2011
Dart Energy Ltd.

Dart Energy has commenced drilling activities at the Dajing project in Xinjiang Province, China, with the spudding of the first two exploration wells (DJD-02E and DJD-10E). This is part of an initial exploration program which will see a total of up to 14 exploration wells drilled prior to year end, and assuming no program delays, Dart would expect first core drilling results to be available in the first quarter of 2012.

This follows approval in August of the 2011 exploration program and budget by the Dajing Joint Management Committee (JMC). The JMC is comprised of representatives of both Dart and its partner at Dajing, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

In addition to the spudding of the first wells, the following other activities have been completed at the Dajing project:

• 4 drilling rigs have been mobilized to site
• 3 on-site desorption units and 2 permeability testing units have been mobilized to site
• 3 work camps established on-site
• Site and road construction for 2 other exploration wells has been completed (DJD-O1E; DJD-O4E), with those wells expected to be spud within the next week

Nick Davies, Dart Executive Chairman, said, "We are now operationally underway at Dajing, which is a major milestone for Dart. Dajing has the potential to be a project of substantial scale within the Dart global portfolio, and our attention is completely focussed on executing the exploration drilling campaign diligently, quickly and safely. Dart Energy looks forward to working collaboratively with our partner, CNPC, to unlock the potential of this block."

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Dart Forms CBM Venture in Belgium

Dart Forms CBM Venture in Belgium

Monday, May 02, 2011
Dart Energy Limited

Dart Energy Limited has entered into a coal bed methane (CBM) joint venture with NV Mijnen (NVM) in Belgium.

NVM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Limburgse Reconversie Maatschappij (LRM), a Flanders Authority owned enterprise, with a charter focused on promoting economic development and overall employment in the province of Limburg, Belgium. NVM owns approximately 80% of all coalfield concessions in the Flanders region of Belgium.

The joint venture will seek to explore, appraise and develop CBM resources on NVM's existing coal mining concession area in the Campine Basin, Flanders, Belgium. The joint venture will also seek to secure further CBM and unconventional gas concessions in the same region.

The joint venture will operate under the name NV Limburg Gas, and will be owned 80% by Dart Energy and 20% by NVM. Dart Energy will be operator and manager of the joint venture.

Initially, the joint venture will focus on, and have the exclusive rights to explore for CBM in a 350km2 area of the Campine Basin over which NVM currently holds a coal mining concession. Dart and NVM will fund the cost of exploration and share the economic benefits in proportion to their respective equity interests in the joint venture.

Dart and NVM have agreed an initial appraisal program of a minimum of 1 core well to be drilled during 2012. Depending on successful outcomes, the program might be expanded to include additional core wells in 2012, and pilot wells in 2013.

In addition, Dart and NVM have agreed to exclusively work together under an Area of Mutual Interest Agreement (AMI). The AMI is for 3 years and covers the joint pursuit of further licensing opportunities in the Campine Basin. The Campine Basin is currently generally unlicensed for CBM / gas exploitation, although a Belgian government decree opening the region for licensing is expected in mid-2011. In order to secure licenses in this region once available, a license applicant will be required to have both technical capabilities and some level of local Flemish ownership. Dart and NVM therefore believe the combined attributes of both parties via the joint venture being created will maximize the prospect of securing further licenses. Under the AMI, the joint venture will initially be targeting open acreage areas of approximately 700km2.

Announcing the Joint Venture, Dart Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Simon Potter said:

"Dart acquired Composite Energy Limited to provide a low cost CBM platform in Europe with a maturing funnel of business opportunities, including the opportunity in Belgium which Composite has been working on securing for over 12 months. The initial entry cost into the joint venture is modest, but over time the potential exists to work through this joint venture and develop a material CBM resource in the Campine Basin which although prospective is currently unexplored. This transaction is therefore consistent with Dart's stated strategy of gaining low-cost access to high-graded opportunities proximate to high demand gas markets and high prices, and furthers our desire to selectively expand our acreage across Europe."

"The transaction also marks the beginning of a relationship with NVM and its parent company, LRM, as our Belgian partner. We are delighted that Composite / Dart has been selected as NVM's partner of choice, and we look forward to working closely with our new Belgian partner as we seek to better understand and then unlock the CBM resource potential in the Flanders region."

LRM is a Flemish Authority-owned profit-oriented investment company which acts as an investor to promote economic development and general employment in the province of Limburg, Belgium. Whilst LRM is a generalist investor, core areas of focus for LRM include ICT, Life Sciences and Cleantech & Energy. LRM focuses on all sectors and enterprises, and owns approximately 80% of all existing coalfield concessions in Flanders, Belgium via its 100% subsidiary NV Mijnen.

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