() closed its two lockdown acquisitions this week, spending over US$200mln to add around 18,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to its production.
The moves round off a series of positive developments for the company, which recently stepped up to the main market of the London Stock Exchange and is set to be included into the FTSE 250 based on its market capitalisation.
On Thursday, stockbroker Mirabaud Securities said it believes that DGOC as a dividend payer will be the subject of increasing investor interest.
Exploration firm (), on Tuesday, revealed it has inked a rig contract for its hotly anticipated Perseverance-1 exploration well which is slated to start potentially as early as the fourth quarter.
The contract commits Stena Drilling to provide a state of the art, sixth-generation drilling rig and associated equipment and services. The well was delayed recently as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The contract sets a ‘firm window’ of drilling operations between December 15, 2020, and February 1, 2021, consistent with the project’s licence obligations which were extended amid force majeure.
Significantly, the contract sees the estimated costs reduced by around 15% from previously estimated levels, reflecting changes in the global operating environment.
On Wednesday, () () entered into escrow for a US$20mln seven-year loan with Trinidad and Tobago’s Republic Bank Limited.
The loan will carry interest of 7.85%, payable quarterly in arrears, and is secured against the company’s assets and subsidiaries. “We are pleased to be able to source local financing from Republic Bank, the largest lender in Trinidad and the Caribbean,” said Scott Budau, Touchstone chief financial officer in a statement.
Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR) announced this week that it has secured an extension to certain licence obligations for the Greater Warwick Area (GWA) project due to the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The company in a statement said that is requested the leeway from the UK regulator the Oil and Gas Authority and it subsequently responded positively to the company’s request.
Hurricane noted that the OGA has extended the deadline for the start of the GWA joint venture’s commitment well on the Lincoln area, out to June 2022, and, has extended the deadline for the plugging and abandonment of the Lincoln Crestal well out to June 2021.
() told investors that average output from the 25%-owned Tawke production sharing contract in Kurdistan, Iraq is expected to reduce down to 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in 2020, assuming new wells aren’t drilled to arrest the natural decline.
Without new wells the 2020 exit rate is forecast to be marked at around 80,000 bopd. In the first quarter, production from Tawke amounted to 115,210 bopd and in the second it was down to 100,000 bopd, while for the remainder of 2020 it is predicted at around 90,000 bopd.
(LON:FOG, ), on Friday, highlighted a strong financial position, debt-free and US$11.5mln of cash in the bank, as it filed its interim statement for the three months ended March 31, 2020.
The company noted that it has continued to focus on strict cost management and efficient operation of its portfolio. G&A expenses were US$400,000 which represents a 12% reduction quarter-on-quarter. In April, the company’s financial position was bolstered as it sold a further 7.5% holding in the Beetaloo project to joint venture partner Origin Energy in return for A$150mln worth of additional project spending cover.
() also posted financial results this week that celebrated significant progress in 2019, as the company’s growth continued.
During the year the group agreed the transformational acquisition of the Rockhopper Egypt business; advanced permitting for the Selva gas development project in Italy, where ‘first gas’ is slated for 2021; realised a profit with the sale of the Crown discovery in the North Sea; and also expanded its footprint via the UK offshore licensing round. The company’s management team was bolstered during the period, with David Quirke joining the group as chief financial officer.
Since completing the Rockhopper Egypt acquisition in February 2020, the producing Abu Sennan asset has performed strongly, with the new ASH-2 achieving rates ahead of expectations, and presently remaining above 3,000 barrels of oil per day, the group said.
