Tullow to acquire Hardman Resources

Offshore staff

LONDON -- Hardman Resources Ltd. shareholders have voted in favor of Tullow Oil Plc. acquiring Hardman, and the Federal Court of Australia approved the Scheme of Arrangement relating to the acquisition.

At the time of approval, Hardman shares will be suspended from trading on the Australian stock exchange and on AIM.

The record date for participating in the scheme is Jan. 2, 2007, with an implementation date of Jan. 10.

"We are delighted to receive shareholder and court approval for the acquisition of Hardman. We look forward to the transaction being implemented in early January and the rapid integration of the Hardman business. We are very excited by the material production, development, and exploration opportunities this deal presents," says Aidan Heavey, chief executive of Tullow.

Tullow is an independent oil and gas, exploration and production group that focuses on three core areas: northwest Europe, Africa, and South Asia.

Most of the companies' European interests are gas fields in the southern UK North Sea. Africa interests include acreage in Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Congo (Brazzaville), and Equatorial Guinea, as well as a gas field development and appraisal program in Namibia. Tullow also has exploration programs in Mauritania, Senegal, Cameroon, Uganda, Congo (DRC), Madagascar, Angola, and Ghana. Tullow's acreage in Asia is in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.

Hardman's holdings are in Uganda, Tanzania, Suriname, Guiana, the Falkland Islands, and Mauritania.

12/28/2006