On September 3, 2008, Hyperdynamics’ Chief Executive, Kent Watts, was a speaker at Zeus Developments’ Sub-Saharan Africa’s Natural Gas Monetization Symposium. At this event Mr. Watts gave a presentation entitled Guinea: Will Guinea Become the Dubai of West Africa? In the presentation it was emphasized that the development of Guinea’s petroleum reserves had the potential to change Guinea from one of the poorest West African nations to a strong and rapidly growing industrial powerhouse. Mr. Watts discussed the vibrant Guinea culture and their immense resources including the fact that Guinea is believed to hold as much as a third to one-half the world’s bauxite reserves, the raw material needed to manufacture aluminum. It was noted that in addition to an oil discovery, a significant natural gas discovery could provide the catalyst for Guinea’s economy to boom.
Earlier this month, Zeus’ executives, Mr. Robert Nimocks, CEO, and Mr. Patrick LaStrapes, President, contacted Mr. Watts with the idea of presenting Hyperdynamics Joint Venture opportunities to their clients. Mr. Nimocks and Mr. LaStrapes explained that because the concession had multiple plays, including the potential for significant natural gas reserves, in addition to oil, that many of their clients may be interested in the opportunity, not only for the investment to discover and produce Guinea’s petroleum resources, but also for the opportunity to invest in building up Guinea’s infrastructure including such things as power plants, mining operations, and building factories. The two companies reached agreement last Friday on their mutually beneficial relationship.
When asked to comment, Zeus’s President, Patrick LaStrapes, stated, “The Republic of Guinea offers an exciting opportunity for diversified investors interested not only in extraction and export of oil but also in (1) monetizing natural gas locally, (2) developing an industrial corridor around bauxite/alumina and iron ore, and (3) electrifying first through self generation and subsequently through grid development.”
