ERHC will be sending down a team of specialists in PSC negotiations to Sao Tome in the third week of May for deliberations with the National Petroleum Agency of São Tomé and Príncipe (ANP-STP) on matters regarding negotiation of PSCs on Blocks 4 and 11 of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The date for start of negotiations and the timeline will be as mutually agreed subsequently by ERHC and ANP-STP. ERHC has 100 percent working interests of EEZ Blocks 4 and 11 with no signature bonus obligations attached to those interests.

ERHC management is looking to negotiate PSCs for the EEZ Blocks that will be attractive to potential joint venture partners. Discussions are continuing simultaneously with prospective operating partners for ERHC's EEZ Blocks.

The São Tomé and Príncipe EEZ is a frontier region that sits south of the Niger Delta, and west of the Gabon salt basin, retaining similarities with each of those prolific hydrocarbon regions. The regional seismic database comprises approximately 12,000 kms of seismic data. Interpretation of that seismic data shows numerous structures that have similar characteristics to known hydrocarbon accumulations in the area. The interpretation done to date has led to a regional understanding of the subsurface geology, trapping styles and prospectivity within the region of investigation.

EEZ Block 4 is 5,808 square km, situated directly east of the island of Príncipe. The northeastern area near EEZ Block 4 contains a large graben structure, which is bound by the Kribi Fracture Zone.

EEZ Block 11 totals 8,941 square km, situated directly east of the island of São Tomé and abuts the territorial waters of Gabon. The southern area of the EEZ, where EEZ Block 11 is situated, contains parts of the Ascension and Fang Fracture Zones.

Several hydrocarbon plays can be proposed in the territorial waters of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Executive Addition ERHC has recently engaged Dr. Ken Seymour as a senior engineering consultant to join the Company's technical team. In recent weeks, ERHC has been expanding its technical team to properly position the Company to take advantage of emergent West African E&P opportunities. Dr. Seymour joins Senior Geoscientist Michael Shafie and Technical Consultant Dan Gralla on ERHC's technical team.

Dr. Seymour is a highly qualified and experienced petroleum engineer who has worked in E&P for over 30 years. He has worked in Africa for most of the past 25 years, particularly in Angola and Nigeria. In addition to English, he speaks fluent Portuguese which is the national language of São Tomé and Príncipe. He recently completed his engagement with the German multinational company E.ON Ruhrgas E&P GmBH as Vice President Business Development (West Africa) and Country Manager for Nigeria. Dr. Seymour has a first class honors Bachelors' degree in engineering and a PhD specializing in rock mechanics from the University of Leeds in England. He also holds an MBA from the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University in Scotland. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Institute of Petroleum.

We are very excited to have a professional of Dr. Seymour's stature with such a deep understanding of West Africa's oil and gas industry and the opportunities therein to help lead ERHC's expansion in the region.

Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Negotiations to determine next steps in JDZ Blocks 2, 3 and 4 are continuing. The contracting parties, led by ERHC's technical partners and operators in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ), Sinopec Corp. (in JDZ Block 2) and Addax Petroleum (in JDZ Blocks 3 and 4) and the Joint Development Authority (JDA) are working to reach agreement on how to proceed with the exploration program.

ERHC has a 22 percent interest in JDZ Block 2, a 10 percent interest in JDZ Block 3 and a 19.5 percent interest in JDZ Block 4. While the initial drilling campaign that concluded in early 2010 discovered biogenic methane gas, ERHC have cause to remain positive about the long-term prospectivity of the JDZ. The company want to emphasize that to date, negotiations continue between the contracting parties, led by the operators, and the JDA on next steps in the exploration program.

Tags: ERHC Energy Inc.