Commercial Court Ruling

RNS Number : 1442N

Lansdowne Oil & Gas plc

21 October 2016

 

Lansdowne Oil & Gas plc

Commercial Court Ruling

21 October 2016

Lansdowne Oil & Gas ("Lansdowne" or "the Company"), the independent oil and gas company focused on offshore Ireland, notes the release by Providence Resources plc ("Providence") today regarding the Commercial Court Ruling, with respect to the successful defence of Transocean's Part 36 Costs Application.

The announcement provided an update regarding the litigation between Providence and Transocean Drilling U.K. Limited ("Transocean"), a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd, relating to the use of the semi-submersible drilling unit, Arctic III, on the Barryroe oilfield offshore Ireland (Providence 80%, Lansdowne  20%).  A hearing of Transocean's application in respect of Part 36 of the English Civil Procedure Rules was heard by Mr Justice Popplewell in the Commercial Court in London on Friday, October 14, 2016.  On October 20, 2016, the Commercial Court handed down its Judgement (the "Judgement").

The Judgement states that, as a result of the decision of the Court of Appeal in April 2016, Transocean is entitled to its costs of the first instance proceedings from 30 August 2014 on the Standard Basis (i.e. approximately 70%) but that the other Part 36 cost consequences in relation to obtaining costs on the indemnity basis, interest on costs and the principal sum and the surcharge of £75,000 do not apply. Based on the Judgement, Providence will pay Transocean a sum amounting to some 40% of Transocean's claim for costs.  Under the Joint Operating Agreement Lansdowne will reimburse Providence for its 20% share of these costs, amounting to approximately £220,000. 

When raising funds in June this year, in addition to raising £2.1 million (before costs) Lansdowne also put in place a fully underwritten option agreement with Brandon Hill Capital Limited, to provide up to £500,000, should the Company be required to reimburse Providence in respect of further costs and/or awards associated with the Transocean Dispute. Given this agreement, no additional funding facilities are required to fund this payment. More importantly this Judgement results in costs to Lansdowne significantly lower than provided for and accordingly should be viewed as a highly positive outcome for the Company.

For further information please contact:

Lansdowne Oil & Gas plc Steve Boldy	[phone]

Cantor Fitzgerald Europe Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker Sarah Wharry David Porter

[phone]

Beaufort Securities 

Joint Broker                                                                                           [phone]

Jon Belliss

Notes to editors:

About Lansdowne

Lansdowne Oil & Gas (LOGP.LN) is a North Celtic Sea focussed, oil and gas exploration and appraisal company quoted on the AIM market and head quartered in Dublin.Lansdowne holds extensive acreage in the North Celtic Sea Basin, including a 20% stake in Exploration Licence SEL1/11 which contains the Barryroe oil field.

For more information on Lansdowne, please refer to www.lansdowneoilandgas.com

ABOUT BARRYROE

Barryroe, located in the North Celtic Sea Basin, off the south coast of Ireland, has had six wells successfully drilled on the structure.  Hydrocarbons have been logged in all six wells, with flow test results from four wells.  Four wells were drilled in the 1970's by Esso with a further appraisal well drilled in 1990 by Marathon Oil.  The sixth well was drilled by Providence in 2011/12. The oil is light (43^o API) with a wax content of c. 17-20%. The successfully tested reservoir sands are of Cretaceous Middle and Lower Wealden age located between c. 4,500' TVDSS and 7,550' TVDSS.  The field is covered by both 2D and 3D seismic, the latter which was acquired in 2011.

Audited (NSAI/RPS) on block resources amount to 1.048 billion barrels in place, with an estimated P50 recoverable resources of 311 MMBO (plus associated gas). A further 778 MMBO barrels in place have been identified in incremental sands, though these sands have yet to be tested.

 

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