Biyokulule Online

Lion Energy Corp.provides update on Puntland
Energy Weekly News
January 08, 2010

Puntland President, Abdirahman Farole, with Africa Oil Keith Hill, Dec08, 2009.

2010 JAN 8 - (VerticalNews.com) -- Lion Energy Corp. (the “Company” or “Lion Energy”) (TSX.V - LEO) announced that its partner Africa Oil Corp. (“Africa Oil”) and the Puntland State of Somalia have entered into amending agreements modifying the terms of the existing January 17, 2007 Production Sharing Agreements made in respect of the Dharoor Valley Exploration Area and the Nogal Valley Exploration Area. The amended agreements were signed by the parties on December 8, 2009 and ratified by the parliament of the Puntland State of Somalia on December 21, 2009.

With the conclusion of the negotiations and the execution of the amending agreements, the Production Sharing Agreements now provide for initial exploration periods that have been extended from 36 months to 48 months, with a revised expiry of January 17, 2011. The terms of the exploration programs have also been amended allowing Africa Oil the option to drill one exploratory well in each of the Nogal and Dharoor Valley Exploration Areas, or two exploratory wells in the Dharoor Valley.

In consideration of the extension of the exploration period, Africa Oil agreed to relinquish twenty-five percent of the original agreement area on or before January 17, 2010 and to pay a US$1,000,000 bonus within 30 days of a commercial discovery in each of the production blocks. Africa Oil also agreed to certain enhanced abandonment and environmental safety measures and to make a one time US$1,050,000 payment to the Puntland government for development of infrastructure.

The Company is also pleased to announce the addition of John R. Nelson, as Vice-President, Exploration and Catherine Vail as Corporate Secretary.

Mr. Nelson has resided in Canada for 16 years and has been involved with a number of private and public company start-ups in the resource sector. Mr. Nelson was recently Vice President, Exploration of Petrovista Energy Corp., assisting in developing the company`s oil and gas asset base in Brazil and Columbia. He is the former President and director of Winslow Resources Inc, a micro-junior publicly traded oil and gas exploration company in Calgary, which subsequently completed a Plan of Arrangement with Dualex Energy International Ltd. He is currently a director of Liuyang Fireworks Ltd., Resource Hunter Capital, DualEx Energy and was a co-founder of Ceres Capital Corp, now Reliable Energy Inc. Mr. Nelson has over twenty-five years of resource industry experience in geology and geophysics. He served as an exploration geologist and project manager in numerous worldwide frontier areas, including the Central and East African rift basins for Mobil Oil Corp., before moving to Canada in 1993, where he started out as a consulting geologist. Prior to entering the public sector, Mr. Nelson founded three private companies providing various geophysical services and technology to Canadian based oil and mining companies. He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. Degree`s in geology from Michigan State University and is a member of APEGGA, AAPG and CSPG.

Ms. Vail has over thirty years experience in the securities industry; and her expertise extends to continuous disclosure and corporate governance-related matters, as well as the coordination of all matters necessary to successfully conclude a variety of corporate and securities-related transactions. For the last several years, Ms. Vail has provided office management, administrative and corporate secretarial services to both private and public companies and to the legal community. Previously, Ms. Vail was engaged as a corporate/securities paralegal to provide a diverse range of services to private companies, and to public companies reporting in both Canada and the United States.

The Company has also granted incentive stock options to officers of the Company to purchase up to an aggregate of 350,000 common shares at a price of $0.30 each until December 18, 2014.

Lion Energy provides update on Puntland
PR Newswire (U.S.)
December 23, 2009

VANCOUVER, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Lion Energy Corp. (the “Company” or “Lion Energy”) (TSX.V - LEO) announced today that its partner Africa Oil Corp (“Africa Oil”) and the Puntland State of Somalia have entered into amending agreements modifying the terms of the existing January 17, 2007 Production Sharing Agreements made in respect of the Dharoor Valley Exploration Area and the Nogal Valley Exploration Area. The amended agreements were signed by the parties on December 8, 2009 and ratified by the parliament of the Puntland State of Somalia on December 21, 2009.

The Company is also pleased to announce the addition of John R. Nelson, as Vice-President, Exploration and Catherine Vail as Corporate Secretary.

Mr. Nelson has resided in Canada for 16 years and has been involved with a number of private and public company start-ups in the resource sector. Mr. Nelson was recently Vice President, Exploration of Petrovista Energy Corp., assisting in developing the company`s oil and gas asset base in Brazil and Columbia. He is the former President and director of Winslow Resources Inc, a micro-junior publicly traded oil and gas exploration company in Calgary, which subsequently completed a Plan of Arrangement with Dualex Energy International Ltd. He is currently a director of Liuyang Fireworks Ltd., Resource Hunter Capital, DualEx Energy and was a co-founder of Ceres Capital Corp., now Reliable Energy Inc. Mr. Nelson has over twenty-five years of resource industry experience in geology and geophysics. He served as an exploration geologist and project manager in numerous worldwide frontier areas, including the Central and East African rift basins for Mobil Oil Corp., before moving to Canada in 1993, where he started out as a consulting geologist. Prior to entering the public sector, Mr. Nelson founded three private companies providing various geophysical services and technology to Canadian based oil and mining companies. He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. Degree`s in geology from Michigan State University and is a member of APEGGA, AAPG and CSPG.

The Company has also granted incentive stock options to officers of the Company to purchase up to an aggregate of 350,000 common shares at a price of $0.30 each until December 18, 2014.

About the Company:

The Company is a well-financed, Canadian exploration company with a vision to develop a significant presence in the developing oil and gas industry. The Company signed an agreement with Africa Oil Corp. that grants the Company the right to earn an interest in five petroleum blocks located in the Republic of Kenya and in Puntland, Somalia. Lion Energy has also announced a non-binding letter of intent in regards to a business combination with Southern Star Energy Inc. (OTCBB-SSEY) and Gold Star Resources Corp. (TSX.V-GXX). The Company further holds 14.76% interest in Encanto Potash Corp., a junior potash exploration company and a 20% interest in Sulphur Solutions Inc., an emerging fertilizer company developing state-of-the-art patented technology for the production of micronized sulphur fertilizer.

On behalf of the Board
Lion Energy Corp
Brian Thurston, President and CEO

SOURCE Lion Energy Corp.

Puntland parliament approves constitution, petroleum bill
December 20, 2009
BBC Monitoring Africa

Reports reaching us from Garoowe, the capital of Puntland say Puntland parliament has approved the new constitution of the region following days of debate.

The MPs are also reported to have passed a tabled petroleum deal between the Puntland regional administration and African Oil Company. Members of the parliament are reported to have been discussing the amendment of some key articles of the new constitution including the agreements between the administration with foreign petroleum companies and other crucial ones.

Puntland leader Abdirahman Muhammad Farole who was at the venue where the MPs approved the new constitution appreciated the passing of the bill and further said that his administration will work on ways to improve security and development of the region with the collaboration of the people of Puntland. The move follows the recent unanimous approval of the petroleum bill between Puntland and African Oil Company. Residents of Puntland have welcomed the deal and urged the Puntland administration to restore stability.

Source: Radio Gaalkacyo, Gaalkacyo, in Somali 1015 gmt 20 Dec 09

Horn of Africa is on Tullow radar
Barry Morgan London
Upstream
December 04, 2009

UK explorer ties up with SWE as it targets finds in `last frontier`

Tullow Oil is teaming up with Hong Kong-registered SouthWest Energy (SWE) to explore the Horn of Africa in a move to secure a frontline position in what the industry has recognised as one of the last remaining untapped frontiers.

This is the UK independent`s next big thing, said a senior executive close to the deal.

Despite having its hands full developing mammoth finds in the Ghanaian deep and the Ugandan Rift Valley, Tullow last week decided to reach out to Ethiopian explorer SWE with a view to “building a strategic partnership in the Horn of Africa”.

The duo will initially carry out a joint regional study ahead of a “joint regional exploration campaign”, which it is understood will consider a range of opportunities beyond Ethiopia - both onshore and offshore - and potentially including the Somali territories.

SWE already has assets in Ethiopia`s Somali-speaking Region V in the Ogaden basin and Tullow has agreed to farm in to all these blocks ahead of an upcoming seismic campaign although the exact equity element remains undecided.

SWE has completed geochemical analyses of Ogaden licences 9, 9a and 13 and is evaluating tenders for a 15,000-kilometre 2D seismic job for Block 9 to be awarded in January and likely to take six months.

Geochemical analysis yielded “very positive indications of oil” and it is understood the need for 3D seismic will be considered based on first phase results.

SWE also expects to sign a formal production sharing agreement “very soon” for the 65,000-square kilometre Jimma basin acreage on Ethiopia`s western plateau.

Extensive oil shales have just been confirmed on Jimma following completion of a joint study carried out with Addis Ababa`s Ministry of Mines and Energy.

It is now likely the duo will jointly bid on fresh acreage offered under Ethiopia`s new licensing exercise launched last month in which 14 licences will be up for grabs over the next three years. Bilateral discussions are preferred over a formal round.

Eleven companies currently hold Ogaden acreage onshore Ethiopia including Pexco Exploration and Titan Resources, but the main players remain Petronas and Africa Oil Corporation, which recently acquired Lundin Petroleum`s assets and those of Dubai-based Black Marlin.

The rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has regularly threatened to attack foreign and local companies engaged in oil and gas exploration.

However, operations are now heavily guarded and no serious incidents have been recorded since an attack on Sinopec drilling subsidiary Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau claimed 74 lives in April 2007 when ONLF fighters overran the Abole exploration site in Degehabur.