Operational and Corporate Update

RNS Number : 9823V

Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC

13 August 2020

 

13 August 2020

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc

("BPC" or the "Company")

Operational and Corporate Update

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc ("BPC"), the Caribbean and Atlantic margin focused oil and gas company, with exploration, appraisal, development and production assets across the region, is pleased to provide the following update in relation to a range of operational and corporate matters.

Corporate Presentation

BPC has today released an updated corporate presentation, which is available on the Company's website at www.bpcplc.com as well as via the following link:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/9823V_1-2020-8-12.pdf

The presentation provides consolidated introductory information on BPC's expanded portfolio of assets, following the recent completion of the merger with Columbus Energy Resources plc, including the Company's intended work programme, as well as a clear statement of the Company's goals and targets in the coming 18 months in terms of exploration activities, resource and reserve maturation, production growth and potential cash generation (depending on oil price assumptions). Shareholders are encouraged to read this presentation in detail. Specifically contained within this presentation, BPC has provided the following key statements, goals and targets which the Company has commenced working towards:

Vision and Strategy: The Company has sought to articulate a clear statement of its vision and strategy, as follows:

· Vision: To be a n Exploration and Production (E&P) business generating reliable, growing production and thus free cashflows capable of supporting core exploration activities, which in combination creates significant value for all shareholders.

· Strategy: A portfolio approach to asset ownership across the full life cycle of the hydrocarbons business that appropriately balances risk and reward, ensures access to capital on competitive terms, and effectively leverages core expertise and experience within the Company.

In seeking to deliver on our vision and enacting our strategy, the Company will focus on:

Exploration: core to the Company's ongoing strategy is maintaining access to large, meaningful exploration opportunities and appraisal activities across the portfolio. This is encapsulated in the Company plans for the imminent drilling of the Perseverance #1 well in The Bahamas and maturing of a prospect inventory in Uruguay. The Perseverance #1 well is targeting P₅₀ recoverable prospective resources of 0.77 billion barrels of oil, with an upside of 1.44 billion barrels, solely from the northern structural closure portion of the B structure. In total the B structure extends between 70 and 80 kms, has a mapped areal closure over 400 km² and has an aggregate most likely recoverable resource potential in excess of 2 billion barrels. The Company's contract for a drilling rig with Stena Drilling provides a window for drilling activities to commence between 15 December 2020 and 1 February 2021. In addition, the Company expects over the coming 12 months to further mature its prospect inventory and exploration plans in the highly prospective South West Peninsular (SWP) of Trinidad, which will include a full assessment of the potential from deeper reservoir horizons.

Production: currently, the Company's producing assets in Trinidad and Tobago have average production of between 400 to 450 barrels of oil per day ("bopd"). The Company is targeting achieving a stable production level of approximately 500 bopd per day (net) by end 2020, building to 2,500 bopd (net) by the end of 2021, both of which targets the Company considers can be achieved through a combination of maintaining and then increasing production through (i) increased data integrity, (ii) automation, (iii) overall increased field activity - returning to the levels last seen in 2018, (iv) selective new wells, (v) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) programmes, and (vi) other growth initiatives including production from appraisal of the existing Saffron discovery and extended well tests ("EWT") in Suriname. In the longer term, the Company considers that the assets in Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname provide a bridge to future production from the Company's project in The Bahamas (assuming a successful exploration outcome). In the success case, the Company believes that 15,000 bopd (net) would be an appropriate aggregate production target by the end of 2025.

Reserves and Resources : currently, there is no consistent estimation of reserves and resources across the Company's expanded portfolio. For this reason, BPC has initiated a programme of work to commission an independent third-party Competent Person's Report (CPR) for the Company's various assets and licences in The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Uruguay - a further announcement will be made on the completion and issue of said report. Based on information currently available, BPC believes that at the conclusion of this exercise the Company will be able to report a current portfolio-wide 2P reserve of 1 mmbbl (net). Thereafter, ongoing maturation of resource and reserves across the portfolio is a core busines objective, and based on information currently available, the Company is targeting a 2P reserve as at end of 2021 of 10 mmbbl (net), and longer-term of 50 mmbbl (net) at end of 2025 (which could be considerably greater depending on the level of success assumed in The Bahamas).

Cashflow: Consistent with the Company's vision and strategy statements, generating stable and reliable cash flows is a core business objective of the Company in the future. Presently, the Company generates a base level of revenues from sale of production in Trinidad and Tobago. As the Company moves forward with its plans to grow production (and assuming stable or increasing oil prices), the Company expects a corresponding increase in revenues and cashflows. Assuming the Company is able to achieve its production target of 2,500 bopd (net) by the end of 2021, the Company's corresponding cashflow targets by the end of 2021 would be for $15 million revenue (on an annual run rate basis). On this basis, the Company would be seeking to be in a position, by end of 2021, to be generating sufficient cash flows to cover all overhead and operating expenses, and potentially making a considerable contribution to ongoing capital and exploration expenditures).

The management of BPC believe very strongly in providing clear, measurable milestones, goals and targets for the benefit of shareholders, as set out in this announcement and the Company's presentation. The Company will seek to regularly update the market on progress against these.

Appointment of Investec as joint broker

The Company is pleased to advise that it has appointed Investec Bank Plc as joint broker. Investec Bank Plc is an international banking and wealth management group. The firm's corporate and investment banking division works with growth-oriented companies, institutions and private equity funds, offering deep sector experience in resources and oil & gas and providing its broking clients with a comprehensive range of solutions spanning capital, advice and treasury risk management.

BPC's existing broking arrangement with Shore Capital continues unaffected, and the Company's financial advisory mandate with Gneiss Energy has been extended for at least another nine months with Strand Hanson continuing as Nominated Adviser. BPC considers that the ability to assemble a roster of such high-quality advisers is a testament to the strength of the Company's current position and the strategic benefit afforded by the recently expanded asset base, and provides the Company with access to the skills, expertise and network necessary over the coming months as the Company moves forward with its expanded programme of activities.

Executive and Board appointments

The Company confirms that Mr Leo Koot is shortly expected to join the Board of BPC as a non-executive director, once customary due diligence checks by BPC's Nominated Adviser are completed.

The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Parbodh Gogna to the role of Health, Safety, Environment & Security (HSE&S) and Government Relations Director, commencing from 26 August 2020. Dr. Gogna is currently the Chief Medical Officer for the Australian Department of Home Affairs and Surgeon General for the Australian Border Force. In this role, he has been central to evaluating, developing and implementing procedures for operating during the pandemic, as well as managing liaison across all levels of Government. Prior to this role, Dr Gogna has had an extensive leadership career in both private and national health services roles, with over 30 years of active medical practice, as well as serving as a captain in the Australian Special Air Service Regiment. BPC considers securing the services of a person with Dr. Gogna's experience and skill set to be especially important at this time, given that the Company is now engaged in active production operations in remote locations as well as ramping up for offshore drilling activities, when effective Government interaction and HSE planning and execution is more important than ever in the context of Covid-19's global impact. Dr. Gogna will join the Company's executive leadership group and will be based in Nassau.

Perseverance #1 operational readiness and force majeure extension

BPC has received proposals for suitable well control insurance policies for the upcoming Perseverance #1 well, and has instructed its insurance broker, AON, to begin the process of placing and binding that policy. The Company expects this process to complete within the next eight weeks - a further announcement will be made at that time.

Liaison between BPC's drilling team and Stena Drilling is already underway, with the teams working to prepare bridging documentation to manage the interface between the two companies' management systems. This work will continue over the coming weeks along with protocols to assure continuous operations and updating of the logistics plan for uninterrupted essential supplies and equipment to the drill ship.

The Company has received formal notification from the Government of The Bahamas that on an interim basis, a 3.5 months force majeure extension to the second exploration period of the Company's southern licences in The Bahamas has been granted, such that the current term of those licences will now extend to at least mid-April 2021, and by which time BPC must have commenced well activities.

Given that the relevant force majeure event is presently continuing (namely, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, currently ongoing in both The Bahamas and in relevant international jurisdictions), BPC remains in constructive dialogue with The Government as to the ultimate full extent of the force majeure extension. However, the interim extension to mid-April 2021, as now confirmed, is sufficient to provide certainty for the purposes of the drilling of Perseverance #1, which is scheduled to commence in the window of 15 December 2020 to 1 February 2021.

Commenting, Simon Potter, Chief Executive Officer of BPC, said:

"We are making rapid progress on familiarising ourselves with the potential of our recently expanded portfolio of assets. The publication today of our latest corporate presentation provides an initial view as to where we wish to take the portfolio, our targets and goals, and what our shareholders can anticipate as we get to grips with leveraging additional performance. We will expand these metrics as our confidence on delivery grows, but our strategic focus, as detailed in our new presentation, is simple and unwavering: to deliver shareholder value through a combination of high-impact exploration success and growing production cash flows. Already discrete teams are focused on delivering immediate objectives, though none more important than the dedicated drilling team's total focus on the commencement of the Perseverance #1 well in The Bahamas later this year.

At the same time, the benefits of BPC's portfolio strategy are already being felt.

First, we welcome Investec as joint broker to the Company, and the expanded investor reach they bring. A core rationale for expanding our business was the view that a portfolio of assets would be of greater interest to larger institutional investors, of the type with which Investec frequently works. We look forward to Investec's input over the coming months, including the depth and quality of their research analysis to complement that already provided by Shore Capital.

Second, we welcome Dr. Gogna to our team. As we expand operations across a broader portfolio, and in particular as we build-up to drilling of our Perseverance #1 well in The Bahamas, it is extraordinarily reassuring to attract to the organisation someone with his skills, network and depth of experience, especially in regards to developing our operating protocols to ensure continuous and Covid-19 free operations.

We are also pleased to have received confirmation from The Government of The Bahamas of an interim force majeure extension to our southern licences, sufficient to ensure drilling can be completed consistent with the timelines contained in the rig contract with Stena Drilling, and in full compliance with the term and obligations of the licences. We are especially grateful to the Office of the Attorney General in The Bahamas for their collaborative approach to working with BPC, even whilst a state of emergency remains in force in The Bahamas.

These are interesting and exciting times for BPC, and we look forward to keeping shareholders fully appraised of our progress in the coming months."

For further information, please contact:

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc Simon Potter, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Strand Hanson Limited - Nomad Rory Murphy / James Spinney / Jack Botros	Tel: [phone]
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited - J oint Broker Jerry Keen / Toby Gibbs	Tel: [phone]
Investec Bank Plc - J oint Broker Chris Sims / Rahul Sharma	Tel: [phone]
CAMARCO Billy Clegg / James Crothers / Hugo Liddy	Tel: [phone]

The information communicated in this announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.

In accordance with the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies, Bahamas Petroleum Company discloses that Randolph Hiscock, Bahamas Petroleum Company Technical Lead, is the qualified person who has reviewed the technical information contained in this document. He has a Masters in geology and is a member of the AAPG. He has over 35 years' experience in the oil and gas industry. Randolph Hiscock consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears.

The internal reserve and resource estimates in this announcement have been reported in accordance with the Petroleum Resource Management System ("PRMS").

Technical terms used within this announcement are as defined in accordance with the PRMS.

ENDS

Notes to editors

BPC is a Caribbean and Atlantic margin focused oil and gas company, with a range of exploration, appraisal, development and production   assets and licences, located offshore in the waters of The Bahamas and Uruguay, and onshore in Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname. BPC is currently on-track for drilling an initial exploration well in The Bahamas, Perseverance #1, in late 2020 / early 2021, with the well targeting recoverable P₅₀ prospective oil resources of 0.77 billion barrels, with an upside of 1.44 billion barrels. In Trinidad and Tobago, BPC has five producing fields, two appraisal / development projects and a prospective exploration portfolio in the South West Peninsula. BPC's exploration licence in Uruguay is highly prospective, with a potential resource of 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. In Suriname, BPC has an onshore appraisal / development project.

BPC is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.  www.bpcplc.com  

 

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