Guercif Permit - Competent Persons Report

RNS Number : 0018X

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings PLC

25 April 2019

 

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc / Index: LSE / Epic: PRD / Sector: Oil & Gas

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc

("Predator" or the "Company" and together with its subsidiaries "the Group")

  Guercif Permits I, II, III and IV onshore Morocco Technical Update

 Competent Person's Report  

HIGHLIGHTS

·     MIOCENE TORTONIAN AND TRIASSIC TAGI RESERVOIR PROSPECTIVE RESOURCES AUDIT COMPLETE

Competent Person's Report ("CPR") prospective resources audit SLR Consulting (Ireland) Ltd

·     TOTAL NET AUDITED BEST ESTIMATE RECOVEREABLE PROSPECTIVE RESOURCES OF 474 BCF (943 BCF HIGH ESTIMATE) FOR THE "FIRST TIER" MIOCENE MOULOUYA PROSPECT AND THE TRIASSIC TAGI PROSPECT

·     ADDITIONAL PROSPECTIVE MIOCENE GAS TRAPS

·     9 TRIASSIC AND JURASSIC LEADS

·     NO TECHNICAL, CAPACITY OR GAS MARKET REASONS TO PREVENT COMMERCIALISATION OF ANY GAS FIND

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc (PRD), the Jersey-based Oil and Gas Company, with a portfolio of attractive upstream gas assets adjacent to European gas infrastructure entry points, is pleased to provide a prospective resources update on the Guercif Permits I, II, III and IV ("Guercif") onshore Morocco. Predator (75%) operates Guercif in joint venture with the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines ("ONHYM") acting on behalf of the State (25%).

The Guercif area is located approximately 200 kilometres east of the producing Rharb Basin gas fields and approximately 100 kilometres northwest of the Tendrara gas project.

Following an analysis of existing 2D seismic and well data in conjunction with an appraisal of the gas market and the Company's project economics, Predator retained SLR to carry out a third party prospective resources audit (CPR) of the potential in-place hydrocarbons initially in the first tier Moulouya Prospect and the Triassic Prospect, in the Miocene Tortonian and Triassic TAGI reservoirs respectively.

SLR has reported that the Miocene Tortonian reservoir in the Moulouya Prospect has a Best Estimate gross gas in place of 646 BCF with recoverable Best Estimate prospective resources of 320 BCF net to Predator using only a 66% recovery factor (High Estimate 659 BCF net to Predator based on higher in-place gas).

Unrisked NPV per BCF of Miocene discovered gas is estimated by SLR to be US$1.95 million, generating an unrisked estimated NPV for the Best Estimate net Predator gas resources of US$624 million.

For the sub-salt TAGI reservoir in the Triassic Prospect, SLR has a Best Estimate gross gas in place of 515 BCF with recoverable Best Estimate prospective resources of 155 BCF net to Predator using only a 40% recovery factor (High Estimate 283 BCF net to Predator based on higher in-place gas).

Unrisked NPV per BCF of Triassic discovered gas is estimated by SLR to be US$1.34 million generating an unrisked estimated NPV for the Best Estimate net Predator gas resources of US$207.7 million.

The SLR total combined audited net Best Estimate prospective resources for the first tier prospects only are rounded down to 474 BCF (943 BCF High Estimate), representing an unrisked estimated NPV for the Best Estimate net Predator gas resources of US$831.7 million.

SLR report that similar gas plays to the Moulouya Prospect are commercial in the Rharb Basin where the discovery rate is "remarkably high". An active hydrocarbon-generating system is confirmed in Guercif for biogenic and thermal gas and is supported by the presence of numerous credible seismic amplitude anomalies.

SLR indicate that use of the 48" Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline ("MEG") to export gas is technically feasible and that there are no existing capacity, market or technical reasons why Predator could not utilise the MEG to commercialise any gas discovery in Guercif.

The in-country gas market includes the potential to sell to cement plants and local power generators. The Office National de l'Electricité ("ONE") is encouraging private operators to build and operate power plants to satisfy rising domestic demand and a number of such plants are to be constructed along the MEG, including Oued Al Mekhazine (2 x 400 MW capacity). Electricity transmission capacity is to be raised by a further 2,100 MW to reflect increasing demand.

Additional prospectivity is referenced by SLR, including an updip appraisal of possible logged gas-bearing intervals in GRF-1. SLR postulate undefined gross resources of 10 to 200 BCF for this target.

SLR also refer to 9 prospective Triassic and Jurassic leads, developed previously by ONHYM, with mid case recoverable volumes stated by ONHYM to range from 18 to 366 million BOE. There is a large surface oil seep around the TAF-1X well adjacent to one of the Jurassic leads. Seismic reprocessing and new seismic acquisition will be required to further evaluate and better define the additional prospectivity.

The Company will provide further operational updates on progress in Morocco as activities develop during 2019.

 Paul Griffiths, CEO of Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc said:

"This is another very positive step for Guercif. This third party prospective resources audit by SLR validates the significant volumetric and recoverable gas resources potential whilst importantly indicating too that there is no significant impediment to monetising discovered gas. The CPR also references additional hydrocarbon potential over the entire Guercif area demonstrated by multiple prospective leads in diverse geological settings in the Miocene, Jurassic and Triassic. This will facilitate a rolling drilling programme to create economies of scale in respect of costs which could be expected to lead to sustained exploration activity over several years. The CPR is therefore an important tool and catalyst for attracting potential drilling partners necessary to advance rapidly a multi-well drilling programme to fully evaluate the large inventory of prospective leads developed in Guercif, as now referenced independently by the CPR."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on market abuse

For more information please visit the Company's website at www.predatoroilandgas.com

or contact: 

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc Sarah Cope        Chairman Paul Griffiths     Chief Executive Officer	[phone] [e-mail]
Novum Securities Ltd (Broker) Jon Belliss	[phone]
Follow us also on VOX Market https://www.voxmarkets.co.uk/

Notes to Editors:

Predator is an oil and gas exploration company with the objective of participating with FRAM Exploration Trinidad Ltd. in further developing the remaining oil reserves in the producing Inniss Trinity oil field onshore Trinidad, primarily through the application of C02 EOR technology. Potential for cash flow exists by executing a Pilot Enhanced Oil Recovery project using locally-sourced carbon dioxide for injection into the oil reservoirs ("C02 EOR"). Near-term expansion and growth potential is focussed on upscaling the C02 EOR operations in the Inniss-Trinity oil field and potential acquisitions of assets suitable for C02 EOR development, subject to all necessary approvals. 

In addition, Predator also owns and operates exploration and appraisal assets in current licensing options offshore Ireland, for which Successor Authorisations have been applied for, adjoining Shell's Corrib gas field in the Slyne Basin on the Atlantic Margin and east of the Kinsale gas field and Barryroe oil field in the Celtic Sea.

Predator is operator of the Guercif Petroleum Agreement onshore Morocco which is initially prospective for Tertiary gas in prospects less than 10 kilometres from the Maghreb gas pipeline.

The Company has a highly experienced management team with a proven track record in the oil and gas industry.

 

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