19 October 2011 AOM to expand into Shale Gas Exploration The Directors of (ASX:AOM) are pleased to announce the Company has entered into an agreement with Dr David Falvey to establish a subsidiary company, Palatine Energy Pty Ltd (Palatine), to secure tenements that are prospective for shale gas, shale oil and other tight gas and oil. Palatine Energy Pty Ltd, which is owned 75% by AOM and 25% by Dr Falvey and his associates, has retained the services of Dr Falvey on an exclusive basis to secure tenements prospective for shale gas, and other unconventional gas and oil. Dr Falvey is a geologist and geophysicist with in excess of 35 years of experience in basin analysis and petroleum exploration. Most recently, Dr Falvey provided consulting services to Tamboran Resources Pty Ltd, a private unconventional gas and oil explorer, where he acquired 10 permits prospective for shale gas over a 2 year period. Prior to this, Dr Falvey was the executive director of the British Geological Survey, a role he retired from in 2006. A copy of Dr Falvey s professional summary is attached to this announcement. In addition, the Company is continuing with its ongoing exploration activities in relation to its other exploration tenements held in both New South Wales, where it is exploring for silver in a joint venture with Silver Mines Ltd, and in Queensland, where it is exploring for gold and copper in a joint venture with SmartTrans Limited. For further information, please contact Andrew Bursill Director / Company Secretary +612 9299 9690 About AOM AOM is a diversified early-stage resource exploration company with joint venture interests in exploration for gold, copper in Queensland and silver in New South Wales, and more recently global unconventional gas and oil.
Professional Summary David Alan Falvey QUALIFICATIONS B.Sc. (Honours, Class 1) University of Sydney, 1967 - Geology and Geophysics/Applied Mathematics Ph.D. University of New South Wales, 1972 - Marine Geophysics D.Sc (honorary) Nottingham Trent University, 2001 - for contributions to Earth science EMPLOYMENT HISTORY & RELEVANT EXPERIENCE Current Positions: Non-executive Director, Gulf Energy (from 2008) Managing Director, Research Connect Pty Ltd (from 2008) Research Connect is a consulting organisation, focusing on research strategy, program development, management systems and advice, organisational reviews and energy & hydrocarbon exploration. It has clients in Australia, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Non-executive Director, Tamboran Resources Pty Ltd (from 2009) Tamboran is a new oil and gas explorer with private seed capital. Its principal interests are Australian onshore basins, now extending to basins in Africa and Europe. Previous Positions: Executive Director, Australian Research Council (2006-2008) Responsible for both the physics/chemistry/geoscience sector, plus the ARC research centres. Main achievements were: Re-engagement of Australia in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (2007); Establishment of a Special (co-funded) Research Centre in Groundwater (2008); ARC Outcomes Forum, held on 18 June, 2008. Executive Director, British Geological Survey (Jan, 1998-2006) From January, 1998, Dr Falvey moved BGS away from traditional scientific discipline-based divisions to user-oriented directorates: Lands & Resources; Environment & Hazards; Information Services & Management. The focus shifted from traditional geological survey, into 3D modelling, airborne geophysics and environmental monitoring, hazard assessment, groundwater, soils, the urban environment and information management & delivery. BGS also expanded contract international surveys, research and monitoring in
about 20 countries. CO 2 capture & storage became a major BGS Program in the early 2000s. From 2006, BGS worked with the UK Coal Authority to provide ground condition information to the community. BGS won the tender to be the European Science Operator for IODP. BGS has a strong program of public engagement in science (see website: www.bgs.ac.uk). In 2000, Falvey was runner-up in a UK national competition to identify the most visionary public or private sector leader in Britain. He was a European member of the Board of Governors of the IODP managing agency, and a member of the European Commission Advisory Panel on Zero Emission Power Plants, until 2006. He was also a member of the Natural Environment Research Council Ethics Committee. Director, Ocean Drilling Programs (ODP), Joint Oceanographic Institutions; Washington, DC (1994-Dec, 1997) In 1994/5, Falvey led the development of ODP's 2nd Long Range Plan, and the financial, organisational and technological aspects of its implementation. He steered through a significant cost containment exercise (1996) and a restructuring of the management, scientific advice and delivery of ODP (1995-1997): Improved resource allocation through project-based management New communications strategy New international program partners Ireland; Portugal; China; Korea & Taiwan Revised advisory panel assessment procedures and conflict of interest control New electronic publications strategy Review of advanced drilling vessel options beyond 2003. During his tenure, ODP made major scientific advances in such areas as discovery of the deep sub-seabed biosphere; methane hydrates on deep continental slopes, hard evidence of the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary meteor impact event, and evidence of geologically recent, rapid climate change events. Associate Director, Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO; 1989- In 1994, AGSO (now Geoscience Australia) was part of the Department of Primary Industries and Energy (now in DITR). Falvey headed the Petroleum and Marine Geoscience Group, consisting of: Division of Marine Geosciences and Petroleum Geology Onshore Sedimentary and Petroleum Geology Program Engineering Services Unit International Programs Unit
The Group had 200 staff, an annual budget of A$30m, plus a dedicated seismic ship, land seismic crew, several analytical laboratories, and a seismic processing centre. Managed the integration of a national program of research, onshore and offshore basin analysis, database development and evaluation of petroleum resource potential. The program assisted exploration by industry and provided advice to the Federal Government on the administration and management of exploration. Initiated and led 2 AusAID-funded resource assessment projects in The Philippines and Vanuatu Initiated the commercial partnership with Nopec to reprocess and market BMR/AGSO marine seismic data Federal President - Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (1993- Deputy Chairman, Australian Marine Science and Technology Ltd (1991- Director and Member of the Board, Cooperative Research Centre for Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies (1992- Chief, Division of Marine Geosciences and Petroleum Geology, Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR; later AGSO; then GA; 1982-1989) Established a national program of marine geoscience research and petroleum resource evaluation, known as the Continental Margins Program (A$17 mil/yr), providing strategic regional seismic data to the petroleum exploration industry Acquisition and fitting out of a dedicated seismic survey and research vessel; managed program operations, involving a team of 90 staff Scientific leader of the program which determined the deep structure of the Australian continental margin and its potential petroleum rich basins, which led directly to the enhancement of Australia s offshore petroleum prospectivity. The current relatively high level of domestic petroleum production can be traced back, at least in part, to this work. Member-at-large, Indian Ocean Panel of ODP; alternate member of the Scientific Committee of ODP; member of the Executive Committee and Council of ODP. Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Geophysics, University of Sydney (1974-1982) Undergraduate courses and graduate supervision in exploration geophysics, basin analysis, digital signal processing, marine geophysics and plate tectonics Research projects in SE Asian, Pacific regional tectonics and basin analysis initiated a major SW Pacific paleomagnetic project (1976-1982) Research projects on basin analysis and petroleum exploration, leading to 2 landmark papers on burial and thermal geohistory analysis, as well as
consultancies with private companies and the Petroleum and Minerals Authority Assessor for Australian Research Grants Committee, the Antarctic Research Policy Advisory Committee, and the US National Science Foundation. Exploration Geophysicist, Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd (1972-1974) As a member of Shell s Northwest exploration Shelf Team: Developed the concepts of pre-breakup structuring on continental margins, including concept and definition of the break-up unconformity Sited East Mermaid #1 (dry) and Lambert #1 (discovery) Member of the APEA (professional division, Victoria) executive committee. PUBLICATIONS Falvey has approximately 100 scientific publications, which can be accessed through the Research Connect website: http://www.researchconnect.com.au/node/9