Sydney, Australia, July 3, 2006 – RANGE Resources insists it still has a multimillion-dollar joint venture deal with Korean National Oil Corp even though a 45-day due diligence period has expired and the company has not updated the market.

Investors have been waiting impatiently for news from Range, the tiny Australian company with exclusive mineral and exploration rights in Somalia's semi-autonomous state of Puntland, since it first signed the deal with KNOC in late April.

"We've shown the Koreans what we have," Range executive director Mike Povey told the Herald last week. "They are a government organization. They move in a very methodical way."

The deal includes a $US10 million ($13 million) sign-on fee and a minimum exploration expenditure of $US25 million over two years for KNOC to gain a 75 per cent interest in two petroleum blocks.

Mr. Povey said the South Koreans had not expressed particular concern about the deteriorating security situation in southern Somalia, where Islamists have captured the country's capital, Mogadishu.

There have recently been reports that the Islamists are seeking to extend their control to the breakaway states of Puntland and Somaliland.

But Mr. Povey said the Puntland government did not believe those reports were true. "I would be very surprised if that happened," he said.

If Range fails to reach a final agreement with KNOC, the company plans to fund a four-well exploration program through a capital raising of about $US50 million, which is nearly twice Range's market value.

Mr. Povey said Range planned to release an update to the market soon - including a notice of meeting - but he declined to be specific.

Range recently announced changes to its board. Australia-based director Jim Marinis resigned and two new directors were appointed.

One is a Middle Eastern lawyer, Toufic Rahi, and the other is a Somali-Canadian, Liban Bogor.

A Puntland-focused website, Garowe Online, claims Mr. Bogor is the nephew of Puntland's president.

Mr. Povey said he had no knowledge of Mr. Bogor's family ties. "To be absolutely frank, I've never asked," Mr. Povey said. "He's certainly not the son of the president - I know that much."

Range was steady at 3.2c on Friday.

Jamie Freed

Source: Sydney Morning Herald