The Bulgarian private natural gas supplier Overgas is disputing a tender to award exploration rights for a Bulgarian plot to Park Place Energy Corp, a North American oil and gas exploration company.

In a news release on Friday, Park Place Energy announced it has been informed by legal counsel in Sofia, Bulgaria, that a court date has been set for the appeal presented against the Ministry of Energy, Economy and Tourism over the its successful award of exploration rights in Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court.

The tender has been disputed by Overgas, which the Park Place Energy Corp release describes as a subsidiary of the Russian energy giant Gazprom even though Overgas is a private Bulgarian company, which in the recent years has acted as an intermediary in the natural gas trade between Gazprom and the Bulgarian state monopoly Bulgargaz.

"Overgas, the Bulgarian subsidiary of Gazprom, appealed the Council of Ministers decision from October 4, 2010 to award the Vranino block to Park Place, on October 25, 2010. The award was announced in the State Gazette issue 80 on October 12, 2010 and the appeal was made within the 14 day appeal period from date of announcement," says the Park Place Energy statement.

It elaborates that the Overgas appeal is not against Park Place but against the Ministry of Energy, Economy and Tourism (MEET), and that the appeal by Overgas states that the successful award to Park Place should not be valid due to administrative errors during the process by the MEET.

According to Park Place Energy, the Court has two options when making its decision; it can either decide that no administrative errors were made by the MEET and enforce the award to Park Place, or it can decide errors were made in the handling of the process by the MEET and order the process to be repeated by the original participants. The court cannot allocate the award at its discretion to a party other than Park Place.

"Appeals against decisions from Government Ministries in Bulgaria are common practice and as such the court date has scheduled for October 2011. Park Place has legal counsel following the process closely. Additionally, Overgas is able to withdraw its appeal at any time. Park Place has had discussions with Overgas regarding the possibility of a Joint Venture arrangement not only on the Vranino block but other Overgas properties in Bulgaria including its offshore block. The company will continue its two prong approach to the appeal and will provide updates to shareholders as developments occur," Park Place Energy declares.

The Vranino block in question is located in the northeastern Bulgarian District of Dobrich.

Park Place Energy Corp. is a North American oil and gas exploration company. It has assets in Saskatchewan, Canada, and is also interested in the acquisition of additional blue-sky shale gas opportunities.

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