A quiet week in the Smallcaps Oil & Gas Underverse.
Cairn Energy (LON: CNE)
Has entered into a farm down agreement with ConocoPhillips for three contiguous blocks located offshore Senegal, West Africa. Under the terms of the agreement, subject to Government of Senegal approval, ConocoPhillips will acquire a 25% working interest from Cairn in the three contiguous blocks – Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep where a 2,050km2 3D seismic survey has been used to identify prospects. The exploration campaign is targeting a block wide potential of more than 1.5 billion barrels of yet to find resource with a proposed two well programme with drilling expected to commence in H1 2014 with the Cairn contracted Cajun Express rig.
Eland Oil & Gas (LON: ELA)
Released the results of a reserves and resources evaluation provided by Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc. as at 30 June 2013. The results of the NSAI Report, details of which can be viewed by clicking HERE
Empyrean Energy (LON: EME)
The AIM-listed condensate and gas exploration and production company focused on the Eagle Ford Shale, Texas, USA, released an update on production and operations at its Sugarloaf Project: To read it click HERE
Ithaca Energy Inc. (LON: IAE)
Announced this week that the appraisal well (7225/3-2) test programme on the Norvarg discovery located in licence PL535 in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea has been completed.
JKX Oil & Gas (LON: JKX)
Provided details of the first three out of nine stages of the well R-103 frac which were completed successfully. An interim flow back has been performed for preliminary clean-up of the formation, and work has now started on stages four to six of the programme. Each stage covers approximately 100m of the sub-horizontal 1,000m reservoir section. You can read it HERE While also releasing their half yearlies up to 30th June 2013.
Leni Gas & Oil (LON: LGO)
Has announced the installation of additional oil sales capacity at the Company operated Goudron Field in Trinidad. LGO sells oil from the Goudron Field through the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago (“Petrotrin”) owned pipeline direct to the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery. Each sale requires the visit of Petrotrin staff to measure the sales volume. Recently this process has been at full capacity and therefore to accommodate the greater production volumes now available from the field the Company has installed a second sales tank at Goudron which will increase overall capacity by approximately 100%. The new tank will be employed immediately and will increase total sales capacity to approximately 3,750 barrels per week, equivalent to 535 barrels of oil per day. Progress has also been made with plans to re-commission Tank Battery Station #207 where a risk assessment has been submitted for new water treatment pits and upgrading of the station; which includes replacing existing tankage totalling 800 barrels. This work is expected to start in the next month. The Phase 1 reactivation programme of up to 90 wells with additional beam pumps have been ordered and it is now anticipated that a further ten will arrive in Trinidad from their manufacturer in China in the next 2 weeks and an additional ten in September. The Company have been operating at full capacity close to 275 bopd until the new sales tank is installed and certified. Further increased production over the coming weeks is expected. Whiel LGO remain on target to produce at least 400 bopd by November 2013, one year after taking over operatorship of the field. At last good news with some actual positive movement in the bopd!
Nighthawk Energy (LON: HAWK)
The new soon to be darling of AIM investors said that its wholly owned subsidiary, Nighthawk Production LLC, has completed the purchase of the remaining 25% working interest in its Smoky Hill and Jolly Ranch projects in Colorado from Running Foxes Petroleum, Inc. The purchase price is US$12 million, paid in cash. Nighthawk now owns a 100% working interest in all its leases and the property, equipment and information associated with the leases including all producing wells and geological and drilling data. Total acreage of the leases is approximately 300,000 gross acres in Lincoln, Washington and Elbert counties, Colorado. Stephen Gutteridge, Chairman of Nighthawk said:- “We are pleased to have finally attained our goal of 100% ownership and control of the Smoky Hill and Jolly Ranch projects and we are grateful to our largest shareholders for providing the financial support to accomplish this. We will now press on with our plans to increase Arikaree Creek production and to establish the commerciality and value in the rest of our extensive acreage position.” Well done. Now here’s Chairman bringing home the bacon. A pay rise or a bonus can be justified
Ophir Energy (LON: OPHR)
Successful results of the Mkizi-1 well in Block 1, Tanzania which has resulted in a new gas discovery. Ophir holds 40% of Blocks 1, 3 and 4. BG Group operates with 60%. The Mkizi-1 well was drilled by the Deepsea Metro I drillship and was located in 1,301m water depth, between the Mzia and Jodari discoveries in Block 1. The well encountered gas pay in three reservoir intervals within a Tertiary aged stacked channel complex. Total net pay was 33m and reservoir quality was high with all three intervals exhibiting excellent porosities and permeabilities. Estimates for the mean recoverable resource from the discovery are in-line with Ophir’s pre-drill expectations of 0.6 TCF. The Deepsea Metro I drillship will now move on to drill two appraisal wells, including a drill stem test, on the Pweza discovery in Block 4. This will be the first DST on the series of Block 4 discoveries, following on from the successful tests in Block 1 on Mzia and Jodari. Nick Cooper, CEO, commented: “The successful Mkizi-1 well is our ninth discovery in Tanzania and continues our 100% strike rate in country, adding further resource to our existing discoveries in Block 1. Appraisal of Pweza will look to further underpin volumes in Block 4 which were upgraded with the recent success of the Ngisi drilling programme, whilst the DST is the final stage in firming up the commerciality of the resource across the Chewa-Pweza-Ngisi hub.”
Range Resources (LON: RRL)
Released an RNS this week; much too convoluted to put in the Smallcap round up. You can read it HERE
Rockhopper Exploration (LON: RKH)
It’s been fairly quiet on the RKH front of late. The company announced this week that ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP had reached a 12% threshold in the company.
Salamander Energy (LON: SMDR)
The spud of the next well in its on-going exploration programme in Block G4/50, Gulf of Thailand. The G4/50-5 exploration well is targeting the Surin prospect, located in the north west of the block in the Western Central sub-basin. G4/50-5 is targeting oil in Miocene sandstones and is estimated to contain mean prospective recoverable resources of 16 MMbo with access to hydrocarbon charge being identified as the key risk. Exploration success at Surin would open the play in the Western Central sub-basin and de-risk the neighbouring Ayutthaya and Buriram prospects. G4/50-5 will be drilled to approx. 2,125 metres total vertical depth sub-sea using the Atwood Mako jack up rig and is expected to take around 10 days to reach target depth. On completion of the G4/50-5 well the rig will return to the Bravo platform to continue the development drilling campaign on the Bualuang field.
Union Jack Oil PLC (LON: UJO)
Welcome to AIM. The Company has raised £800,000 before expenses by way of a placing, by Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited, of 320,000,000 new Ordinary Shares at 0.25 pence per Ordinary Share. The Company will have, on Admission, a market capitalisation of c.£2.1 million at the Placing Price. The net proceeds of the Placing aggregated with the Company’s existing cash resources, as at 1 June 2013, are approximately £1.2 million. The Board intends to use the net proceeds to undertake the drilling of the Wressle-1 (c. £333,000) and the Burton on the Wolds-1 (c. £200,000) exploration wells and to meet the Company’s working capital requirements. The Company’s main objective is the rapid appraisal and exploitation of the assets currently held. Simultaneous with this process, the Company’s management expect to continue to use their expertise to acquire further licence interests over areas where there is a short lead time between the acquisition of the interest and either exploration drilling or initial production from any oil or gas fields that may be discovered.
