Petro Matad's Block XX gets special purpose land designation

(Sharecast News) - Petro Matad confirmed on Wednesday that the Block XX exploitation area, which includes the company's producing Heron oilfield, had been officially designated as State Special Purpose Land in Mongolia. The AIM-traded firm said it marked the first time an oil exploration and production area in the country had received such a status.

It said the certification process had been delayed due to the absence of a signed Tripartite Agreement, but the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources recently secured the necessary approval from the provincial governor, and the Central Land Agency had now issued the official certificate.

Under Mongolia's Land Law, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources would be responsible for securing land access for all operational areas within the Block XX Exploitation Area.

"We are very grateful to the minister for his decisive action," said chief executive officer Mike Buck.

"Whilst we were able to get approvals for land use at the district level in 2024 and recently also for 2025, the newly confirmed categorisation of Block XX will streamline the land use process in future.

"We have fought hard to secure this result and we are pleased that the process is complete and the State Special Purpose certification is now in place."

At 1553 GMT, shares in Petro Matad were down 0.04% at 1.28p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.