TIDMECO
RNS Number : 6234A
Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd.
13 September 2018
13 September 2018
ECO (ATLANTIC) OIL & GAS LTD.
("Eco", "Eco Atlantic", "Company" or, together with its
subsidiaries, the "Group")
Total Exercises Option to acquire a 25% Working Interest in the
Orinduik Block, offshore Guyana
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM: ECO, TSX-V: EOG), the
oil and gas exploration company with licences in highly prospective
regions in Namibia and Guyana, is delighted to announce that Total
E&P Activités Pétrolières, a wholly owned subsidiary of Total
Petroleum SA ("Total"), has exercised its option to acquire a 25%
Working Interest in the Orinduik Block, offshore Guyana, from Eco
Atlantic (Guyana) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company
(the "Option") (the "Option Exercise"). The Option Exercise was
received by Eco before delivery of the final 3D seismic data due to
be delivered to Total, which would have triggered a 120-day
exercise window for the Option.
Following the Option Exercise and subject to the receipt of all
requisite regulatory approvals, including that of the Government of
Guyana, for the transfer of the 25% Working Interest to Total, the
working interests in the Orinduik Block will be as follows:
Tullow - 60% (Operator)
Total - 25%
Eco Guyana - 15%
In accordance with the terms of the Option, Total will pay the
Option Exercise fee of US$12.5m to the Company on receipt of all
requisite approvals for the transfer of the 25% Working Interest
(the "Option Exercise Payment"). It is anticipated that the Option
Exercise Payment will provide adequate funding to meet Eco's share
of the costs to drill at least two wells on the Orinduik Block, as
well as recover the costs of the now completed expanded 3D seismic
survey.
On 11 September 2018, the Company announced the completion of a
technical report on the Orinduik Block, produced by Gustavson
Associates LLC, which reported Gross P50 (Best Estimate) 2,913.3
MMBOE and Net (40%) 1,165.3 MMBOE, identified across a total of 10
Leads on the Orinduik Block. The technical report can be viewed in
full online at www.sedar.com and is also available on the Company's
website at www.ecooilandgas.com.
Gil Holzman, Chief Executive Officer of Eco, commented:
"We are absolutely delighted that Total, one of the world's
largest oil companies, has so quickly chosen to exercise its option
to acquire a 25 per cent stake in our Orinduik Block to gain
further exposure to offshore Guyana, currently one of the most
exciting exploration areas globally. The Board believes the early
exercise of the Option by Total is an indication of Total's
confidence in the prospectivity of the Orinduik Block based on the
data it has received to date from Eco and Tullow Oil, the existing
licence partners on the Orinduik Block.
"The entrance of Total into the Orinduik Block provides further
endorsement of the prospectivity of this License. With Tullow as
Operator and the technical contribution that both Total and Eco now
bring to the project, we look forward to working with these two
world class players in further progressing the exciting exploration
of the Orinduik Block. This deal also further validates Eco's
long-term strategy, to identify highly prospective assets in
frontier basins, with stable governments with favourable Petroleum
Agreement terms and world class partners.
"The exercising of this Option strengthens our already very
strong financial position. It will fully fund us for the next few
years, which are expected to include several exploration and drill
programs. The deal proceeds will mean we will recoup all our
expenses on the expanded 3D program and are fully funded for
drilling a minimum of the first two wells, without raising
additional funds."
Colin Kinley, Chief Operating Officer of Eco, stated:
"After our issuance of the initial resource report on Orinduik
(CPR), which identified our initial exploration leads with close to
(3.0) three billion barrels (BOE) of recoverable oil only a few
days ago, Total's response helps to validate a couple years' worth
of science and interpretation. Total entering the blocks four
months earlier than anticipated is welcomed, as they add
significant technical horsepower to the interpretation and now
bring them into the planning for drilling. Tullow announced last
week drilling is anticipated early Q3 2019."
**ENDS**
For more information, please visit www.ecooilandgas.com or
contact the following:
Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas +1 (416) 250 1955
Gil Holzman, CEO
Colin Kinley, COO
Alan Friedman, VP
Strand Hanson Limited (Financial & Nominated
Adviser) +44 (0) 20 7409 3494
James Harris
Rory Murphy
James Bellman
Brandon Hill Capital Limited (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 3463 5000
Oliver Stansfield
Jonathan Evans
Robert Beenstock
Pareto Securities Limited (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 7786 4370
Soren Clausen +44 (0) 20 7786 4382
Davide Finelli +44 (0) 20 7786 4398
Matilda Mäkitalo +44 (0) 20 7786 4375
Blytheweigh (PR) +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
Tim Blythe
Simon Woods
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014.
Notes to editors
Eco Atlantic is a TSX-V and AIM listed Oil & Gas exploration
and production Company with interests in Guyana and Namibia where
significant oil discoveries have been made.
The Group aims to deliver material value for its stakeholders
through oil exploration, appraisal and development activities in
stable emerging markets, in partnership with major oil companies,
including Tullow, ONGC, Total (optional) and AziNam.
In Guyana, Eco Guyana holds a 40%(1) working interest alongside
Tullow Oil (60%) in the 1,800 km(2) Orinduik Block in the shallow
water of the prospective Suriname Guyana basin. The Orinduik Block
is adjacent and updip to the deep-water Liza Field and Snoek,
Payara, Pacora, Turbot, Longtail and Hammerhead Discoveries,
recently discovered by ExxonMobil and Hess, which is estimated to
contain in excess of 4.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, making
it one of a handful of billion-barrel discoveries in the last
half-decade.
In Namibia, the Company holds interests in four offshore
petroleum licences totaling approximately 25,000km(2) with over 2.3
billion barrels of prospective P50 resources in the Walvis and
Lüderitz Basins. These four licences, Cooper, Guy, Sharon and Tamar
are being developed alongside partners, which include Tullow Oil,
AziNam, ONGC Videsh and NAMCOR. Drilling activity in Namibia is set
to gather pace in 2018 and 2019, with wells confirmed on Tullow's
PEL 037 and Chariot's Central Blocks. Eco has applied for a
drilling permit on its Cooper (Operator) Block.
(1) Total E&P Activités Pétrolières, (a wholly owned
subsidiary of Total SA) ("Total") has purchased an option from Eco
to acquire a 25% Working Interest in the Orinduik Block for an
additional US$12.5 million.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
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Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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