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RNS Number : 2334Z

Enwell Energy PLC

17 September 2020

17 September 2020

ENWELL ENERGY PLC

2020 INTERIM RESULTS

Enwell Energy plc (the "Company", and with its subsidiaries, the "Group"), the AIM-quoted (ENW) oil and gas exploration and production group with assets in Ukraine, today announces its unaudited results for the six month period ended 30 June 2020.

 
 Highlights 
 
 Operations 
 
 --   Record aggregate average daily production from the MEX-GOL, 
       SV and VAS fields of 4,545 boepd, which compares with 4,192 
       boepd during the first half of 2019, an increase of approximately 
       8% 
 --   Completion and hook-up of SV-54 development well in the SV field, 
       with strong production rates 
 --   Commencement of drilling of SV-25 appraisal well in the SV field 
 
 Finance 
 
 --   Revenue of $24.7 million (1H 2019: $31.3 million), down 21% 
       as a result of weakened gas prices in the period 
 --   Gross profit of $7.5 million (1H 2019: $13.9 million) 
 --   Operating profit of $5.2 million (1H 2019: $13.7 million) 
 --   Net profit for the first half of 2020 of $1.2 million (1H 2019: 
       $9.9 million) 
 --   Average realised gas, condensate and LPG prices in Ukraine were 
       all lower, particularly gas prices, at $139/Mm(3) (UAH3,514/Mm(3) 
       ), $42/bbl and $40/bbl respectively (1H 2019: $256/Mm(3) (UAH6,921/Mm(3) 
       ) gas, $54/bbl condensate and $52/bbl LPG) 
 --   Cash and cash equivalents of $54.2 million at 30 June 2020, 
       and at 13 September 2020 of $55.5 million (31 December 2019: 
       $62.5 million) 
 
 Outlook 
 
 --   Development work for the remainder of 2020 at MEX-GOL and SV 
       fields includes: continuing drilling operations of the SV-25 
       well; planning for a further new well or sidetracking of an 
       existing well in the SV field; investigating workover opportunities 
       for existing wells; installation of further compression equipment; 
       and continued investment in gas processing facilities, intra-field 
       flowline network and other infrastructure 
 --   Development work for the remainder of 2020 at VAS field includes: 
       planning for a new well to explore the VED prospect within the 
       VAS licence area; installation of compression equipment; and 
       continued investment in gas processing facilities, flowlines 
       and other infrastructure 
 --   Commencement of planning for development of the SC field operated 
       by Arkona, subject to resolution of legal dispute relating to 
       the SC licence 
 --   Development programme for the remainder of 2020 expected to 
       be funded from existing cash resources and operational cash 
       flow 
 --   As of the date of this report, the global economy, and global 
       social dynamics, are in a state of disruption and uncertainty 
       as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board and management 
       continue to monitor the evolving situation and take any steps 
       necessary to protect our staff, stakeholders and business alike. 
       The Group has taken steps to continually monitor the health 
       of operational staff, including temperature checks for such 
       staff at the commencement of each shift, as well as investing 
       in technology to enable many staff to work from remote locations. 
       As of the date hereof, there has been no operational disruption 
       linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, and no material impact is currently 
       envisaged on the Group's prospects. However, the Board and management 
       remain acutely aware of the risks, and are taking action to 
       mitigate them where possible, with the safety of individuals 
       and communities continuing to be the priority. 
 

Sergii Glazunov, CEO, commented: "2020 has been a good operational year so far, with record production from the MEX-GOL, SV and VAS fields helping to offset the continued impact of lower gas prices. We are looking forward to further progressing our development programme and continuing to improve production rates. Our solid operational base in tandem with our robust cash resources positions us well as we continue our value delivery initiatives, despite current reduced commodity prices. We are closely monitoring the unprecedented developments of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and although we have experienced no material impact so far, we have taken and will continue to take action to ensure the safety of our employees and local communities."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

For further information, please contact:

 
 Enwell Energy plc                           Tel: 020 3427 3550 
 Chris Hopkinson, Chairman 
 Sergii Glazunov, Chief Executive Officer 
 Bruce Burrows, Finance Director 
 
 Strand Hanson Limited                       Tel: 020 7409 3494 
 Rory Murphy / Richard Tulloch 
 
 Arden Partners plc                          Tel: 020 7614 5900 
 Ruari McGirr / Dan Gee-Summons (Corporate 
  Finance) 
 Simon Johnson (Corporate Broking) 
 
 Citigate Dewe Rogerson                      Tel: 020 7638 9571 
 Louise Mason-Rutherford / Elizabeth 
  Kittle 
 

Dmitry Sazonenko, MSc Geology, MSc Petroleum Engineering, Member of AAPG, SPE and EAGE, Director of the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this press release in his capacity as a qualified person, as required under the AIM Rules.

 
 Definitions 
 
 AAPG            American Association of Petroleum Geologists 
 Arkona          LLC Arkona Gas-Energy 
 bbl             barrel 
 bbl/d           barrels per day 
 Bm(3)           thousands of millions cubic metres 
 boe             barrels of oil equivalent 
 boepd           barrels of oil equivalent per day 
 C(1)            reserves in deposits that were not put into 
                  commercial development and that may be the 
                  subject matter of production testing or 
                  individual well production testing 
 C(2)            reserves in deposits that were not put into 
                  commercial development and that are developed 
                  based on a production testing plan or individual 
                  well production testing plan, matured with 
                  seismic exploration or other methods, and 
                  the availability of which is supported by 
                  geological and geophysical study data as 
                  well as testing data obtained from individual 
                  wells whilst drilling 
 Company         Enwell Energy plc 
 EUR             Euro 
 Group           Enwell Energy plc and its subsidiaries 
 km              kilometre 
 km(2)           square kilometre 
 LPG             liquefied petroleum gas 
 MEX-GOL         Mekhediviska-Golotvshinska 
 m(3)            cubic metres 
 MMboe           million barrels of oil equivalent 
 MMm(3)          million cubic metres 
 MMscf           million scf 
 MMscf/d         million scf per day 
 Mtonnes         thousand tonnes 
 %               per cent 
 QHSE            quality, health, safety and environment 
 SC              Svystunivsko-Chervonolutskyi 
 scf             standard cubic feet measured at 20 degrees 
                  Celsius and one atmosphere 
 SPE             Society of Petroleum Engineers 
 SPEE            Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers 
 SV              Svyrydivske 
 $               United States Dollar 
 UAH             Ukrainian Hryvnia 
 Ukrnaftinvest   PJSC Science and Production Concern Ukrnaftinvest 
 VAS             Vasyschevskoye 
 VED             Vvdenska 
 WPC             World Petroleum Council 
 

Chairman's Statement

During the first half of 2020, the Group continued with the development of the MEX-GOL, SV and VAS gas and condensate fields in north-eastern Ukraine, with a good operational performance during the period. Drilling of the SV-54 development well was successfully completed and brought on production in May 2020, with strong flow rates.

At the MEX-GOL and SV fields, production was stable during the first half of 2020, with higher production volumes compared with the same period last year. At the VAS field production was also steady, but lower than during the first half of 2019 after a decline in production from the VAS-10 well in late 2019.

Aggregate average daily production from the MEX-GOL, SV and VAS fields during the first half of 2020 was a record 4,545 boepd, which compares with an aggregate daily production rate of 4,192 boepd during the first half of 2019, an increase of approximately 8%, and average daily production of 4,263 boepd for the 2019 year.

During the first half of 2020, the Group's operating profit was $5.2 million (1H 2019: $13.7 million), with the decrease from the same period last year predominantly as a result of weakened European gas prices, despite higher production rates. Cash generated from operations during the period was also lower at $11.0 million (1H 2019: $17.6 million) for the same reasons.

The fiscal and economic environment in Ukraine remains positive despite the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, resulting in lower GDP growth, declining inflation and weakening Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates. Nevertheless, fiscal and economic challenges in Ukraine remain and we continue to be vigilant.

The deregulation of the gas supply market, supported by electronic gas trading platforms and improved pricing transparency, has meant that the market gas prices in Ukraine broadly correlate with the imported gas prices. During the first half of 2020, gas prices trended lower, reflecting a similar trend in European gas prices, and were significantly lower than in the same period in 2019. Similarly, condensate and LPG prices were also lower by comparison with the first half of 2019.

Arkona Acquisition

As announced on 24 March 2020, the Group has acquired the entire issued share capital of LLC Arkona Gas-Energy ("Arkona") for total consideration of up to $8.63 million, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions. Arkona holds a 100% interest in the Svystunivsko-Chervonolutskyi ("SC") exploration licence in north-eastern Ukraine, some 15 km east of the SV field. The SC licence was granted in May 2017, with a duration of 20 years, and is prospective for gas and condensate. As with the productive reservoirs in the SV field, the prospective reservoirs in this licence are Visean, at depths between 4,600 - 6,000 metres.

However, NJSC Ukrnafta has issued legal proceedings against Arkona, in which NJSC Ukrnafta has made claims about the procedure involved in the grant of the SC licence to Arkona in May 2017 (see announcements dated 3 July and 31 July 2020). In early July 2020, the First Instance Court in Ukraine announced a ruling in favour of NJSC Ukrnafta, which found that the grant of the SC licence was irregular, which would mean the licence is invalid. Arkona disputes these claims and is defending such legal proceedings, and consequently has filed an appeal in the Appellate Administrative Court in Kyiv. Pending the outcome of the appeal process, the SC licence remains valid.

COVID-19

We continue to closely monitor the current volatility in global financial markets, and the implications on the operational, economic and social environment within which we work caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the recent sharp decline in hydrocarbon prices. As of the date hereof, there has been no operational disruption linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, and no material impact is currently envisaged on the Group's prospects. However, the Board and management remain acutely aware of the risks, and continue to take action to mitigate them where possible, not only to protect our staff and stakeholders but also to minimise disruption to our business. We have taken steps to continually monitor the health of our operational staff, including temperature checks for such staff at the commencement of each shift, as well as investing in technology to enable many staff to work from remote locations. We continue to reassess our medium-term forecasts based on current pricing and are confident we have the resources to continue to deliver on our plans. Of course, we cannot be certain of the duration of the pandemic's impact but will remain focussed on monitoring and protecting our business through the period of uncertainty. In protecting our stakeholders' interests, we are conscious of our wider obligations to the communities, and country, in which we operate. Accordingly, as previously announced, we have acted, alongside other corporate entities in Ukraine, to directly acquire critical equipment and supplies from Chinese suppliers to donate to the Ukrainian State to assist its efforts to manage the pandemic in Ukraine. Our monetary contribution of $2 million to this initiative is reflected in the results for the period.

Outlook

Whilst there are still challenges in the business environment in Ukraine, the situation is relatively stable despite the COVID-19 outbreak. After the steady operational performance during the first half of 2020, and the increased production output during the period, we are looking forward to the results of the SV-25 appraisal well, which are expected in the first half of 2021. We are also looking forward to achieving further success in the development activities planned for the remainder of 2020 and delivering a steadily increasing production and revenue stream in the future.

In conclusion, on behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all of our staff for the continued dedication and support they have shown during the year and especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chris Hopkinson

Chairman

16 September 2020

Chief Executive Officer's Statement

Introduction

The Group continued its good progress at its Ukrainian fields during 2020 with development activity at the MEX-GOL and SV fields, including the successful drilling of the SV-54 development well, which came on production in May, the commencement of the SV-25 well and work to upgrade the gas processing facilities and flow-line network and undertake remedial work on existing wells.

At the VAS field, planning for the proposed new well to explore the VED prospect within the VAS licence area has continued, and upgrades to the gas processing facilities, flow-line network and other infrastructure are underway.

Overall production continued its upward trend during the period, achieving record levels for the Group and being 8% higher than in the first half of 2019, with a substantial boost in the second quarter, once the SV-54 well came on production.

Production

The average daily production of gas, condensate and LPG from the MEX-GOL, SV and VAS fields for the six month period ended 30 June 2020 was as follows:-

 
   Field             Gas             Condensate             LPG              Aggregate 
                  (MMscf/d)            (bbl/d)             (bbl/d)             boepd 
              1H 2020   1H 2019   1H 2020   1H 2019   1H 2020   1 2019   1H 2020   1H 2019 
             --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -------  --------  -------- 
 
   MEX-GOL 
   & SV        17.4      14.0       654       542       292      273      3,941     3,203 
             --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -------  --------  -------- 
 
   VAS          3.1       4.9       34        81         -        -        604       989 
             --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -------  --------  -------- 
 
   Total       20.5      18.9       688       623       292      273      4,545     4,192 
             --------  --------  --------  --------  --------  -------  --------  -------- 
 

Production rates were higher when compared with the corresponding period in 2019, predominantly due to the contributions of the MEX-119 well, which commenced production in October 2019, and the SV-54 well, which commenced production in May 2020.

The Group's average daily production for the period from 1 July 2020 to 31 August 2020 from the MEX-GOL and SV field was 18.3 MMscf/d of gas, 640 bbl/d of condensate and 292 bbl/d of LPG (4,079 boepd in aggregate) and from the VAS field was 2.9 MMscf/d of gas and 30 bbl/d of condensate (577 boepd in aggregate).

Operations

The relatively stable fiscal and economic conditions in Ukraine , coupled with reductions in the subsoil tax rates and improvements in the regulatory procedures in the oil and gas sector in Ukraine over recent periods, have given the Board confidence to continue the Group's development programme at its Ukrainian fields during 2020. However, lower realised gas prices significantly impacted revenues, following a general decline in gas prices in Europe.

The Group continued to refine its geological subsurface models of the MEX-GOL, SV and VAS fields, in order to enhance its strategies for the further development of the fields, including the timing and level of future capital investment required to exploit the hydrocarbon resources.

At the MEX-GOL and SV fields, the drilling of the SV-54 development well was completed to a final depth of 5,322 metres. One interval, at a drilled depth of 5,303 - 5,308 metres in the B-23 Visean formation, was perforated, and after successful testing, the well was hooked-up to the gas processing facilities. The well has demonstrated good production rates and is currently producing at approximately 2.0 MMscf/d of gas and 9.3 bbl/d of condensate (355 boepd in aggregate).

In July 2020, the SV-25 well was spudded. This well has a target depth of 5,320 metres, with drilling operations scheduled to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2021, and, subject to successful testing, production hook-up during the second quarter of 2021. The well is an appraisal well, with its primary targets being the B-20, B-22 and B-23 horizons in the Visean formation.

The Group continues to operate each of the SV-2 and SV-12 wells under joint venture agreements with NJSC Ukrnafta, the majority State-owned oil and gas producer. Under the agreements, the gas and condensate produced from the respective wells is sold under an equal net profit sharing arrangement between the Group and NJSC Ukrnafta, with the Group accounting for the hydrocarbons produced and sold from the wells as revenue, and the net profit share due to NJSC Ukrnafta being treated as a lease expense in cost of sales. Both of these wells have proven to be strong producers since being brought back on production.

At the VAS field, planning has continued for a new well to explore the VED prospect within the VAS licence area. However, a decline in production rates from the VAS-10 well impacted overall production at the VAS field during the fourth quarter of 2019, and as a result, compression equipment was installed to increase production from this well, with a longer term plan to undertake a workover of the well to access an alternative reservoir horizon.

In March 2019 (see announcement made on 12 March 2019), a regulatory issue arose when the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine issued an order for suspension (the "Order") of the production licence for the VAS field. Under the applicable legislation, the Order would lead to a shut-down of production operations at the VAS field, but the Group has issued legal proceedings to challenge the Order, and has obtained a ruling suspending operation of the Order pending a hearing of the substantive issues. The Group does not believe that there are any grounds for the Order, and intends to pursue its challenge to the Order through the Ukrainian Courts.

New Acquisitions

As announced on 24 March 2020, the Group has acquired the entire issued share capital of LLC Arkona Gas-Energy ("Arkona") for total consideration of up to $8.63 million, with $4.3 million subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions as set out therein. Arkona holds a 100% interest in the Svystunivsko-Chervonolutskyi ("SC") exploration licence, which is located in the Poltava region in north-eastern Ukraine. The SC licence has an area of 97 km(2) , and is approximately 15 km east of the SV field. The licence was granted in May 2017 with a duration of 20 years. The licence is prospective for gas and condensate, and has been the subject of exploration since the 1980s, with 5 wells having been drilled on the licence since then, although none of these wells are currently on production. As with the productive reservoirs in the SV field, the prospective reservoirs in the licence are Visean, at depths between 4,600 - 6,000 metres.

According to the recorded information on the Ukrainian State Balance of Natural Resources as at 1 January 2020, the licence has hydrocarbon reserves, in the category of C(1) and C(2) under the Ukrainian classification, DKZ, of approximately 38.0 MMboe (4.9 Bm(3) of gas and 0.86 Mtonnes of condensate). It should be noted, however, that whilst the Group's review of existing technical data for the licence is considered supportive of such assessment of hydrocarbon reserves, such hydrocarbon reserves have not been verified by an independent reserves assessor and do not correspond to the SPE/WPC/AAPG/SPEE Petroleum Resources Management System ("PRMS") standard for classification and reporting.

However, NJSC Ukrnafta, as claimant, has issued legal proceedings against Arkona, as defendant, in which NJSC Ukrnafta has made claims about the procedure involved in the grant of the SC licence to Arkona in May 2017 (see announcements dated 3 July and 31 July 2020). NJSC Ukrnafta was the holder of a previous licence over this area which expired prior to the grant of the SC licence. In early July 2020, the First Instance Court in Ukraine announced a ruling in favour of NJSC Ukrnafta, which found that the grant of the SC licence was irregular, which would mean the licence is invalid. Arkona disputes these claims and is defending such legal proceedings, and consequently has filed an appeal in the Appellate Administrative Court in Kyiv. Pending the outcome of the appeal process, the SC licence remains valid. The Group considers Arkona has strong grounds for a successful appeal since the subject matter of these legal proceedings, including the validity of the SC licence, has already been ruled upon by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in similar proceedings in October 2019 involving, inter alia, NJSC Ukrnafta and Arkona, in which the SC licence was held to be valid. As a result, the Group is confident that the challenge to the SC licence will be resolved in favour of Arkona.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement for Arkona, half of the consideration payable (split into two equal tranches) was deferred and only payable on satisfaction of certain conditions including the favourable resolution of these legal proceedings, as well as certain other conditions, with the further proviso that if the conditions for payment of these deferred tranches are not satisfied, then neither of these tranches shall become payable. In addition, the acquisition agreement contains customary warranties and indemnities allowing the Group to seek recovery of consideration previously paid in the event of a breach of such warranties and indemnities, which include an adverse outcome of these legal proceedings.

As announced on 1 April 2020, the Memorandum of Understanding (the "Memorandum") for the potential acquisition of PJSC Science and Production Concern Ukrnaftinvest ("Ukrnaftinvest") , announced on 26 November 2019, expired and was consequently terminated as a result of the parties to the Memorandum, being (1) the Company and (2) Ms Lidiia Chernysh and Bolaso Investments Limited, being unable to reach a final agreement for such potential acquisition on the contemplated terms at the time. As a result, the provisions relating to such termination set out in the Memorandum became applicable, which included the refund of the deposit of $0.5 million previously paid to the sellers under the Memorandum. This remains to be paid. In addition, the Group made a series of advances, now totalling UAH47.3 million (approximately $1.8 million) to Ukrnaftinvest over the period from October 2019 to March 2020 in conjunction with the MOU. The payments were to fund certain operational works in preparation for a well which is scheduled under the work commitments for the licences held by Ukrnaftinvest, and these advances are also now repayable. Notwithstanding these provisions and the terminated Memorandum, the parties to it continue to be engaged in discussions in relation to the acquisition of Ukrnaftinvest, and the Group believes revised terms will be agreed, albeit there can be no certainty. Accordingly, these amounts are regarded as recoverable at the date of this announcement.

Outlook

During the remainder of 2020, the Group will continue to develop the MEX-GOL, SV and VAS fields. At the MEX-GOL and SV fields, the development programme includes continuing drilling operations of the SV-25 appraisal well, planning for a further well or sidetracking of an existing well in the SV field, investigating workover opportunities for other existing wells, installation of further compression equipment, further upgrading of the gas processing facilities and flow-line network, and remedial and upgrade work on existing wells, pipelines and other infrastructure.

At the VAS field, planning for the proposed new well to explore the VED prospect within the VAS licence area is continuing, and upgrades to the gas processing facilities, pipeline network and other infrastructure are planned.

Ongoing legislative reforms and the general stability in the business climate in Ukraine, are encouraging and supportive of the independent oil and gas producers in Ukraine.

Finally, I would like to add my thanks to all of our staff for the continued hard work and dedication they have shown during this year, and to especially recognise their continuing efforts and professionalism during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Sergii Glazunov

Chief Executive Officer

Finance Review

The Group's financial performance in the first half of 2020 was shaped largely by two factors, the significant drop in average gas realisations materially affecting revenue but partly mitigated by the record level of gas production, and sale of gas from storage. Despite the challenges during the period, the Group was delighted to make a net profit of $1.2 million (1H 2019: $9.9 million).

Average gas realisations in the period were down 46% at $139/Mm(3) compared to $256/Mm(3) in 1H 2019, with condensate and LPG sales also down by 22% and 23% at $42/bbl and $40/bbl respectively (1H 2019: $256/Mm(3) (UAH6,921/Mm(3) ), $54/bbl and $52/bbl respectively).

Since the deregulation of the gas supply market in Ukraine in October 2015, the market price for gas has broadly correlated to the price of imported gas, which generally reflects trends in European gas prices. Gas prices are also subject to seasonal variation. During the first half of 2020, gas prices were depressed, as a combined result of lower international prices reducing the price of imported gas, and the unseasonally warm 2019/20 winter.

During the period from 1 July 2020 to 14 September 2020, the average realised gas, condensate and LPG prices were $159/Mm(3) (UAH4,352/Mm(3) ), $54/bbl and $65/bbl respectively.

Over and above the record level of production in the period, the Company also sold 24 MMm(3) of gas held in inventory at 31 December 2019. The inventory was valued at its cost of $3.0 million, all of which was recognised in the period as costs of sales, along with the associated revenue.

Revenue for the period, derived from the sale of the Group's Ukrainian gas, condensate and LPG production, was $24.7 million (1H 2019: $31.3 million). The gas price-driven fall in revenue also impacted cash generated from operations during the period, which was 59% lower at $7.2 million (1H 2019: $17.4 million).

Gross profit for the six months period to 30 June 2020 was $7.5 million (2019: $13.9 million).

Cost of sales for the period ended 30 June 2020 was marginally lower at $17.2 million (1H 2019: $17.3 million). Whilst broadly consistent with the same period in 2019, there were some significant intra-total movements: production taxes declined by 27% as a result of reduced gas revenues, in turn a function of the reduced gas prices as noted above; a 35% decrease in rent expense, a function of decreased gas prices; and the transmission tariff for use of the Ukrainian gas transit system of UAH101.93/Mm(3) of gas was applicable to the Group (1H 2019: UAH91.87/Mm(3) ), resulting in a $0.4 million (1H 2019: $0.4 million) charge in the period.

The subsoil tax rates applicable to gas production were stable during the period at 29% for gas produced from deposits at depths shallower than 5,000 metres and 14% for gas produced from deposits deeper than 5,000 metres, but reductions in the subsoil rates applicable to new wells and to condensate production were applicable, under which (i) for new wells drilled after 1 January 2018, the subsoil tax rates were reduced from 29% to 12% for gas produced from deposits at depths shallower than 5,000 metres and from 14% to 6% for gas produced from deposits deeper than 5,000 metres for the period between 2018 and 2022, and (ii) with effect from 1 January 2019 and applicable to all wells, the subsoil tax rates for condensate were reduced from 45% to 31% for condensate produced from deposits shallower than 5,000 metres and from 21% to 16% for condensate produced from deposits deeper than 5,000 metres.

Administrative expenses for the period were higher at $3.9 million (1H 2019: $2.9 million), primarily as a result of: a 173% increase in consultancy fees mainly due to legal and advisory costs associated with the acquisition activity in the period; and a 61% increase in other expenses primarily in relation to increased costs for managing gas transportation and storage, and marketing.

Other expenses in the period significantly increased due to charitable donations of $2.1 million (1H 2019: nil) for the supply of COVID-19-related medical equipment for Ukrainian authorities and charitable foundations .

The tax charge for the six month period ended 30 June 2020 of $1.4 million (1H 2019: $3.4 million charge) comprises a current tax charge of $1.4 million (1H 2019: $1.7 million charge) and a deferred tax charge of $10,000 (1H 2019: $1.7 million charge).

Capital investment of $8.8 million reflects investment in the Group's oil and gas development and production assets during the period (1H 2019: $6.7 million), primarily relating to the expenditure associated with the drilling of the SV-54 well.

Cash and cash equivalents held at 30 June 2020 were $54.2 million (31 December 2019: $62.5 million cash and cash equivalents). The Group's cash and cash equivalents balance at 13 September 2020 was $55.5 million, held as to $15.5 million equivalent in Ukrainian Hryvnia, and the balance of $40.0 million equivalent predominantly in US Dollars, Euros and Pounds Sterling.

Between early 2014 and 2018, the Ukrainian Hryvnia devalued significantly against the US Dollar, falling from UAH8.3/$1.00 on 1 January 2014 to UAH27.7/$1.00 on 31 December 2018, which resulted in substantial foreign exchange translation losses for the Group over that period, and in turn adversely impacted the carrying value of the MEX-GOL and SV asset due to the translation of two of the Group's subsidiaries from their functional currency of Ukrainian Hryvnia to the Group's presentation currency of US Dollars. In the first half of 2020, global financial markets have become extremely volatile as a combined function of a significant fall in oil prices and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Ukrainian Hryvnia has weakened against the US Dollar with the exchange rate at 30 June 2020 being UAH26.69/$1.00. The impact of this devaluation was $10.8 million of foreign exchange losses (1H 2019: $4.9 million of foreign exchange gain). Further devaluation of the Ukrainian Hryvnia against the US Dollar may affect the carrying value of the Group's assets in the future.

Cash from operations has funded the capital investment during the period, and the Group's current cash position and positive operating cash flow are the sources from which the Group plans to fund the development programmes for its assets in the remainder of 2020 and beyond. This is coupled with the fact that the Group is currently debt-free, and therefore has no debt covenants that may otherwise impede the ability to implement contingency plans if domestic and/or global circumstances dictate. This flexibility and ability to monitor and manage development plans and liquidity is a cornerstone of our planning, and underpins our assessments of the future. With cash resources at the end of the period in excess of $54 million, and annual running costs (both operating, and general and administrative) of less than $16 million, the Group remains in a very strong position should any local or global shocks occur to the industry and/or the Group.

Bruce Burrows

Finance Director

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Group has a risk evaluation methodology in place to assist in the review of the risks across all material aspects of its business. This methodology highlights external, operational and technical, financial and corporate risks, and assesses the level of risk and potential consequences. It is periodically presented to the Audit Committee and the Board for review, to bring to their attention potential risks and, where possible, propose mitigating actions. Key risks recognised and mitigation factors are detailed below:

 
 Risk                                             Mitigation 
 External risks 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Risk relating to Ukraine 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Ukraine is an emerging market and                The Group minimises this risk by 
  as such, the Group is exposed to                 continuously monitoring the market 
  greater regulatory, economic and                 in Ukraine and by maintaining a 
  political risks than it would be                 strong working relationship with 
  in other jurisdictions. Emerging                 the Ukrainian regulatory authorities. 
  economies are generally subject                  The Group also maintains a significant 
  to a volatile political and economic             proportion of its cash holdings 
  environment, which makes them vulnerable         in international banks outside Ukraine. 
  to market downturns elsewhere in 
  the world, and could adversely 
  impact the Group's ability to operate 
  in the market. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Regional conflict 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Ukraine continues to have a strained             As the Group has no assets in Crimea 
  relationship with Russia, following              or the areas of conflict in the 
  Ukraine's agreement to join a free               east of Ukraine, nor do its operations 
  trade area with the European Union,              rely on sales or costs incurred 
  which resulted in the implementation             there, the Group has not been directly 
  of mutual trade restrictions between             affected by the conflict. However, 
  Russia and Ukraine on many key                   the Group continues to monitor the 
  products. Further, the conflict                  situation and endeavours to procure 
  in parts of eastern Ukraine has                  its equipment from sources in other 
  not been resolved to date, and                   markets. The disputes and interruption 
  Russia continues to occupy Crimea.               to the supply of gas from Russia 
  This conflict has put further pressure           has indirectly encouraged Ukrainian 
  on relations between Ukraine and                 Government support for the development 
  Russia, and the political tensions               of the domestic production of hydrocarbons 
  have had an adverse effect on the                since Ukraine imports a significant 
  Ukrainian financial markets, hampering           proportion of its gas, which has 
  the ability of Ukrainian companies               resulted in legislative measures 
  and banks to obtain funding from                 to improve the regulatory requirements 
  the international capital and debt               for hydrocarbon extraction in Ukraine. 
  markets. This strained relationship 
  between Russia and Ukraine has 
  also resulted in disputes and interruptions 
  in the supply of gas from Russia. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Banking system in Ukraine 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The banking system in Ukraine has                The creditworthiness and potential 
  been under great strain in recent                risks relating to the banks in Ukraine 
  years due to the weak level of                   are regularly reviewed by the Group, 
  capital, low asset quality caused                but the geopolitical and economic 
  by the economic situation, currency              events since 2013 in Ukraine have 
  depreciation, changing regulations               significantly weakened the Ukrainian 
  and other economic pressures generally,          banking sector. In light of this, 
  and so the risks associated with                 the Group has taken and continues 
  the banks in Ukraine have been                   to take steps to diversify its banking 
  significant, including in relation               arrangements between a number of 
  to the banks with which the Group                banks in Ukraine. These measures 
  has operated bank accounts. However,             are designed to spread the risks 
  following remedial action imposed                associated with each bank's creditworthiness, 
  by the National Bank of Ukraine,                 and the Group endeavours to use 
  Ukraine's banking system has improved            banks that have the best available 
  moderately. Nevertheless, Ukraine                creditworthiness. Nevertheless, 
  continues to be supported by funding             and despite some recent improvements, 
  from the International Monetary                  the Ukrainian banking sector remains 
  Fund.                                            weakly capitalised and so the risks 
                                                   associated with the banks in Ukraine 
                                                   remain significant, including in 
                                                   relation to the banks with which 
                                                   the Group operates bank accounts. 
                                                   As a consequence, the Group also 
                                                   maintains a significant proportion 
                                                   of its cash holdings in international 
                                                   banks outside Ukraine. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Geopolitical environment in Ukraine 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Although there have been some improvements       The Group continually monitors the 
  in recent years, there has not                   market and business environment 
  been a final resolution of the                   in Ukraine and endeavours to recognise 
  political, fiscal and economic                   approaching risks and factors that 
  situation in Ukraine and its ongoing             may affect its business. In addition, 
  effects are difficult to predict                 the involvement of Lovitia Investments 
  and likely to continue to affect                 Limited, as the indirect majority 
  the Ukrainian economy and potentially            shareholder with extensive experience 
  the Group's business. Whilst not                 in Ukraine, is considered helpful 
  materially affecting the Group's                 to mitigate such risks. 
  production operations, the instability 
  has disrupted the Group's development 
  and operational planning for its 
  assets. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Climate change 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Any near and medium-term continued               The Group's plans and actions include: 
  warming of the Planet can have                   assessing, reducing and/or mitigating 
  potentially increasing negative                  its emissions in its operations; 
  social, economic and environmental               and identifying climate change-related 
  consequences, generally globally                 risks and assessing the degree to 
  and regionally, and specifically                 which they can affect its business, 
  in relation to the Group. The potential          including financial implications. 
  impacts include: loss of market; 
  and increased costs of operation 
  through increasing regulatory oversight 
  and controls, including potential 
  effective or actual loss of licence 
  to operate. As a diligent operator 
  aware and responsive to its good 
  stewardship responsibilities, the 
  Group not only needs to monitor 
  and modify its business plans and 
  operations to react to changes, 
  but also to ensure its environmental 
  footprint is as minimal as it can 
  practicably be in managing the 
  hydrocarbon resources the Group 
  produces. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Operational and technical risks 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Quality, Health, Safety and Environment 
  ("QHSE") 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The oil and gas industry, by its                 The Group maintains QHSE policies 
  nature, conducts activities which                and requires that management, staff 
  can cause health, safety, environmental          and contractors adhere to these 
  and security incidents. Serious                  policies. The policies ensure that 
  incidents can not only have a financial          the Group meets Ukraine legislative 
  impact but can also damage the                   standards in full and achieves international 
  Group's reputation and the opportunity           standards to the maximum extent 
  to undertake further projects.                   possible. As a consequence of the 
  As evidenced by events to date                   COVID-19 pandemic, including the 
  in 2020, pandemics also pose a                   threat of any resurgences in the 
  risk to operations, by potential                 scale and impact of the virus, or 
  illness and threat to life of employees          new viruses, the Group is re-visiting 
  and contractors, and the associated              processes and controls intended 
  disruptions in staffing levels,                  to ensure protection of all our 
  operations and supply chain.                     stakeholders and minimise any disruption 
                                                   to our business. Whilst possible 
                                                   to only a limited extent in field 
                                                   operations, we have invested in 
                                                   technology that will allow many 
                                                   staff to work just as effectively 
                                                   from remote locations. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Industry risks 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The Group is exposed to risks which              The Group has well qualified and 
  are generally associated with the                experienced technical management 
  oil and gas industry. For example,               staff to plan and supervise operational 
  the Group's ability to pursue and                activities. In addition, the Group 
  develop its projects and development             engages with suitably qualified 
  programmes depends on a number                   local and international geological, 
  of uncertainties, including the                  geophysical and engineering experts 
  availability of capital, seasonal                and contractors to supplement and 
  conditions, regulatory approvals,                broaden the pool of expertise available 
  gas, oil, condensate and LPG prices,             to the Group. Detailed planning 
  development costs and drilling                   of development activities is undertaken 
  success. As a result of these uncertainties,     with the aim of managing the inherent 
  it is unknown whether potential                  risks associated with oil and gas 
  drilling locations identified on                 exploration and production, as well 
  proposed projects will ever be                   as ensuring that appropriate equipment 
  drilled or whether these or any                  and personnel are available for 
  other potential drilling locations               the operations, and that local contractors 
  will be able to produce gas, oil                 are appropriately supervised. 
  or condensate. In addition, drilling 
  activities are subject to many 
  risks, including the risk that 
  commercially productive reservoirs 
  will not be discovered. Drilling 
  for hydrocarbons can be unprofitable, 
  not only due to dry holes, but 
  also as a result of productive 
  wells that do not produce sufficiently 
  to be economic. In addition, drilling 
  and production operations are highly 
  technical and complex activities 
  and may be curtailed, delayed or 
  cancelled as a result of a variety 
  of factors. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Production of hydrocarbons 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Producing gas and condensate reservoirs          In 2016, the Group engaged external 
  are generally characterised by                   technical consultants to undertake 
  declining production rates which                 a comprehensive review and re-evaluation 
  vary depending upon reservoir characteristics    study of the MEX-GOL and SV fields 
  and other factors. Future production             in order to gain an improved understanding 
  of the Group's gas and condensate                of the geological aspects of the 
  reserves, and therefore the Group's              fields and reservoir engineering, 
  cash flow and income, are highly                 drilling and completion techniques, 
  dependent on the Group's success                 and the results of this study and 
  in operating existing producing                  further planned technical work is 
  wells, drilling new production                   being used by the Group in the future 
  wells and efficiently developing                 development of these fields. In 
  and exploiting any reserves, and                 addition, an evaluation study was 
  finding or acquiring additional                  undertaken on the VAS field prior 
  reserves. The Group may not be                   to its acquisition in 2016 and this 
  able to develop, find or acquire                 was updated in 2019. The Group has 
  reserves at acceptable costs. The                established an ongoing relationship 
  experience gained from drilling                  with such external technical consultants 
  undertaken to date highlights such               to ensure that technical management 
  risks as the Group targets the                   and planning is of a high quality 
  appraisal and production of these                in respect of all development activities 
  hydrocarbons.                                    on the Group's fields. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Risks relating to further development 
  and operation of the Group's gas 
  and condensate fields in Ukraine 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The planned development and operation            The Group's technical management 
  of the Group's gas and condensate                staff, in consultation with its 
  fields in Ukraine is susceptible                 external technical consultants, 
  to appraisal, development and operational        carefully plan and supervise development 
  risk. This could include, but is                 and operational activities with 
  not restricted to, delays in delivery            the aim of managing the risks associated 
  of equipment in Ukraine, failure                 with the further development of 
  of key equipment, lower than expected            the Group's fields in Ukraine. This 
  production from wells that are                   includes detailed review and consideration 
  currently producing, or new wells                of available subsurface data, utilisation 
  that are brought on-stream, problematic          of modern geological software, and 
  wells and complex geology which                  utilisation of engineering and completion 
  is difficult to drill or interpret.              techniques developed for the fields. 
  The generation of significant operational        With operational activities, the 
  cash is dependent on the successful              Group ensures that appropriate equipment 
  delivery and completion of the                   and personnel is available for the 
  development and operation of the                 operations, and that operational 
  fields.                                          contractors are appropriately supervised. 
                                                   In addition, the Group performs 
                                                   a review of its oil and gas assets 
                                                   for impairment on an annual basis, 
                                                   and considers whether an assessment 
                                                   of its oil and gas assets by a suitably 
                                                   qualified independent assessor is 
                                                   appropriate or required. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Drilling and workover operations 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Due to the depth and nature of                   The utilisation of detailed sub-surface 
  the reservoirs in the Group's fields,            analysis, careful well planning 
  the technical difficulty of drilling             and engineering design in designing 
  or re-entering wells in the Group's              work programmes, along with appropriate 
  fields is high, and this and the                 procurement procedures and competent 
  equipment limitations within Ukraine,            on-site management, aims to minimise 
  can result in unsuccessful or lower              these risks. 
  than expected outcomes for wells. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Maintenance of facilities 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 There is a risk that production                  The Group's facilities are operated 
  or transportation facilities can                 and maintained at standards above 
  fail due to non-adequate maintenance,            the Ukraine minimum legal requirements. 
  control or poor performance of                   Operations staff are experienced 
  the Group's suppliers.                           and receive supplemental training 
                                                   to ensure that facilities are properly 
                                                   operated and maintained. Service 
                                                   providers are rigorously reviewed 
                                                   at the tender stage and are monitored 
                                                   during the contract period. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Financial risks 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Exposure to cash flow and liquidity 
  risk 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 There is a risk that insufficient                The Group maintains adequate cash 
  funds are available to meet the                  reserves and closely monitors forecasted 
  Group's development obligations                  and actual cash flow, as well as 
  to commercialise the Group's oil                 short and longer-term funding requirements. 
  and gas assets. Since a significant              The Group does not currently have 
  proportion of the future capital                 any loans outstanding, internal 
  requirements of the Group is expected            financial projections are regularly 
  to be derived from operational                   made based on the latest estimates 
  cash generated from production,                  available, and various scenarios 
  including from wells yet to be                   are run to assess the robustness 
  drilled, there is a risk that in                 of the liquidity of the Group. However, 
  the longer term, insufficient operational        as the risk to future capital funding 
  cash is generated, or that additional            is inherent in the oil and gas exploration 
  funding, should the need arise,                  and development industry and reliant 
  cannot be secured.                               in part on future development success, 
                                                   it is difficult for the Group to 
                                                   take any other measures to further 
                                                   mitigate this risk, other than tailoring 
                                                   its development activities to its 
                                                   available capital funding from time 
                                                   to time. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Ensuring appropriate business practices 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The Group operates in Ukraine,                   The Group maintains anti-bribery 
  an emerging market, where certain                and corruption policies in relation 
  inappropriate business practices                 to all aspects of its business, 
  may, from time to time occur, such               and ensures that clear authority 
  as corrupt business practices,                   levels and robust approval processes 
  bribery, appropriation of property               are in place, with stringent controls 
  and fraud, all of which can lead                 over cash management and the tendering 
  to financial loss.                               and procurement processes. In addition, 
                                                   office and site protection is maintained 
                                                   to protect the Group's assets. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Hydrocarbon price risk 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The Group derives its revenue principally        The Group sells a proportion of 
  from the sale of its Ukrainian                   its hydrocarbon production through 
  gas, condensate and LPG production.              long-term offtake arrangements, 
  These revenues are subject to commodity          which include pricing formulae so 
  price volatility and political                   as to ensure that it achieves market 
  influence. A prolonged period of                 prices for its products, as well 
  low gas, condensate and LPG prices               utilising the electronic market 
  may impact the Group's ability                   platforms in Ukraine to achieve 
  to maintain its long-term investment             market prices for its remaining 
  programme with a consequent effect               products. However, hydrocarbon prices 
  on growth rate, which in turn may                in Ukraine are implicitly linked 
  impact the share price or any shareholder        to world hydrocarbon prices and 
  returns. Lower gas, condensate                   so the Group is subject to external 
  and LPG prices may not only decrease             price trends. 
  the Group's revenues per unit, 
  but may also reduce the amount 
  of gas, condensate and LPG which 
  the Group can produce economically, 
  as would increases in costs associated 
  with hydrocarbon production, such 
  as subsoil taxes and royalties. 
  The overall economics of the Group's 
  key assets (being the net present 
  value of the future cash flows 
  from its Ukrainian projects) are 
  far more sensitive to long term 
  gas, condensate and LPG prices 
  than short-term price volatility. 
  However, short-term volatility 
  does affect liquidity risk, as, 
  in the early stage of the projects, 
  income from production revenues 
  is offset by capital investment. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Currency risk 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Since the beginning of 2014 , the                The Group's sales proceeds are received 
  Ukrainian Hryvnia significantly                  in Ukrainian Hryvnia, and the majority 
  devalued against major world currencies,         of the capital expenditure costs 
  including the US Dollar, where                   for the current investment programme 
  it has fallen from UAH8.3/$1.00                  will be incurred in Ukrainian Hryvnia, 
  on 1 January 2014 to UAH26.7/$1.00               thus the currency of revenue and 
  on 30 June 2020 This devaluation                 costs are largely matched. In light 
  has been a significant contributor               of the previous devaluation and 
  to the imposition of the banking                 volatility of the Ukrainian Hryvnia 
  restrictions by the National Bank                against major world currencies, 
  of Ukraine over recent years. In                 and since the Ukrainian Hryvnia 
  addition, the geopolitical events                does not benefit from the range 
  in Ukraine over recent years, are                of currency hedging instruments 
  likely to continue to impact the                 which are available in more developed 
  valuation of the Ukrainian Hryvnia               economies, the Group has adopted 
  against major world currencies.                  a policy that, where possible, funds 
  Further devaluation, and volutility,             not required for use in Ukraine 
  of the Ukrainian Hryvnia against                 be retained on deposit in the United 
  the US Dollar will affect the carrying           Kingdom and Europe, principally 
  value of the Group's assets.                     in US Dollars. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Counterparty and credit risk 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The challenging political and economic           The Group monitors the financial 
  environment in Ukraine means that                position and credit quality of its 
  businesses can be subject to significant         contractual counterparties and seeks 
  financial strain, which can mean                 to manage the risk associated with 
  that the Group is exposed to increased           counterparties by contracting with 
  counterparty risk if counterparties              creditworthy contractors and customers. 
  fail or default in their contractual             Hydrocarbon production is sold on 
  obligations to the Group, including              terms that limit supply credit and/or 
  in relation to the sale of its                   title transfer until payment is 
  hydrocarbon production, resulting                received . 
  in financial loss to the Group. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Financial markets and economic 
  outlook 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The performance of the Group is                  The Group's sales proceeds are received 
  influenced by global economic conditions         in Ukrainian Hryvnia and a significant 
  and, in particular, the conditions               proportion of investment expenditure 
  prevailing in the United Kingdom                 is made in Ukrainian Hryvnia, which 
  and Ukraine. The economies in these              minimises risks related to foreign 
  regions have been subject to volatile            exchange volatility. However, hydrocarbon 
  pressures in recent periods, with                prices in Ukraine are implicitly 
  the global economy having experienced            linked to world hydrocarbon prices 
  a long period of difficulties,                   and so the Group is subject to external 
  and more particularly the events                 price movements. The Group holds 
  that have occurred in Ukraine over               a significant proportion of its 
  recent years. This has led to extreme            cash reserves in the United Kingdom 
  foreign exchange movements in the                and Europe, mostly in US Dollars, 
  Ukrainian Hryvnia , high inflation               with reputable financial institutions. 
  and interest rates, and increased                The financial status of counterparties 
  credit risk relating to the Group's              is carefully monitored to manage 
  key counterparties.                              counterparty risks. Nevertheless, 
                                                   the risks that the Group faces as 
                                                   a result of these risks cannot be 
                                                   predicted and many of these are 
                                                   outside of the Group's control. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Corporate risks 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Ukraine production licences 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The Group operates in a region                   The Group ensures compliance with 
  where the right to production can                commitments and regulations relating 
  be challenged by State and non-State             to its production licences through 
  parties. In 2010, this manifested                Group procedures and controls or, 
  itself in the form of a Ministry                 where this is not immediately feasible 
  Order instructing the Group to                   for practical or logistical considerations, 
  suspend all operations and production            seeks to enter into dialogue with 
  from its MEX-GOL and SV production               the relevant Government bodies with 
  licences, which was not resolved                 a view to agreeing a reasonable 
  until mid-2011. In 2013, new rules               time frame for achieving compliance 
  relating to the updating of production           or an alternative, mutually agreeable 
  licences led to further challenges               course of action. Work programmes 
  being raised by the Ukrainian authorities        are designed to ensure that all 
  to the production licences held                  licence obligations are met and 
  by independent oil and gas producers             continual interaction with Government 
  in Ukraine, including the Group,                 bodies is maintained in relation 
  which may result in requirements                 to licence obligations and commitments. 
  for remediation work, financial 
  penalties and/or the suspension 
  of such licences, which, in turn, 
  may adversely affect the Group's 
  operations and financial position. 
  In March 2019, a Ministry Order 
  was issued instructing the Group 
  to suspend all operations and production 
  from its VAS production licence. 
  The Group is challenging this Order 
  through legal proceedings, during 
  which production from the licence 
  is continuing, but this matter 
  remains unresolved. All such challenges 
  affecting the Group have thus far 
  been successfully defended through 
  the Ukrainian legal system. However, 
  the business environment is such 
  that these types of challenges 
  may arise at any time in relation 
  to the Group's operations, licence 
  history, compliance with licence 
  commitments and/or local regulations. 
  In addition, these licences carry 
  ongoing compliance obligations, 
  which if not met, may lead to the 
  loss of a licence. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Extension of MEX-GOL and SV licences 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The Group's production licences                  The Group monitors legislation in 
  for the MEX-GOL and SV fields currently          Ukraine which is likely to affect 
  expire in 2024. However, in the                  its licences and the obligations 
  estimation of its reserves, it                   associated therewith, and ensures 
  is assumed that licence extensions               that its licence compliance obligations 
  will be granted in accordance with               are monitored and maintained as 
  current Ukrainian legislation and                such compliance is a likely to be 
  that consequently the fields' development        a factor in the extension of the 
  will continue until the end of                   licences in 2024. 
  the fields' economic life in 2038 
  for the MEX-GOL field and 2042 
  for the SV field. Despite such 
  legislation, it is possible that 
  licence extensions will not be 
  granted, which would affect the 
  achievement of full economic field 
  development and consequently the 
  carrying value of the Group's MEX-GOL 
  and SV asset in the future . 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 Risks relating to key personnel 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 The Group's success depends upon                 The Group periodically reviews the 
  skilled management as well as technical          compensation and contractual terms 
  expertise and administrative staff.              of its staff. In addition, the Group 
  The loss of service of critical                  has developed relationships with 
  members from the Group's team could              a number of technical and other 
  have an adverse effect on the business.          professional experts and advisers, 
                                                   who are used to provided specialist 
                                                   services as required. 
                                                 ----------------------------------------------- 
 
 
 Directors Responsibility Statement 
 
 The Directors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:- 
 
 a)    the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements have 
        been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted by the European Union; 
        and 
 
 b)    these unaudited interim results include: 
 
       (i)      a fair review of the information required (i.e. an indication 
                 of important events and their impact and a description of 
                 the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining 
                 six months of the financial year); and 
 
       (ii)     a fair review of the information required on related party 
                 transactions. 
 
 A list of current Directors is maintained on the Group's website, www.enwell-energy.com. 
 

Condensed Interim Consolidated Income Statement

 
                                                                6 months 
                                            6 months ended         ended 
                                                 30 Jun 20     30 Jun 19 
                                               (unaudited)   (unaudited) 
                                     Note             $000          $000 
 
 Revenue                                3           24,708        31,273 
 Cost of sales                          4         (17,203)      (17,347) 
----------------------------------  -----  ---------------  ------------ 
 Gross profit                                        7,505        13,926 
 Administrative expenses                           (3,852)       (2,857) 
 Other operating income, (net)          5            1,500         2,619 
 Operating profit                                    5,153        13,688 
 Net impairment (losses)/gains on 
  financial assets                                    (29)            11 
 Loss on disposal of subsidiary                          -         (115) 
 Other expenses, (net)                  6          (1,925)         (625) 
 Finance income                                          -           516 
 Finance costs                                       (604)         (220) 
 Profit before taxation                               2595        13,255 
 Income tax expense                     7          (1,366)       (3,368) 
----------------------------------  -----  ---------------  ------------ 
 Profit for the period                               1,229         9,887 
----------------------------------  -----  ---------------  ------------ 
 
   Earnings per share (cents) 
 Basic and diluted                      8             0.4c          3.1c 
----------------------------------  -----  ---------------  ------------ 
 

The Notes set out below are an integral part of these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements.

Condensed Interim Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

 
                                                6 months ended      6 months 
                                                                       ended 
                                                     30 Jun 20     30 Jun 19 
                                                   (unaudited)   (unaudited) 
                                                          $000          $000 
 
 Profit for the period                                   1,229         9,887 
 
 Other comprehensive income: 
 Items that may be subsequently reclassified 
  to profit or loss: 
 Equity - foreign currency translation                (10,841)         4,919 
 Total other comprehensive income                     (10,841)         4,919 
 Total comprehensive (loss)/income for 
  the period                                           (9,612)        14,806 
---------------------------------------------  ---------------  ------------ 
 

The Notes set out below are an integral part of these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements.

Condensed Interim Consolidated Balance Sheet

 
                                           30 Jun 20   31 Dec 19 
                                         (unaudited)   (audited) 
                                  Note          $000        $000 
 
 Assets 
 Non-current assets 
 Property, plant and equipment     9          64,254      70,052 
 Intangible assets                 10         12,680       5,197 
 Right-of-use assets                             677         940 
 Prepayment for shares             11            500         500 
 Corporation tax receivable                       29          10 
 Deferred tax asset                7              25           - 
                                              78,165      76,699 
 
 Current assets 
 Inventories                                   1,939       4,813 
 Trade and other receivables       11         10,199      10,937 
 Cash and cash equivalents         14         54,228      62,474 
-------------------------------  -----  ------------  ---------- 
                                              66,366      78,224 
 Total assets                                144,531     154,923 
-------------------------------  -----  ------------  ---------- 
 
 Liabilities 
 Current liabilities 
 Trade and other payables                    (4,922)     (3,968) 
 Lease liabilities                             (389)       (454) 
 Corporation tax payable                       (450)     (2,221) 
-------------------------------  -----  ------------  ---------- 
                                             (5,761)     (6,643) 
-------------------------------  -----  ------------  ---------- 
 Net current assets                           60,605      71,581 
-------------------------------  -----  ------------  ---------- 
 
 Non-current liabilities 
 Provision for decommissioning     12        (5,849)     (7,447) 
 Lease liabilities                             (375)       (515) 
 Defined benefit liability                     (418)       (480) 
 Deferred tax liability            7         (2,196)     (2,288) 
 Other non-current liabilities     13        (1,994)           - 
                                            (10,832)    (10,730) 
 
 Total liabilities                          (16,593)    (17,373) 
-------------------------------  -----  ------------  ---------- 
 
 Net assets                                  127,938     137,550 
-------------------------------  -----  ------------  ---------- 
 
 Equity 
 Called up share capital                      28,115      28,115 
 Share premium account                       555,090     555,090 
 Foreign exchange reserve                  (101,013)    (90,172) 
 Other reserves                                4,273       4,273 
 Accumulated losses                        (358,527)   (359,756) 
-------------------------------  -----  ------------  ---------- 
 Total equity                                127,938     137,550 
-------------------------------  -----  ------------  ---------- 
 

The Notes set out below are an integral part of these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements.

Condensed Interim Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

 
                                 Called        Share     Merger         Capital     Foreign 
                               up share      premium    reserve   contributions    exchange   Accumulated      Total 
                                capital      account                    reserve    reserve*        losses     equity 
                                   $000         $000       $000            $000        $000          $000       $000 
 
 As at 1 January 2020 
  (audited)                      28,115      555,090    (3,204)           7,477    (90,172)     (359,756)    137,550 
 Profit for the period                -            -          -               -           -         1,229      1,229 
 Other comprehensive 
 income 
  - exchange differences              -            -          -               -    (10,841)             -   (10,841) 
--------------------------  -----------  -----------  ---------  --------------  ----------  ------------  --------- 
 Total comprehensive loss             -            -          -               -    (10,841)         1,229    (9,612) 
--------------------------  -----------  -----------  ---------  --------------  ----------  ------------  --------- 
 As at 30 June 2020 
  (unaudited)                    28,115      555,090    (3,204)           7,477   (101,013)     (358,527)    127,938 
--------------------------  -----------  -----------  ---------  --------------  ----------  ------------  --------- 
 
                                 Called        Share     Merger         Capital     Foreign   Accumulated      Total 
                               up share      premium    reserve   contributions    exchange        losses     equity 
                                capital      account                    reserve    reserve* 
                                   $000         $000       $000            $000        $000          $000       $000 
 
 As at 1 January 2019 
  (audited)                      28,115      555,090    (3,204)           7,477   (102,261)     (372,120)    113,097 
 Profit for the period                -            -          -               -           -         9,887      9,887 
 Other comprehensive 
 income 
  - exchange differences              -            -          -               -       4,919             -      4,919 
--------------------------  -----------  -----------  ---------  --------------  ----------  ------------  --------- 
 Total comprehensive 
  income                              -            -          -               -       4,919         9,887     14,806 
--------------------------  -----------  -----------  ---------  --------------  ----------  ------------  --------- 
 As at 30 June 2019 
  (unaudited)                    28,115      555,090    (3,204)           7,477    (97,342)     (362,233)    127,903 
--------------------------  -----------  -----------  ---------  --------------  ----------  ------------  --------- 
 
 

* Predominantly as result of exchange differences on retranslation, where the subsidiaries ' functional currency is not US Dollar

The Notes set out below are an integral part of these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements.

Condensed Interim Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

 
                                                         6 months      6 months 
                                                            ended         ended 
                                                        30 Jun 20     30 Jun 19 
                                                      (unaudited)   (unaudited) 
                                               Note          $000          $000 
 
 Operating activities 
 Cash generated from operations                  15        11,036        17,596 
 Charitable donations                             6       (2,057)             - 
 Equipment rental income                                       17            15 
 Income tax paid                                          (2,856)       (2,811) 
 Interest received                                          1,066         2,636 
--------------------------------------------  -----  ------------  ------------ 
 Net cash inflow from operating activities                  7,206        17,436 
--------------------------------------------  -----  ------------  ------------ 
 
 Investing activities 
 Disposal of subsidiary                                         -           (7) 
 Purchase of property, plant and equipment                (8,096)       (4,105) 
 Purchase of intangible assets                            (4,428)          (19) 
 Proceeds from sale of property, plant 
  and equipment                                                 1            16 
 Net cash outflow from investing activities              (12,523)       (4,115) 
--------------------------------------------  -----  ------------  ------------ 
 
 Financing activities 
 Principal elements of lease payments                       (282)         (197) 
 Net cash outflow from financing activities                 (282)         (197) 
 
 Net increase in cash and cash equivalents                (5,599)        13,124 
 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning 
  of the period                                  14        62,474        53,222 
 ECL* of cash and cash equivalents                            (6)          (31) 
 Effect of foreign exchange rate changes                  (2,641)         1,494 
 Cash and cash equivalents at end of 
  the period                                     14        54,228        67,809 
--------------------------------------------  -----  ------------  ------------ 
 

* Expected credit losses

The Notes set out below are an integral part of these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements.

Notes to the U naudited Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial Statements

1. General Information and Operational Environment

Enwell Energy plc (formerly Regal Petroleum plc) (the "Company") and its subsidiaries (together the "Group") is a gas, condensate and LPG production group.

Enwell Energy plc is a company quoted on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and incorporated in England and Wales under the Companies Act 2006. The Company's registered office is at 16 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, United Kingdom and its registered number is 4462555.

As at 30 June 2020, the Company's immediate parent company was Pelidona Services Limited, which is 100% owned by Lovitia Investments Limited, which is 100% owned by Mr Vadym Novynskyi. Accordingly, the Company is ultimately controlled by Mr Vadym Novynskyi.

The Group's gas, condensate and LPG extraction and production facilities are located in Ukraine. The ongoing political and economic instability in Ukraine, which commenced in late 2013, has led to a deterioration of Ukrainian State finances, volatility of financial markets, illiquidity in capital markets, higher inflation and a depreciation of the national currency against major foreign currencies, although there have been some gradual improvements lately.

In recent years, the Ukrainian economy demonstrated growth amid overall macroeconomics stabilisation supported by structural reforms, a rise in domestic investment, revival in household consumption, increase in industrial production, construction activity and improved environment on external markets.

Starting from the first quarter of 2020, the Ukrainian economy has been contracting following a decrease in industrial output and the COVID-19 outbreak, which started in March 2020. The National Bank of Ukraine ("NBU") follows an interest rate policy consistent with inflation targets and keeps the Ukrainian Hryvnia floating. The annualised inflation rate in Ukraine slowed to 2.0% in the first half of 2020 (compared with 3.6% in the first half of 2019 and 4.1% over the 2019 year), which allowed the NBU to continue key policy rate cuts after a lengthy period of rate increases - from 18.0% effective 7 September 2018 to 6.0% effective 12 June 2020, which is historically the lowest ever rate in Ukraine. At the same time, the NBU has madke appropriate market interventions in order to contain abnormal fluctuations of the exchange rate.

As at the date of this report, the official NBU exchange rate of the Ukrainian Hryvnia against the US Dollar was UAH28.06/$1.00, compared with UAH26.69/$1.00 as at 30 June 2020 and UAH23.69/$1.00 as at 31 December 2019. In 2019, the NBU cancelled some of the currency control restrictions, such as the required share of foreign currency proceeds subject to mandatory sale and the amount of dividend payments allowed to non-residents, which were implemented in 2014 - 2015.

In order to manage external debt repayments and secure access to external financing, Ukraine continues cooperation with international financial institutions, which are major creditors of its economy. In June 2020, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund approved a new 18-month Stand-by Arrangement ("SBA") for Ukraine with the total access of approximately $5 billion. The approval of the SBA enabled the immediate disbursement of approximately $2.1 billion, with the remainder being phased over four reviews. In July 2020, Ukraine and the European Union signed an agreement granting Ukraine EUR1.2 billion in macro-financial assistance funds. Ukraine has remained active on international debt capital markets to manage external debt maturity profile.

Further details of risks relating to Ukraine can be found within the Principal Risks and Uncertainties section earlier in this announcement.

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group is re-visiting processes and controls intended to ensure protection of all our stakeholders and minimise any disruption to our business. The Group is closely monitoring the current volatility in global financial markets, and the implications on the operational, economic and social environment within which the Group works caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the recent sharp decline in hydrocarbon prices. As of the date hereof, there has been no operational disruption linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, and no material impact is currently envisaged on the Group's prospects. However, the Board and management remain acutely aware of the risks, and continue to take action to mitigate them where possible, not only protect the Group's staff and stakeholders but to minimise disruption to the Group's business. The Group has taken steps to continually monitor the health of its operational staff, including temperature checks for such staff at the commencement of each shift, as well as investing in technology to enable many staff to work from remote locations. The Group continues to reassess the medium-term forecasts based on current pricing and is confident that it has the resources to continue to deliver on its plans. Of course, it is not possible to forecast the duration of the pandemic's impact but the Group will remain focussed on monitoring and protecting its business through the period of uncertainty, as further explained below in the Going Concern section.

The unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the six month period ended 30 June 2020 have been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34 'Interim Financial Reporting' as adopted by the European Union. The unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements do not include all the notes of the type normally included in annual financial statements. Accordingly, this report should be read in conjunction with the annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019, which have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (hereinafter "IFRSs") as adopted by the European Union.

These unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements do not comprise statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2019 were approved by the Board of Directors on 8 April 2020 and subsequently filed with the Registrar of Companies. The Auditor's Report on those accounts was not qualified and did not contain any statement under section 498 of the Companies Act 2006.

Going Concern

The Group's business activities, together with the factors likely to affect its future operations, performance and position are set out in the Chairman's Statement, Chief Executive Officer's Statement and Finance Review above. The financial position of the Group, its cash flows and liquidity position are set out in these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements .

The Directors have performed a robust assessment, including a review of the budget and forecast for the year ending 31 December 2020 and longer-term strategic forecasts, plans, and models including consideration of the principal risks faced by the Group and taking into account the ongoing impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the macroeconomic situation and any potential impact to operations and plans. In particular, the Directors considered a number of sensitivities on key assumptions which included downside (reverse stress) sensitivities in relation to production rates, gas price, fixed operating and administration costs and foreign exchange rates, which estimated the extent to which the key assumptions would need to be adversely impacted in order to eliminate the forecast headroom. Following this review, the Directors are satisfied that, taking into consideration reasonably possible downside sensitivities, the Group has adequate resources to continue to operate and meet its liabilities as they fall due for the foreseeable future, a period considered to be twelve months from the date of signing these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements . The Directors noted that with cash resources at the end of the period in excess of $54 million, and annual running costs (both operating, and general and administrative) of less than $16 million, the Group remains in a very strong position should any local or global shocks occur to the industry and/or the Group. For these reasons, the Directors continue to adopt the Going Concern Basis for preparing the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements .

2. Accounting Judgements and Estimates

The accounting policies and methods of computation and presentation used are consistent with those used in the Group's Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2019, with the exception of the following new or revised standards and interpretations:

New and amended standards adopted by the Group

A number of new or amended standards became applicable for the current reporting period. The following amendments to standard, which is relevant to the Group's condensed consolidated interim financial statement, have been issued:

Definition of a business - Amendments to IFRS 3 (issued on 22 October 2018 and effective for acquisitions from the beginning of annual reporting period that starts on or after 1 January 2020).The amendments revise definition of a business. A business must have inputs and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create outputs. The new guidance provides a framework to evaluate when an input and a substantive process are present, including for early stage companies that have not generated outputs. An organised workforce should be present as a condition for classification as a business if there are no outputs. The definition of the term 'outputs' is narrowed to focus on goods and services provided to customers, generating investment income and other income, and it excludes returns in the form of lower costs and other economic benefits. It is also no longer necessary to assess whether market participants are capable of replacing missing elements or integrating the acquired activities and assets. An entity can apply a 'concentration test'. The assets acquired would not represent a business if substantially all of the fair value of gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single asset (or a group of similar assets).

The Group had to changed its accounting policies as a result of the adoption of amendments to IFRS 3, however this change had no impact on the reporting period.

Amendments to IFRS 7, IFRS 9 and IAS 39 regarding interest rate benchmark reform>> and amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8 regarding definition of material did not have a material impact on this unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements.

Significant accounting judgements and estimates

The preparation of the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

In preparing these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements, the significant judgements made by management in applying the Group's accounting policies and the key sources of estimation uncertainty were consistent with those that applied to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 with certain updates described below.

Significant judgement

Acquisition of LLC Arkona Gas-Energy

The Group gained control over LLC Arkona Gas-Energy ("Arkona") on 24 March 2020. The transaction is treated as an asset acquisition as there were no employees and processes acquired, which could be used to produce outputs. The same treatment is achieved by applying the concentration test under amended IFRS 3 Business Combinations. The test revealed that the fair value acquired, being the Svystunivsko-Chervonolutske licence ("SC Licence"), comprises the vast amount (more than 90%) of the consideration. The SC Licence is classified as the exploration and evaluation intangible asset at the acquisition date. Management believes there are no impairment indicators which exist at the reporting date due to the following:

 
 -   the SC Licence is valid until 18 May 2037; 
 -   further exploration and evaluation plans are included in the 
      Group's Budgets. 
 

However, NJSC Ukrnafta, as claimant, has issued legal proceedings against Arkona, as defendant, in which NJSC Ukrnafta has made claims about the procedure involved in the grant of the SC Licence to Arkona in May 2017 (see announcements dated 3 July and 31 July 2020). NJSC Ukrnafta was the holder of a previous licence over this area which expired prior to the grant of the SC Licence. In early July 2020, the First Instance Court in Ukraine announced a ruling in favour of NJSC Ukrnafta, which found that the grant of the SC Licence was irregular, which would mean the SC Licence is invalid. Arkona disputes these claims and is defending such legal proceedings, and consequently has filed an appeal in the Appellate Administrative Court in Kyiv. The Group considers Arkona has strong grounds for a successful appeal since the subject matter of these legal proceedings, including the validity of the SC Licence, has already been ruled upon by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in similar proceedings in October 2019 involving, inter alia, NJSC Ukrnafta and Arkona, and in which the SC Licence was held to be valid. Pending the outcome of the appeal process, the SC Licence remains valid. The current legal proceedings are not an indicator of impairment of the SC Licence as the risk is assessed to be remote as at 30 June 2020.

Under the terms of the sale and purchase agreement (the "SPA") for Arkona, half of the consideration payable (split into two equal tranches) was deferred and only payable on satisfaction of certain conditions including the favourable resolution of these legal proceedings, as well as certain other conditions, with the further proviso that if the conditions for payment of these deferred tranches are not satisfied, then neither of these tranches shall become payable. In addition, the SPA contains customary warranties and indemnities allowing the Group to seek recovery of consideration paid in the event of a breach of such warranties and indemnities.

The following items comprise Arkona's assets and liabilities at their fair value at the date of acquisition:

 
                                                             $000 
 
 Property, plant and equipment                                 88 
 Trade and other receivables                                   35 
 Trade and other payables                                   (291) 
---------------------------------------------------------  ------ 
 Net assets at the acquisition date                         (168) 
---------------------------------------------------------  ------ 
 Fair value of consideration (1st, 2nd and 3rd tranches)    8,163 
---------------------------------------------------------  ------ 
 Fair value of licence at the acquisition date              8,331 
 

Under the SPA, the total consideration payable is $8,630,000, with payment divided into three tranches. The first tranche of $4,153,000 was paid on 24 March 2020 upon completion of the acquisition of 100% of the issued share capital of Arkona.

The second and third tranches of $2,157,500 respectively are contingent on satisfaction of the certain conditions, including the favourable resolution of the abovementioned legal proceedings brought by NJSC Ukrnafta against Arkona relating to the SC Licence (the "Licence Case"), the absence of any contractual, warranty or indemnity claims, and the delivery of certain documentation by the sellers of Arkona, with proviso that if such conditions are not satisfied, then neither the second tranche nor the third tranche shall become payable.

The second tranche equals the fair value at the date of acquisition and the estimated date of the relevant Court's decision in the Licence Case is assumed to be before 31 December 2020.

The third tranche is payable in twelve months from the date of payment of the second tranche. At the date of acquisition, the fair value of the third tranche amounts to the discounted value at the effective interest rate, being the Company's effective borrowing rate of 9%. The Group recognised $306,000 of discounting effect calculated against the value of the acquired assets.

The total consideration comprising the three tranches estimated at the date of acquisition amounts to $8,163,000. The outstanding balance as at 30 June 2020, consists of the non-current portion of the liability of $1,852,000 (see Note 13) and the current portion of $2,158,000 reflected in trade and other payables. Provided the date of payment of the second tranche occurs 6 months later than the abovementioned date (31 December 2020), the additional discounting effect will amount to $301,000.

The second and third tranches are contingent on the outcome of the Licence Case and thus constitute a contingent consideration. Management made an accounting policy choice to use the cost accumulation approach to account for the contingent consideration based on the estimated payment amount at the acquisition date. Subsequent to the acquisition date, the liability is not remeasured until the change becomes at least highly probable. Any further remeasurement of the liability would be recognised in the Income Statement to the extent of unwinding of the discount and would adjust the carrying value of the acquired asset or the remeasurement of expected payment amount. The payment would not be probable if the Licence Case is expected to be lost, in which case the full amount of the SC Licence is likely to be impaired.

At the acquisition date and as at 30 June 2020, Management assumes that all three tranches will be payable as there are sufficient legal grounds for challenging and successfully appealing the First Instance Court Decision in the Licence Case (see Note 16).

Estimates

Recoverability of Development and Production Assets in Ukraine

According to the Group's accounting policies, costs capitalised as assets are assessed for impairment at each balance sheet date if impairment indicators exist. In assessing whether an impairment loss has occurred, the carrying value of the asset or cash-generating unit ("CGU") is compared to its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the greater of fair value less costs to dispose and value in use and is determined for an individual asset, unless the asset does not generate cash inflows that are largely independent of those from other assets or groups of assets. If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount and the respective impairment loss is recognised as an expense immediately. A previously recognised impairment loss is reversed only if there has been a change in the estimates used to determine the asset's recoverable amount since the last impairment loss was recognised. If that is the case, the carrying amount of the asset is increased to its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined, net of depreciation, had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset in prior years. Such reversals are recognised as income immediately.

MEX-GOL, SV and VAS gas and condensate fields

The impairment assessment carried out at 30 June 2020 has not resulted in an impairment loss. Further details of this assessment, including the sensitivity to the above assumptions, are set out in Note 7.

Depreciation of Development and Production Assets

Development and production assets held in property, plant and equipment are depreciated on a unit of production basis at a rate calculated by reference to proven and probable reserves at the end of the period plus the production in the period, and incorporating the estimated future cost of developing and extracting those reserves. Future development costs are estimated using assumptions about the number of wells required to produce those reserves, the cost of the wells, future production facilities and operating costs, together with assumptions on oil and gas realisations, and are revised annually. The reserves estimates used are determined using estimates of gas in place, recovery factors, future hydrocarbon prices and also take into consideration the Group's latest development plan for the associated development and production asset. Additionally, the latest development plan and therefore the inputs used to determine the depreciation charge, assume that the current licences for the MEX-GOL and SV fields, which are due to expire in July 2024, can be extended until the end of the economic life of the fields , which is assessed to be 2038 and 2042 respectively, based on the assessment contained in the DeGolyer & MacNaughton reserves report for these fields.

Provision for Decommissioning

The Group has decommissioning obligations in respect of its Ukrainian assets. The full extent to which the provision is required depends on the legal requirements at the time of decommissioning, the costs and timing of any decommissioning works and the discount rate applied to such costs.

A detailed assessment of gross decommissioning cost was undertaken on a well-by-well basis using local data on day rates and equipment costs. The discount rate applied on the decommissioning cost provision at 30 June 2020 was 4.67% (31 December 2019: 3.68%). The discount rate is calculated in real terms based on the yield to maturity of Ukrainian Government bonds denominated in the currency in which the liability is expected to be settled and with the settlement date that approximates the timing of settlement of decommissioning obligations.

The change in estimate applied to calculate the provision as at 30 June 2020 resulted from the revision of the estimated costs of decommissioning (increase of $75,000 in provision) and the increase in the discount rate applied (decrease of $978,000 in provision). The increase in discount rate at 30 June 2020 resulted from the increase in Ukrainian Eurobonds yield and the respective increase of country risk premium. The costs are expected to be incurred by 2038 on the MEX-GOL field, by 2042 on the SV field, and by 2028 on the VAS field, which is the end of the estimated economic life of the respective fields. If the costs on the MEX-GOL and SV fields were to be incurred at the current expiry of the production licences in 2024, the provision for decommissioning at 30 June 2020 would be $10,128,000 (31 December 2019: $11,564,000).

Recognition of Deferred Tax Asset

The recognition of deferred tax assets is based upon whether it is more likely than not that sufficient and suitable taxable profits will be available in the future against which the reversal of temporary differences can be deducted. This requires judgement for forecasting future profits. Further details of the deferred tax assets recognised can be found in Note 7.

3. Segmental Information

In line with the Group's internal reporting framework and management structure, the key strategic and operating decisions are made by the Board of Directors, who review internal monthly management reports, budgets and forecast information as part of this process. Accordingly, the Board of Directors is deemed to be the Chief Operating Decision Maker within the Group.

The Group's only class of business activity is oil and gas exploration, development and production. The Group's operations are located in Ukraine, with its head office in the United Kingdom. These geographical regions are the basis on which the Group reports its segment information. The segment results as presented represent operating profit before depreciation and amortisation.

6 months ended 30 June 2020 (unaudited)

 
                                              United 
                                  Ukraine    Kingdom     Total 
                                     $000       $000      $000 
 
 Revenue 
 Gas sales                         17,974          -    17,974 
 Condensate sales                   5,232          -     5,232 
 Liquefied Petroleum Gas sales      1,502          -     1,502 
-------------------------------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 Total revenue                     24,708          -    24,708 
 
 Segment result                    11,109        827    11,936 
 Depreciation and amortisation    (6,783)          -   (6,783) 
 Operating profit                                        5,153 
-------------------------------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 
 Segment assets                   106,494     38,037   144,531 
 
 Capital additions*                17,102          -    17,102 
 

6 months ended 30 June 2019 (unaudited)

 
                                              United 
                                  Ukraine    Kingdom     Total 
                                     $000       $000      $000 
 
 Revenue 
 Gas sales                         23,347          -    23,347 
 Condensate sales                   6,127          -     6,127 
 Liquefied Petroleum Gas sales      1,799          -     1,799 
-------------------------------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 Total revenue                     31,273          -    31,273 
 
 Segment result                    19,723    (1,107)    18,616 
 Depreciation and amortisation    (4,928)          -   (4,928) 
-------------------------------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 Operating profit                                       13,688 
-------------------------------  --------  ---------  -------- 
 
 Segment assets                   114,564     24,203   138,767 
 
 Capital additions*                 6,722          -     6,722 
 

*Comprises additions to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (Notes 7 and 8).

There are no inter-segment sales within the Group and all products are sold in the geographical region in which they are produced. The Group is not significantly impacted by seasonality.

4. Cost of Sales

 
                                                     6 months      6 months 
                                                        ended         ended 
                                                    30 Jun 20     30 Jun 19 
                                                  (unaudited)   (unaudited) 
                                                         $000          $000 
 
 Production taxes                                       4,875         6,660 
 Depreciation of property, plant and equipment          6,176         4,297 
 Rent expenses                                          2,121         3,256 
 Staff costs                                            1,837         1,161 
 Cost of inventories recognised as an expense             624           688 
 Transmission tariff for Ukrainian gas system             421           336 
 Amortisation of mineral reserves                         253           244 
 Other expenses                                           896           705 
                                                       17,203        17,347 
 

5. Other operating income/(expenses), (net)

 
                                                    6 months      6 months 
                                                       ended         ended 
                                                   30 Jun 20     30 Jun 19 
                                                 (unaudited)   (unaudited) 
                                                        $000          $000 
 
 Interest income on cash and cash equivalents          1,023         2,792 
 Reversal of accruals                                    263            48 
 Contractor penalties applied                             15            15 
 Other operating income/(losses), net                    199         (236) 
                                                       1,500         2,619 
 

6. Other income/(expenses), (net)

 
                                        6 months ended      6 months 
                                             30 Jun 20         ended 
                                                           30 Jun 19 
                                           (unaudited)   (unaudited) 
                                                  $000          $000 
 
 Charitable donations                          (2,057)          (51) 
 Net foreign exchange gains/(losses)               194         (443) 
 Other income/(expenses), (net)                   (62)         (131) 
                                               (1,925)         (625) 
 

Charitable donations for the 6 month period ended 30 June 2020 comprise the supply of medical equipment and COVID-19 tests to Ukrainian authorities and charitable foundations. Charitable donations are disclosed in line with the accounting policy of the Group as other expenses.

7. Taxation

The income tax charge of $1,366,000 for the six month period ended 30 June 2020 relates to a urrent tax charge of $1,356,000 and a deferred tax charge of $10,000 (1H 2019: current tax charge of $1,684,000 and deferred tax charge of $1,684,000).

The movement in the period was as follows:

 
                                                6 months ended      6 months 
                                                                       ended 
                                                     30 Jun 20     30 Jun 19 
                                                   (unaudited)   (unaudited) 
                                                          $000          $000 
 Deferred tax asset recognised on tax losses 
 At beginning of the period                                  -         2,134 
 Charged to Income Statement - current 
  year                                                       -       (2,134) 
 At end of the period                                        -             - 
---------------------------------------------  ---------------  ------------ 
 
 
 Deferred tax (liability)/asset recognised 
  relating to development and production 
  assets at MEX-GOL-SV fields and provision 
  for decommissioning 
 At beginning of the period                    (2,141)   1,149 
 (Charged)/credited to Income Statement 
  - current period                               (170)     209 
 Effect of exchange difference                     115       6 
-------------------------------------------- 
 At end of the period                          (2,196)   1,364 
--------------------------------------------  --------  ------ 
 
 
 Deferred tax asset/( liability ) recognised 
  relating to development and production 
  assets at VAS field and provision for 
  decommissioning 
 At beginning of the period                     (147)   (504) 
 Credited to Income Statement - current 
  period                                          160     241 
 Effect of exchange difference                     12    (21) 
--------------------------------------------- 
 At end of the period                              25   (284) 
---------------------------------------------  ------  ------ 
 

Taxes on income in the interim periods are accrued using the tax rate that would be applicable to the expected total annual profit or loss.

The deferred tax asset relating to the Group's provision for decommissioning at 30 June 2020 of $190,000 (31 December 2019: $326,000) was recognised on the tax effect of the temporary differences of the Group's provision for decommissioning at the MEX-GOL and SV fields, and its tax base. The deferred tax liability relating to the Group's development and production assets at the MEX-GOL and SV fields at 30 June 2020 of $2,386,000 (31 December 2019: $2,467,000) was recognised on the tax effect of the temporary differences between the carrying value of the Group's development and production asset at the MEX-GOL and SV fields, and its tax base.

The deferred tax asset relating to the Group's provision for decommissioning at 30 June 2020 of $280,000 (31 December 2019: $329,000) was recognised on the tax effect of the temporary differences on the Group's provision on decommissioning at the VAS field, and its tax base. The deferred tax liability relating to the Group's development and production assets at the VAS field at 30 June 2020 of $255,000 (31 December 2019: $476,000) was recognised on the tax effect of the temporary differences between the carrying value of the Group's development and production asset at the VAS field, and its tax base.

UK Corporation tax change

In the Spring Budget 2020, the UK Government announced that from 1 April 2020 the corporation tax rate would remain at 19% (rather than reducing to 17% as previously enacted) and the effect of these change is included in these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements.

Double tax treaty

On 30 October 2019, the Parliament of Ukraine ratified a new Protocol amending the Double Tax Treaties between Ukraine and the United Kingdom. This Protocol increased withholding tax rates from 0% to 5% with effect from 1 January 2020. The Group accounts for and pays withholding tax on current amounts of interests at the moment the interest is paid.

8. Earnings per Share

The calculation of basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share has been based on the profit for the six month period ended 30 June 2020 and 30 June 2019 and 320,637,836 ordinary shares, being the average number of shares in issue for the period. There are no dilutive instruments.

9. Property, Plant and Equipment

 
                               6 months ended 30 Jun 20                         6 months ended 30 Jun 19 
                                      (unaudited)                                      (unaudited) 
                   -----------------------------------------------  ------------------------------------------------ 
                        Oil and       Oil and     Other      Total        Oil and        Oil and    Other      Total 
                            gas           gas     fixed                       gas            gas    fixed 
                    development   exploration    assets               development    exploration    assets 
                            and           and                                 and            and 
                     production    evaluation                          production     evaluation 
                         assets        assets                              assets         assets 
                        Ukraine                                           Ukraine 
                           $000          $000      $000       $000           $000           $000      $000      $000 
 Cost 
 At beginning of 
  the 
  period                143,127         2,571     2,103    147,801        104,809          1,259     1,293   107,361 
 Additions                8,199           172       386      8,757          5,791            796        68     6,655 
 Change in 
  decommissioning 
  provision               (903)             -         -      (903)          1,058              -         -     1,058 
 Disposals                (117)             -         -      (117)           (51)              -         -      (51) 
 Exchange 
  differences         (16, 216)         (279)     (377)   (16,872)          6,292            117        45     6,454 
-----------------  ------------  ------------  --------  ---------  -------------  -------------  --------  -------- 
 At end of the 
  period                134,090         2,464     2,112   138, 666        117,899          2,172     1,406   121,477 
 
 Accumulated 
 depreciation 
 and impairment 
 At beginning of 
  the 
  period                 76,802             -       947     77,749         56,567              -       602    57,169 
 Charge for the 
  period                  5,268             -       201      5,469          4,388              -       103     4,491 
 Disposals                 (31)             -       (2)       (33)           (17)              -       (4)      (21) 
 Exchange 
  differences           (8,590)             -     (183)    (8,773)          3,409              -        39     3,448 
-----------------  ------------  ------------  --------  ---------  -------------  -------------  --------  -------- 
 At end of the 
  period                 73,449             -       963     74,412         64,347              -       740    65,087 
-----------------  ------------  ------------  --------  ---------  -------------  -------------  --------  -------- 
 Net book value 
  at 
  the beginning 
  of 
  the period             66,325         2,571     1,156     70,052         48,242          1,259       691    50,192 
-----------------  ------------  ------------  --------  ---------  -------------  -------------  --------  -------- 
 Net book value 
  at 
  end of the 
  period                 60,641         2,464     1,149    64, 254         53,552          2,172       666    56,390 
-----------------  ------------  ------------  --------  ---------  -------------  -------------  --------  -------- 
 

In accordance with the Group's accounting policies, oil and gas development and production assets are tested for impairment at each balance sheet date. The Group determines the recoverable amount of its oil and gas development and production assets based on a Fair Value Less Costs of Disposal ("FVLCD") approach using a discounted cash flow methodology, where the cash flows are derived based on estimates that a typical market participant would use in valuing such assets.

The impairment assessment carried out at 30 June 2020 has not resulted in an impairment loss.

The key assumptions on which the Group has based its determination of FVLCD for its oil and gas development and production assets and to which these CGU's recoverable amounts are most sensitive are described below:

 
 (i)      Commodity prices - the model assumes gas prices of $129/Mm(3) 
           (UAH3.443/Mm(3) ) in 2020 increasing to $279/Mm(3) (UAH7,448/Mm(3) 
           ) during 2021 - 2042 for the MEX-GOL and SV gas and condensate 
           fields and to $259/Mm(3) (UAH6,909Mm(3) ) during 2021 - 2028 
           for the VAS gas and condensate field. The prices were estimated 
           based on the price of recent Group transactions, Central European 
           hub futures and the forecast of natural gas price dynamics 
           for Europe published by the World Bank. 
 (ii)     Discount rate - reflects the current market assessment of 
           the time value of money and risks specific to the assets. 
           The discount rate has been determined as the post-tax weighted 
           average cost of capital based on observable inputs and inputs 
           from third party financial analysts. For 2020 and onwards, 
           the discount rate applied is 11.7% (11.3% during previous 
           measurement of the recoverable amount as at 31 December 2019). 
           The discount rate and future cash flows are determined in 
           real terms, i.e. they do not take into account the impact 
           of the estimated commodity price index during the period of 
           projection. 
 (iii)    Production levels and Reserves, MEX-GOL and SV fields - production 
           levels at the MEX-GOL and SV fields are derived from the estimate 
           of remaining proven plus probable reserves of 50.0 MMboe assessed 
           in the report prepared by DeGolyer & MacNaughton as at 31 
           December 2017. This report includes estimated production volumes, 
           including from new wells, over the remaining economic life 
           of the MEX-GOL and SV fields. The estimated production is 
           based on the Group's revised field development plan, which 
           includes the drilling of 24 new wells. Estimating oil and 
           gas reserves is a complex process requiring the knowledge 
           and experience of reservoir engineers. The quality of the 
           estimate of proved plus probable reserves depends on the availability, 
           completeness, and accuracy of data needed to develop the estimate, 
           including production history available, and on the experience 
           and judgement of the reservoir engineer. Estimates of proved 
           plus probable reserves inevitably change over time as additional 
           data become available and are taken into account. The magnitude 
           of changes in these estimates can be substantial. 
 (iv)     Production levels and Reserves, VAS field - production levels 
           at the VAS field are derived from the estimate of remaining 
           proven plus probable reserves of 3.1 MMboe assessed in the 
           report prepared by DeGolyer & MacNaughton as at 31 December 
           2018. The estimated production is based on the Group's revised 
           field development plan, which includes the drilling of three 
           new wells. The quality of the estimate of proved plus probable 
           reserves depends on the availability, completeness, and accuracy 
           of data needed to develop the estimate, including production 
           history available, and on the experience and judgement of 
           the reservoir engineer. Estimates of proved plus probable 
           reserves inevitably change over time as additional data become 
           available and are taken into account. The magnitude of changes 
           in these estimates can be substantial. 
 (v)      Production taxes - for existing wells, the Group assumed 
           production tax rates of 29% for gas and 45% for condensate 
           extracted from deposits up to depths of 5,000 metres and 14% 
           for gas and 21% for condensate extracted from deposits deeper 
           than 5,000 metres. From 1 January 2019, production tax rates 
           for condensate produced from all wells was reduced from 45% 
           to 31% for condensate produced from deposits shallower than 
           5,000 metres and from 21% to 16% for condensate produced from 
           deposits deeper than 5,000 metres. For new wells drilled after 
           1 January 2018, production tax rates were reduced to 12% for 
           gas produced from deposits at depths shallower than 5,000 
           metres and to 6% for gas produced from deposits deeper than 
           5,000 metres, effective for the period 2018 - 2022. 
 (vi)     Capital expenditures, MEX-GOL and SV gas and condensate fields 
           - management assumed that most capital expenditures are to 
           be incurred during 2020 - 2026. A capital expenditure allowance 
           of $746,000 per year is assumed for maintenance of the development 
           and producing assets of the MEX-GOL and SV gas and condensate 
           fields. 
 (vii)    Capital expenditures, VAS gas and condensate fields - management 
           assumed that most capital expenditures are to be incurred 
           during 2020-2023. A capital expenditure allowance of $290,000 
           per year is assumed for maintenance of the development and 
           producing assets of the VAS gas and condensate field. 
 (viii)   Life of field, MEX-GOL and SV fields - the current licences, 
           which are due to expire in 2024, can be extended under applicable 
           legislation in Ukraine until the end of the economic life 
           of the field, which is assessed to be 2038 for the MEX-GOL 
           field and 2042 for the SV field, based on the assessment contained 
           in the DeGolyer & MacNaughton reserves report. No application 
           for such an extension has been made at the date of this report, 
           but the Group considers the assumption to be reasonable based 
           on its intention to seek such extensions in due course and 
           that the Group is legally entitled to request such extensions. 
           However, if the extensions were not granted, it would result 
           in a further reduction of $291,430,000 in the recoverable 
           amount. 
 (ix)     Life of field, VAS field - according to the DeGolyer & MacNaughton 
           reserves report, the economic life of the VAS field is limited 
           to 2028. However, after additional drilling on the VED area 
           of the licence, management plans to undertake a further reserves 
           assessment. 
 

The Group's discounted cash flow model for the VAS field in US Dollars, flexed for sensitivities, produced the following results:

 
                                              Recoverable   Net book         Headroom 
                                                   amount     value*    / (Shortfall) 
                                                     $000       $000             $000 
 ------------------------------------------  ------------  ---------  --------------- 
 30 June 2020                                      14,200     11,400            2,800 
 
   Sensitivities: 
      10% reduction in gas price                   11,350     11,400             (50) 
      10% increase in gas price                    17,100     11,400            5,700 
      Breakeven gas price $117/Mm(3)               11,550     11,400              150 
      Breakeven flow rates 71 thsm(3)/day 
       for all wells                               11,620     11,400              220 
      Breakeven discount rate 15,8%                11,420     11,400               20 
 

*Net book value of the VAS asset is derived from property, plant and equipment, mineral reserve rights and other intangible assets (Note 8).

The Group's discounted cash flow model for the MEX-GOL and SV fields in Ukrainian Hryvnia is not sensitive.

10. Intangible Assets

 
                                            6 months ended 30 Jun 20                       6 months ended 30 
                                                                                                 Jun 19 
                                                   (unaudited)                                 (unaudited) 
                                               Exploration 
                                 Mineral    and evaluation         Other             Mineral         Other 
                                 reserve        intangible    intangible             reserve    intangible 
                                  rights            assets        assets    Total     rights        assets     Total 
                                    $000              $000          $000     $000       $000          $000      $000 
  Cost 
  At beginning of the period       7,843                 -           572    8,415      6,709           330     7,039 
  Additions                            -             8,331           101    8,432          -            67        67 
  Disposals                            -                 -          (53)     (53) 
  Exchange differences             (884)                16          (52)    (920)        390            21       411 
-----------------------------  ---------  ----------------  ------------  -------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
  At end of the period             6,959             8,347           568   15,874      7,099           418     7,517 
-----------------------------  ---------  ----------------  ------------  -------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 
  Accumulated amortisation 
   and impairment 
  At beginning of the period       2,851                 -           367    3,218      1,965           194     2,159 
  Amortisation charge for 
   the period                        253                 -            78      331        244            57       301 
  Disposals                            -                            (53)     (53) 
  Exchange differences             (274)                 -          (28)    (302)        121             6       127 
-----------------------------  ---------  ----------------  ------------  -------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
  At end of the period             2,830                 -           364    3,194      2,330           257     2,587 
-----------------------------  ---------  ----------------  ------------  -------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
  Net book value at beginning 
   of the period                   4,992                 -           205    5,197      4,744           136     4,880 
-----------------------------  ---------  ----------------  ------------  -------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
  Net book value at end 
   of the period                   4,129             8,347           204   12,680      4,769           161     4,930 
-----------------------------  ---------  ----------------  ------------  -------  ---------  ------------  -------- 
 
 
 

Intangible assets consist mainly of the hydrocarbon production licence relating to the VAS gas and condensate field which is held by one of the Group's subsidiaries LLC Prom-Enerho Produkt and a new hydrocarbon production licence relating to the Svystunivsko-Chervonolutske ("SC") gas and condensate field which is held by LLC Arkona Gas-Energy. The Group amortises the hydrocarbon production licence relating to the VAS gas and condensate field using the straight-line method over the term of the economic life of the VAS field until 2028. The hydrocarbon production licence relating to the SC gas and condensate field is not amortised due to being in an exploration and evaluation stage.

In accordance with the Group's accounting policies, intangible assets are tested for impairment at each balance sheet date as part of the impairment testing of the Group's oil and gas development and production assets. Pursuant to the results of the impairment tests performed, there is no impairment of the Group's intangible assets as at 30 June 2020 (Note 9).

11. Trade and Other Receivables

 
                                         30 Jun 20    31 Dec 19 
                                       (unaudited)    (audited) 
                                              $000         $000 
 
 Trade receivables                           1,631        2,881 
 Other financial receivables                 1,816        1,718 
 Less credit loss allowance                  (150)        (155) 
-----------------------------------  -------------  ----------- 
 Total financial receivables                 3,297        4,444 
 
 Prepayments and accrued income              5,330        5,959 
 VAT receivable                            1 , 156           96 
 Other receivables                             416          438 
 Total trade and other receivables          10,199       10,937 
 

Due to the short-term nature of the current trade and other financial receivables, their carrying amount is assumed to be the same as their fair value. All trade and other financial receivables, except those provided for, are considered to be of high credit quality.

The majority of the trade receivables are from a related party, LLC Smart Energy, that purchases all of the Group's gas production. The applicable payment terms are payment for one third of the estimated monthly volume of gas by the 20(th) of the month of delivery, and payment of the remaining balance by the 10(th) of the month following the month of delivery. The trade receivables were paid in full after the end of the period.

Prepayments and accrued income mainly consist of prepayment of $4,249,000 relating to the development of the SV field (31 December 2019: $3,987,000 relating to the development of the SV field and $1,094,000 relating to development of the VAS field).

The deposit of $500,000 paid under the Memorandum of Understanding dated 21 November 2019 for the acquisition of the entire share capital of PJSC Science and Production Concern Ukrnaftinvest remains a receivable as at the date of this announcement, as do the funds of UAH47.3 million (approximately $1.8 million) advanced to PJSC Science and Production Concern Ukrnaftinvest by the Group.

12. Provision for Decommissioning

 
                                  6 months ended   6 months ended 
                                       30 Jun 20        30 Jun 19 
                                     (unaudited)      (unaudited) 
                                            $000             $000 
 
 At beginning of the period                7,447            3,137 
 Amounts provided                              -              141 
 Unwinding of discount                        94              128 
 Change in estimate                        (903)              917 
 Effect of exchange difference             (789)              219 
-------------------------------  ---------------  --------------- 
 At end of the period                      5,849            4,542 
 

The provision for decommissioning is based on the net present value of the Group's estimated liability for the removal of the Ukraine production facilities and well site restoration at the end of production life.

The non-current provision of $5,849,000 (31 December 2019: $7,447,000) represents a provision for the decommissioning of the Group's MEX-GOL, SV and VAS production facilities, including site restoration. None of the provision was utilised during the reporting period.

As described in Note 2, the change in estimates applied to calculate the provision as at 30 June 2020 resulted from the revision of the estimated costs of decommissioning (increase of $75,000 in provision) and the increase in the discount rate applied (decrease of $978,000 in provision).

13. Other non-current liabilities

Other non-current liabilities as at 30 June 2020, consist of the long-term portion of the deferred consideration for the acquisition of LLC Arkona Gas-Energy of $1,851,861 (Note 2) and the long-term obligations for the State special purpose fund of $142,000 measured at amortised cost using an interest rate of 20%.

14. Financial Instruments

The Group's financial instruments comprise cash and cash equivalents and various items such as debtors and creditors that arise directly from its operations. The Group has bank accounts denominated in British Pounds, US Dollars, Euros, and Ukrainian Hryvnia. The Group does not have any borrowings. The main future risks arising from the Group's financial instruments are currency risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and credit risk.

The Group's financial assets and financial liabilities, measured at amortised cost, which approximates their fair value, comprise the following:

 
 
                                         30 Jun 20        31 Dec 19 
                                       (unaudited)        (audited) 
                                              $000             $000 
 Financial assets 
 Cash and cash equivalents                  54,228           62,474 
 Trade and other receivables                 3,297            4,444 
 Prepayment for shares                         500              500 
                                                    --------------- 
                                            58,025           67,418 
 Financial Liabilities 
 Lease liabilities                             764              969 
 Trade payables                                175              277 
 Accruals                                   4, 748            1,018 
                                                    --------------- 
                                            5 ,687            2,264 
 
 

All assets and liabilities of the Group where fair value is disclosed are of level 2 value hierarchy and valued using current cost accounting techniques.

At 30 June 2020, the Group held cash and cash equivalents in the following currencies:

 
                      30 Jun 20 (unaudited)     31 Dec 19 
                                                (audited) 
                                       $000          $000 
 
 US Dollars                          39,316        44,306 
 Ukrainian Hryvnia                   14,686        17,881 
 British Pounds                         222           257 
 Euros                                    4            30 
                                     54,228        62,474 
-------------------  ----------------------  ------------ 
 
 

All of the cash and cash equivalents held in Ukrainian Hryvnia are held in banks within Ukraine, and all other cash and cash equivalents are held in banks within Europe, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

15. Reconciliation of Operating Profit to Operating Cash Flow

 
                                              6 months ended   6 months ended 
                                                   30 Jun 20        30 Jun 19 
                                                 (unaudited)      (unaudited) 
                                                        $000             $000 
 
 Operating profit                                      5,153           13,688 
 
 Depreciation and amortisation                         6,783            4,928 
 Less interest income recorded within 
  operating profit                                   (1,023)          (2,792) 
 Provision for VAT repayment                               -              405 
 Fines and penalties received                            (1)             (15) 
 Loss from credit loss allowance                           -               41 
 Loss from write off of non-current assets                81                - 
 Reversal of loss allowance on other 
  financial assets                                         -             (11) 
 Gain on sales of current assets, net                    (5)             (18) 
 Decrease in provisions                                (169)              (9) 
 Decrease/(increase) in inventory                      2,106            (742) 
 Decrease/(increase) in receivables                  (1,032)            3,251 
 (Decrease)/increase in payables                       (857)          (1,130) 
-------------------------------------------  ---------------  --------------- 
 Cash generated from operations                       11,036           17,596 
-------------------------------------------  ---------------  --------------- 
 

16. Contingencies and Commitments

Amounts related to works contracted but not yet undertaken in relation to the Group's 2019 investment programme at the MEX-GOL, SV and VAS gas and condensate fields in Ukraine, but not recorded in the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements at 30 June 2020, were $5,207,000 (31 December 2019: $2,306,000).

During 2010 - 2020, the Group has been in dispute with the Ukrainian tax authorities in respect of VAT receivables on imported leased equipment, with a disputed liability of up to UAH8,487,000 ($324,000) inclusive of penalties and other associated costs. There is a level of ambiguity in the interpretation of the relevant tax legislation, and the position adopted by the Group has been challenged by the Ukrainian tax authorities, which has led to legal proceedings to resolve the issue. The Group had been successful in three court cases in respect of this dispute in ourts of different levels. On 20 September 2016, a hearing was held in the Supreme Court of Ukraine of an appeal of the Ukrainian tax authorities against the decision of the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine, in which the appeal of the Ukrainian tax authorities was upheld. As a result of this appeal decision, all decisions of the lower courts were cancelled, and the case was remitted to the first instance court for a new trial. On 1 December 2016 and 7 March 2017, the Group received positive decisions in the first and second instance courts, but further legal proceedings may arise. Since the Group had been successful in previous court cases in respect of this dispute in ourts of different levels, the date of the next legal proceedings has not been set and as the Group believes that adequate defences exist to the claim, no liability has been recognised in these unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2020 (31 December 2019: nil).

On 12 March 2019, the Group announced the publication of an Order for suspension (the "Order") by the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine affecting the production licence for its VAS gas and condensate field. The Group is confident there are no violations of the terms of the licence or in relation to the operational activities of the Group that would justify the Order or the suspension of the licence. The Group has issued legal proceedings in the Ukrainian Courts to challenge the validity of the Order, and in these proceedings, on 18 March 2019 the Court made a ruling on interim measures to suspend the Order pending hearings of the substantive issues of the case to be held subsequently. The effect of this ruling is that the suspension of operational activities at the VAS licence is deferred until the result of the legal proceedings is determined. These legal proceedings are continuing through the Ukrainian Court system and the ultimate outcome is not yet known. However, the Group considers that the Order is groundless and that the outcome of the legal proceedings challenging the Order will ultimately be in favour of the Group, and consequently, the Group does not expect any negative effect on its operations in respect of this matter.

There are current legal proceedings between NJSC Ukrnafta as claimant and Arkona as defendant, relating to claims made by NJSC Ukrnafta about the procedure involved in the grant of the SC Licence to Arkona in May 2017. NJSC Ukrnafta was the holder of a previous licence over this area which expired prior to the grant of the SC Licence. Arkona is defending the claims in such legal proceedings and asserts that the claims are unwarranted and without merit. In early July 2020, the First Instance Court in Ukraine made a ruling in favour of NJSC Ukrnafta that the grant of the SC Licence was irregular, which would mean the SC Licence is invalid. The Company and Arkona have carefully reviewed this decision and written judgement with their legal advisers in Ukraine, and consider there are strong grounds for a successful appeal. This view is supported by the fact that the subject matter of these legal proceedings, including the validity of the SC Licence, has already been ruled upon by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in similar proceedings in October 2019 involving, inter alia, NJSC Ukrnafta and Arkona, and in which the SC Licence was held to be valid. Accordingly, an appeal has been filed by Arkona in the Appellate Administrative Court in Kyiv. Pending the outcome of the appeal process, the SC Licence remains valid. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement for Arkona, half of the consideration payable (split into two equal tranches) was deferred and only payable on satisfaction of certain conditions including the favourable resolution of these legal proceedings, as well as certain other conditions, with the further provision that if the conditions for payment of these deferred tranches are not satisfied, then neither of these tranches shall become payable and the full amount of the SC Licence is likely to be impaired.

17. Related Party Disclosures

Key management personnel of the Group are considered to comprise only the Directors. Remuneration of the Directors for the six month period ended 30 June 2020 was $532,000 (six month period ended 30 June 2019: $369,000, and year ended 31 December 2019: $977,000).

During the period, Group companies entered into the following transactions with related parties which are not members of the Group:

 
                                    6 months ended   6 months ended 
                                         30 Jun 20        30 Jun 19 
                                       (unaudited)      (unaudited) 
                                              $000             $000 
 
 Sale of goods/services                     17,752           23,185 
 Purchase of goods/services                    461              502 
 Amounts owed by related parties             1,490            1,683 
 Amounts owed to related parties               347              670 
 
 

All related party transactions were with subsidiaries of the ultimate Parent Company, and primarily relate to the sale of gas to LLC Smart Energy, the rental of office facilities and vehicles and the sale of equipment. The amounts outstanding were unsecured and have been or will be settled in cash.

As of 30 June 2020, the Company's immediate parent company was Pelidona Services Limited, which is 100% owned by Lovitia Investments Limited, which is 100% owned by Mr Vadym Novynskyi. Accordingly, the Company was ultimately controlled by Mr Vadym Novynskyi.

The Group operates bank accounts in Ukraine with a related party bank, Unex Bank, which is ultimately controlled by Mr Vadym Novynskyi. There were the following transactions and balances with Unex Bank during the period:

 
                         6 months ended   6 months ended 
                              30 Jun 20        30 Jun 19 
                            (unaudited)      (unaudited) 
                                   $000             $000 
 
 Bank charges                         1                1 
 Closing cash balance                13                - 
 
 

At the date of this announcement, none of the Company's controlling parties prepares consolidated financial statements available for public use.

18. Events occurring after the Reporting Period

In early July 2020, the First Instance Court in Ukraine made a ruling in favour of NJSC Ukrnafta that the grant of the SC Licence held by Arkona was irregular, which would mean the SC Licence is invalid. The Company and Arkona have carefully reviewed this decision with their legal advisers in Ukraine, and consider there are strong grounds for a successful appeal. This view is supported by the fact that the subject matter of these legal proceedings, including the validity of the Licence, has already been ruled upon by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in similar proceedings in October 2019 involving, inter alia, NJSC Ukrnafta and Arkona, and in which the SC Licence was held to be valid. Accordingly, an appeal has been filed by Arkona in the Appellate Administrative Court in Kyiv. Pending the outcome of the appeal process, the SC Licence remains valid.

Negotiations are continuing between the Group and the shareholders of PJSC Science and Production Concern Ukrnaftinvest in relation to the acquisition of the entire share capital of PJSC Science and Production Concern Ukrnaftinvest, and the Group believes revised terms will be mutually agreed for the Group to acquire PJSC Science and Production Concern Ukrnaftinvest, albeit there can be no certainty.

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