Moroccan Licence Award

RNS Number : 3418T

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings PLC

19 March 2019

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

19 March 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")

  Signing of Guercif Petroleum Agreement and Association Contract onshore Morocco

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 announce that it has formally signed the Guercif Petroleum Agreement and Association Contract with the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines ("ONHYM") acting on behalf of the State.

The licence is for 8 years, split into 3 phases with an Initial Period of 30 months followed by First and Second Extension Periods of 36 and 30 months' duration respectively.

The Company has provided a Bank Guarantee of US$1.5 million that is refundable conditional on the completion of the Minimum Work Programme set out in the the terms of the Petroleum Agreement and Association Contract.

The Company has initiated the search for a suitable rig and is investigating delivery times for long lead drilling items, including well heads, with the intention of being in a position to commence drilling operations, subject to all necessary regulatory and environmental consents and permits, as early as is practicable in 2019. Drilling activities can be conducted all year round in Guercif in this area of Morocco.

The key highlights of the opportunity now secured are as previously described below in the Company's RNS dated 30 November 2018.

                                                          HIGHLIGHTS

·     Exclusive licence for exploration covering an area of 7,269² and comprising the Guercif Permits I, II, III and IV, lying east of the producing gas fields of the Gharb Basin and northwest of the Tendrara gas project.

·     Predator is the Operator through its wholly-owned subsidiary Predator Gas Ventures Ltd with 75% equity interest and ONHYM 25%. ONHYM has the right to "back-in" for up to and including 25% equity in the event of a hydrocarbon development by paying its share of forward costs

·     The work programme for the Initial Period is reprocessing of 250 kilometres of existing seismic data and the drilling of one well to a minimum depth of 2,000 meters to test a large seismic anomaly interpreted as being indicative of the presence of Tertiary gas

·     Gas shows have been encountered in Tertiary sands in a well immediately adjacent to the seismic anomaly, which partly de-risks the exploration target

·     The Guercif Licence is also prospective for deeper Triassic gas and Jurassic oil and gas which will be evaluated in the First and Second Extensions

·     The initial target for gas lies less than 10 kilometres north of the Maghreb - Europe gas pipeline, which has spare capacity in the event of a major gas discovery, which is the desired objective of the drilling programme planned by Predator

·     Government taxes are confined principally to a 5% royalty for gas and 31% Corporation Tax but with a total exemption for the first 10 years of production

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

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

"Predator management is delighted to be working again with our excellent partner ONHYM to explore for gas in Morocco. We are convinced that the opportunity to potentially find gas in Guercif is so attractive that it warrants accelerating drilling activity to test the pre-drill model. This opportunity provides exposure to near-term drilling and is under-pinned by the expected cash flow from Trinidad CO2 EOR operations through 2019."

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]
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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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