The
information contained within this announcement is deemed to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU
law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the
"UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European
Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in
accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the
UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside
information is now considered to be in the public
domain.
Caspian Sunrise
PLC
("Caspian Sunrise" or the
"Company" and together with its subsidiaries, the
"Group")
Corporate &
Operational update
The Board of Caspian Sunrise is
pleased to update shareholders with progress regarding the sale of
the shallow MJF and South Yelemes structures on the BNG Contract
Area, the status of the other corporate transactions underway, and
a general update on licences & operations.
Corporate Transactions
Sale of the MJF & South
Yelemes structures
In September 2024 Caspian Sunrise
shareholders overwhelmingly approved the sale of the BNG Contract
Area's shallow structures for a headline cash consideration of $88
million, of which the first $14 million has been
received.
Work to split the shallow structures
from the rest of the assets owned by BNG Ltd LLP has reached an
advanced stage with the required paperwork now submitted to the
Kazakh regulatory authorities.
In recognition of the progress made
the the long stop date under the Agreement has been extended to 31
March 2025.
BNG Deep
Structures
On 26 February 2025 we announced
that the Group had entered into a conditional and non-binding
agreement with a prominent middle east financial institution to
invest $72.5 million following the completion of the sale of the
BNG shallow structures for a 50% stake in BNG Ltd LLP, to further
develop the BNG deep structures.
Acquisition of the Block 8
Contract Area
The Block 8 acquisition, which was
first announced on 26 September 2022, remains dependent on the
receipt of a new licence for the third structure at the Block 8
Contract Area. Appeals to the Kazakh courts to accelerate the
process have to date not resulted in the required licence
renewal.
Acquisition of the West
Shalva Contract Area
On 21 February 2025 we announced the
receipt of the final substantive regulatory consent for the
acquisition of the West Shalva Contract Area. We are now proceeding
with the re-registration of CS Energy LLP, which is expected to
take up to a further two months to finalise and following which we
could formally complete the acquisition.
We plan to drill a well to a depth
of 2,660 meters in H1 2025, which if successful should commence
production in H2 2025.
Potential oilfield
acquisition
The Group has signed an exclusivity
agreement with the vendors of an established oilfield believed to
have significant proven reserves and extensive seismic data
coverage.
The oilfield was first identified in
the Soviet era and is located near to and is believed to be similar
to the Group's former asset at Galaz, on which the Group discovered
oil in 2010 and which was successfully sold in 2015 for
approximately $100 million.
Licencing & Operational update
Licence
upgrades
Applications to upgrade the previous
joint appraisal licence for the Airshagyl and Yelemes Deep
structures to two separate 25 year full production licences were
submitted in Q3 2024 and we continue to work with the Kazakh
authorities to secure the award of both licences.
Operational
activity
Under Kazakh regulations new
development work is not permitted on structures under licence
upgrade applications or awaiting change of control consents where
the underlying licences have expired and are the subject of renewal
applications. Accordingly, no development work at the BNG deep
structures or at the Block 8 or West Shalva Contract Areas has been
permitted.
Additionally, as we expect soon to
complete on the disposal of the shallow structures at the BNG
Contract Area, we also ceased new drilling operations there
following the completion of Well 815.
Two of the Group's four principal
rigs are now in storage. A third rig has been identified to work on
Deep Well A5 upon receipt of the full production licence at the
Airshagyl structure on the BNG Contract Area and the forth rig is
being prepared to drill the 2,660 meter well planned on the West
Shalva contract area referred to above.
2024 Production
volumes
Production in 2024 was 623,312
barrels (2023: 665,114 barrels) at the rate of 1,707 bopd (2023:
1,822 bopd).
Under the terms of the agreement to
sell the MJF and South Yelemes shallow structures BNG's shallow
structure production is now capped at 1,700 bopd, with current
production now approximately 1,485 bopd.
Caspian Explorer
The Caspian Explorer's first
commercial charter under the Group's ownership was successfully
completed during the summer months for a consortium led by Italy's
ENI. However, with ENI subsequently exiting its Kazakh operations
we do not now expect to drill the additional option well under the
original contract.
While there have been early stage
discussions for additional 2025 Caspian Explorer charters, nothing
has yet been confirmed.
Oil
trading
On completion of the disposal of the
BNG shallow structures our oil trading activities will then be
dependent on production from the BNG deep structures, Block 8 and
West Shalva.
Comment
Clive Carver, Chairman said
"Oil & gas is a highly regulated industry both in terms of
day to day operations and corporate transactions, which helps to
underpin the value of licences once acquired and
renewed.
In
recent months new drilling has largely been on hold pending the
receipt of the required regulatory consents on our various
corporate transactions. We are now however closing in on completing
the $88 million sale of the BNG Contract Area's shallow structures
and have a route to substantial third party funding for the further
development of the BNG deep structures.
We
have been cleared to drill at West Shalva and continue to work with
the regulatory authorities to reach the same position at Block
8.
The Caspian Explorer remains a valuable asset and one of the
few options to those seeking to explore the hugely prospective
shallow northern Caspian Sea."
Contacts:
|
Zeus
James Joyce
|
+44 (0) 203 829 5000
|
James
Bavister
Andrew de
Andrade
Qualified person
Mr. Assylbek Umbetov, a member of the Association of
Petroleum Engineers, has reviewed and approved the technical
disclosures in this announcement.
This announcement has been posted to:
www.caspiansunrise.com/investors
The person responsible for arranging
the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Clive
Carver, Chairman of the Company.
This announcement has been posted
to:
www.caspiansunrise.com/investors
