TIDMAEX
RNS Number : 1581S
Aminex PLC
16 November 2011
INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT - THIRD QUARTER 2011
Aminex PLC ("Aminex" or the "Company"), the oil and gas company
listed in London and Dublin, today issues its Interim Management
Statement ("IMS") for the period 1 July to the date of this
statement in accordance with the EU's Transparency Directive which
requires certain listed companies to provide periodic updates to
the capital markets in addition to their existing reporting
requirements.
Highlights
-- Cash position of approximately $18 million.
-- Appointment of new CEO.
-- Nyuni Area PSA signed.
-- Nyuni 2 exploration well suspended due to difficult drilling
conditions. Resource potential not affected.
-- Nyuni 1 exploration well re-entered. Testing inconclusive.
-- Ntorya-1 onshore exploration well in the Ruvuma PSA area scheduled to spud in December 2011.
-- Aminex assumes operatorship of the Ruvuma PSA and increases working interest from 37.5% to 56.25%.
-- Aminex swaps interest in West Songo-Songo PSA to increase
working interest in Nyuni Area PSA from 65% to 70%.
-- Negotiations progressing on commercialisation of Kiliwani North gas field.
-- Drilling of Shoats Creek development wells now planned for 2012.
Cash Position
The cash and cash equivalents and term deposits as of October
31, 2011 were approximately $18 million, providing the company with
sufficient funds to meet its upcoming work commitments and
operating expenses through 2012.
Appointment of New CEO
On September 20 2011 Aminex announced the appointment of Stuard
Detmer as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Stuard Detmer has worked in the oil industry for over 20 years,
beginning with Mobil Oil Corporation in the USA, and latterly in
South America and Russia. More recently, he served as Chief
Executive of Sibir Energy plc, at the time one of the largest
companies on the AIM market, seeing it through a difficult period
and eventually arranging for its sale to Gazprom.
Mr. Detmer takes over as CEO from Brian Hall who remains as
Executive Chairman.
Tanzania
Nyuni Area PSA
On October 27, the Company's wholly-owned Tanzanian subsidiary,
Ndovu Resources Ltd. ('Ndovu'), signed a new Production Sharing
Agreement ('PSA') with the Tanzanian Minister of Energy and
Minerals. The new agreement is known as the Nyuni Area PSA and
continues Aminex's involvement in this area, following the recent
expiry of the Nyuni-East Songo-Songo PSA. The Nyuni Area PSA is
materially larger than the earlier one, covering a total of 1,690
km(2) and including 338km(2) across four additional blocks,
directly to the north of the area covered by the previous PSA.
In mid-September, Aminex concluded an acreage swap with partner
Key Petroleum Ltd ("Key"). Previously Aminex and Key participated
50-50 in the West Songo-Songo PSA in Tanzania where Key was the
operator. Under the terms of the swap, Aminex transferred its 50%
interest to Key and Key relinquished its 5% interest in the new
Nyuni Area PSA in favour of Aminex.
Following the agreement, working interests in the Nyuni Area PSA
are:
Ndovu (Aminex) 70%; RAK Gas 25%; Bounty Oil 5%.
Suspension of Nyuni-2 Exploration Well
In June 2011 Ndovu (Aminex) spudded the Nyuni-2 exploration well
from a drill pad on Nyuni Island, 35 kilometres off the coast of
Tanzania in the Indian Ocean. The well was targeting the same
Neocomian sandstones that form the reservoirs in the nearby
Songo-Songo gas field and in the Company's own Kiliwani North gas
field. An additional target was an Aptian-Albian sandstone
reservoir, which was logged as gas-bearing in the Nyuni-1 well,
drilled but not tested in 2004.
Nyuni-2 was deviated to the southeast at an angle of 29 degrees
from vertical to target a bottom-hole location approximately 1,200
metres away from the surface location on the island.
By mid-September the well had been successfully drilled to a
depth of 3,450 metres and cased to 2,945 metres. However it
encountered an impenetrable obstruction caused by debris that had
broken away from a down-hole tool. Attempts to recover the debris
were unsuccessful and a decision was taken to pull back to a depth
above the blockage and side-track the well in order to by-pass the
obstruction.
The sidetracking operation also proved highly problematic and
engineering advice indicated that a further sidetrack attempt would
have only a very limited chance of success. Aminex and its partners
therefore agreed that the high cost of continuing could not be
justified, given the low probability of overcoming the technical
difficulties in a cost effective manner, and took the decision to
suspend the well.
Despite not being able to drill into the targeted sandstone
reservoirs in Nyuni-2, the Nyuni prospect remains a prime
exploration target. Estimated contingent and prospective resources
for the Nyuni Area PSA remain at a total 2.8 trillion cubic feet
('tcf') on a Pmean basis (1.96 tcf, Aminex share based on 70%
working interest).
Aminex believes that there is considerable scope in the Nyuni
Area PSA for establishing a new play fairway on the continental
shelf, which could share similarities to recent deep water drilling
successes in the region.
Nyuni-1 Exploration Well Re-entry and Testing
Following the suspension of the Nyuni-2A well, the Caroil-6 rig
was moved across to the Nyuni-1A wellhead in order to re-enter the
well to carry out a further evaluation of the Aptian/Albian gas
sands identified, but not fully evaluated at the time the well was
drilled in 2004 due to wireline test equipment failures. After
successfully pressure testing the wellhead and casing, several
cement plugs including one set across the Aptian/Albian sand
section, were drilled out and wireline logging and testing was
carried out over the interval containing the gas sand. Hole
conditions prevented the running of wireline logs across the main
interval, but there was sufficient overlap with the original
logging to show that the logs run in 2004 were valid. Wireline
testing (MDT) was completed over the entire 15m gross interval of
the Aptian/Albian sands, but pressure and fluid sampling data was
inconclusive. Upon completion of the testing, the well was plugged
and abandoned. The data from the re-entry of Nyuni-1A will be
submitted to the Company's independent technical consultants to
provide an updated evaluation of the Aptian/Albian potential at
Nyuni.
Kiliwani North Development Licence
Good progress is being made in commercialising the Kiliwani
North gas field. This was discovered in 2008 by Aminex and partners
and was granted a 25 year development licence by the Minister of
Energy and Minerals in April 2011, being carved out from the
Nyuni-East Songo-Songo PSA. Long lead items have been ordered in
advance of concluding satisfactory sales and pipeline connection
agreements. Commercial production is anticipated for the first half
of 2012.
Partners are: Ndovu (Aminex) 65%, RAK Gas 25%, Bounty Oil 5% and
Key Petroleum 5%.
Ruvuma PSA
PSA Reorganisation
In early September Aminex announced that it had reached an
accord with its partners, Tullow Oil Tanzania Ltd. ('Tullow') and
Solo Oil PLC ('Solo'), under which Tullow would assign an 18.75%
working interest in the Ruvuma PSA to Aminex and a 6.25% working
interest to Solo. Operatorship of the PSA was also transferred to
Aminex. Following the assignment, the partners' interests are now:
Aminex 56.25%, Tullow 25% and Solo 18.75%. The transfers of
ownership and operatorship of Nyuni have now been formally approved
by the Tanzanian authorities.
Ntorya-1 Exploration Well
In December Aminex expects to spud the Ntorya-1 exploration well
in the Mtwara licence, part of the Ruvuma PSA and approximately
fifteen kilometres to the south of the Likonde-1 exploration well
drilled last year in the Lindi licence. Ntorya-1 will be drilled
vertically to a depth of 2,000 metres, targeting marine basin floor
fan sands of the Upper Oligocene and Upper Cretaceous. The targeted
prospect is a stratigraphic pinchout trap, geologically analogous
to the deep water discoveries made in the offshore area of the
Ruvuma Basin. Over 240 metres of such sands were penetrated by
Likonde-1, with both oil and gas shows. The Ntorya-1 drilling pad
has now been constructed and final environmental consent is
expected shortly. The Caroil Rig-6 has been contracted for this
well and will be mobilised to the Ruvuma area in the next few
weeks.
The Ruvuma PSA covers approximately 12,000 km2 (80% onshore and
20% offshore) in the Ruvuma Basin of south-east Tanzania and
comprises two separate licences, known as Lindi and Mtwara. The
basin straddles the border between Tanzania and Mozambique, formed
by the Ruvuma River, and extending into deep water where Anadarko,
BG and, most recently, ENI, have made large gas discoveries.
USA
Shoats Creek, Beuregard Parish, Louisiana
Two proposed development wells in Upper Wilcox sands have now
been rescheduled by operator El Paso E&P LP('El Paso') for
2012. These wells are to be drilled in the Aminex-El Paso joint
venture area. After a long delay, the state of Louisiana has now
approved the conversion of an idle well bore to salt water disposal
in the part of Shoats Creek owned 100% by Aminex. This will enable
the 2010-drilled OM10-1 discovery well to realise its full
potential. Aminex is actively seeking a partner for the further
development of Shoats Creek.
Alta Loma, Galveston County, Texas
The Sunny Ernst-2 discovery well, drilled by Aminex and partners
in 2008, was re-completed in the 'S' Sands in the first half of
this year and has been consistently delivering high production
rates of both oil and gas since the end of April. This will result
in a material increase in Group production in the second half of
the year.
Egypt
West Esh el Mellaha ("WEEM-2)
Two further exploration wells are due to be drilled in the
WEEM-2 area but timing has yet to be finalised. Aminex is
free-carried with a 10% interest through to first commercial
production in this licence.
Korean Peninsula
Aminex is a shareholder in Korex Ltd., which holds a licence to
explore over 50,000 km2 in shallow and deep water to the east of
the Korean Peninsula. A programme of seismic acquisition over this
large permit is at the planning stage.
Outlook
With the signature of the new Nyuni Area PSA, the December
spudding of the Ntorya exploration well under Aminex operatorship
in the Ruvuma Basin and the Kiliwani North gas field moving towards
commercialisation, Aminex is making significant progress in
strengthening its position in the highly prospective Rufiji Delta
and Ruvuma Basin regions of Tanzania.
Through extensive seismic reprocessing in its license areas, the
Company believes it is now able to recognize feeder channels
supplying the deep-water fan systems where BG, Anadarko and ENI
have recently made world-class gas discoveries. Aminex believes
that its acreage in the Ruvuma and Nyuni PSAs are part of the same
play fairway.
The Company's 2012 work plan includes seismic acquisition
commitments to better image and de-risk these plays. Aminex is well
funded to meet its commitments for drilling and seismic exploration
in these core licenses.
Aminex is currently conducting a thorough review of its global
asset portfolio with a view to providing geographic focus and value
creation for Aminex shareholders. This study is scheduled for
completion in the first quarter of 2012 and will be published to
shareholders at the appropriate time.
For further information:
Aminex PLC +44 (0) 20 7291 3100
Stuard Detmer - CEO
Pelham Bell Pottinger +44 (0) 20 7861 3112 or +44 (0) 7802 442486
Archie Berens
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IMSGGGGUGUPGGMA
Aminex (LSE:AEX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Aminex (LSE:AEX)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024