SE Asia Acquisition and Expansion

Longboat Energy PLC

13 September 2023

 

13 September 2023

                                                                                   Longboat Energy plc                                              

("Longboat Energy", "Longboat" or the "Company")

SE Asia Acquisition and Expansion

Longboat Energy, an emerging full-cycle E&P company active in Norway and Malaysia, is pleased to announce the expansion of its business in SE Asia through the acquisition of privately held Topaz Number One Limited ("Topaz"), increasing its working interest in the Production Sharing Contract over Block 2A offshore Sarawak, Malaysia ("Block 2A") to 52.5%.

Highlights

·    Topaz's sole asset is a 15.75% working interest in Block 2A, offshore Sarawak Malaysia, containing the giant 'Kertang' prospect

·    Following completion of the transaction, Longboat will hold an operated 52.5% interest in Block 2A, simplifying the process towards a positive well decision and the potential introduction of an additional funding partner prior to drilling

·    The Topaz team, comprised of James Menzies and Pierre Eliet, will join Longboat Energy, bringing extensive regional expertise and an established network, accelerating Longboat's ambitions to build a full cycle E&P business in SE Asia

·    The transaction consideration closely aligns the Topaz team with value delivery from Block 2A

Helge Hammer, Chief Executive of Longboat Energy, commented:

"We are pleased to have increased our interest in the extensive and prospective Block 2A in deep water Sarawak, which contains the giant Kertang prospect. Sarawak has seen significant exploration success in recent years, and we are excited to play a role in the quest for additional gas resources in the area.

"We welcome James and Pierre to Longboat. Their extensive experience and network from SE Asia combined with our in-house technical expertise, puts us in a strong position to deliver accelerated growth in the region. In parallel with maturing Block 2A towards the drilling decision, we focus on adding production and development assets to our portfolio in SE Asia."

Presentation

Longboat Energy intends to host a presentation via the Investor Meet Company platform.

The online presentation will take place Friday 15 September 2023, 10.00am BST, and is open to all existing and potential shareholders. If you wish to attend the online presentation you should register for the event in advance via this link:

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/longboat-energy-plc/register-investor

Shareholders registered to attend are invited to pre-submit questions online via the Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 9.00am BST on Friday September 2023 or at any time during the live presentation. A recording will be made available on the Investor Meet Company platform after the presentation.

Background

In February 2023, Longboat announced it had been awarded a 36.75% operated interest in a Production Sharing Contract for Block 2A alongside partners Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd (40%), Petroleum Sarawak Exploration & Production Sdn. Bhd. (7.5%) and Topaz Number One Limited (15.75%).

Block 2A is located offshore Sarawak, north-west of the prolific Central Luconia hydrocarbon province covering approx. 12,000km² in water depths between 100-1,400 metres. One of the world's largest LNG facilities, the Bintulu LNG plant, is located onshore on the coast of Sarawak.

The main prospect on Block 2A is a large anticlinal structure called Kertang with a closure of over 100km2 at multiple levels and significant volume potential representing multiple trillions of cubic feet (TCF) of gas in stacked reservoirs. Seismic indicators for the presence of gas can be observed in the area and over the crest of the prospect.

At the same time, the Company indicated its belief that establishing a presence in the region would open-up further acquisition opportunities.

Having worked closely with Topaz and its owners over the past twelve months on Block 2A and other acquisition opportunities, Longboat has made the decision to accelerate the building of a full-cycle E&P business in SE Asia through the acquisition of Topaz, and the addition of James Menzies and Pierre Eliet to the Company's management team as Executive Chairman SE Asia and Director SE Asia respectively.

James Menzies has over 30 years of oil & gas industry experience in a broad range of roles, from technical practitioner to senior executive. James has served as Chief Executive Officer of Coro Energy plc (2018-2021) and Executive Chairman at TAP Oil (2016-2018). James was a Senior Partner at Lambert Energy Advisory from 2001-2005, prior to founding Salamander Energy plc, a SE Asian-focussed E&P business where he served as Chief Executive Officer from 2005-2015. James spent much of his career at LASMO plc, as a Geophysicist in the UK North Sea, Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as general management roles in Corporate Strategy, Investor Relations and Mergers & Acquisitions. He graduated with an MSc in Geophysics and Planetary Physics from University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1988 and has a BSc (Hons) in Geology from London University. James is also a Non-Executive Director of Trinity Exploration & Production plc.

Pierre Eliet has over 25 years of experience working in upstream organic and inorganic growth projects with extensive experience in South-East Asia. Pierre, who is resident in Kuala Lumpur, worked with Lundin Energy and Roc Oil with oversight of subsurface projects and growth across both Groups' Asian portfolios of assets.  He served as Technical and Business Development Director SE Asia for Lundin and as GM - Exploration, Geoscience & Business Development for Roc Oil & Director ROC Oil Malaysia. Pierre also previously worked at TOTAL and Cairn Energy in the United Kingdom, India and on new venture projects globally.  Over his time at Cairn Energy Pierre was closely associated with the discovery of the Cairn Rajasthan fields in India, and specifically the flagship Mangala field.  Pierre holds a BA in Earth Science from Trinity College in Dublin (1991), a PhD in Geology from Manchester University (1995) and certified IDP-C, INSEAD's (International Director's Programme, 2022). 

Transaction Detail

Longboat has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire all of the issued share capital of Topaz Number One Limited whose sole asset is a 15.75% interest in Block 2A (the "Acquisition"). As a result, the Company will now control a combined 52.5% interest in the Block 2A PSC with partners Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd (40%) and Petroleum Sarawak Exploration & Production Sdn. Bhd. (7.5%). 

The consideration for the Acquisition will be satisfied in three tranches:

·    an initial issue of new ordinary shares of 10 pence each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") equivalent to US$100,000; upon completion of the Acquisition; 

·    an contingent amount of US$125,000 payable in cash or through a further issue of Ordinary Shares of an equivalent value, upon an exploration well being committed on Block 2A or a farm-out; and

·    a contingent amount of up to US$3,000,000 payable in cash or through a further issue of Ordinary Shares of an equivalent value, upon a discovery being made on Block 2A, depending on the resource size and the growth in the price of the Ordinary Shares measured over a two year period.

The Company believes that an equity position of this size will accelerate the drilling of the Kertang prospect by simplifying the process towards a positive well decision and the potential introduction of an additional funding partner prior to drilling.

The Acquisition remains subject to customary regulatory and partner approvals.

Under the terms of their employment, James Menzies and Pierre Eliet are incentivised to deliver production acquisitions in SE Asia within the next two years.

The information contained within this announcement is considered to be inside information prior to its release.

Ends

Enquiries: Longboat Energy via FTI Helge Hammer, Chief Executive Officer Jon Cooper, Chief Financial Officer Nick Ingrassia, Corporate Development Director Stifel (Nomad and Joint Broker) Tel: [phone] Callum Stewart Jason Grossman Ashton Clanfield Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Joint Broker)                    Tel: [phone] Neil McDonald                 Pete Lynch          Leif Powis            FTI Consulting (PR adviser) Tel: [phone] Ben Brewerton Rosie Corbett Catrin Trudgill [e-mail] Company Background Longboat Energy was established at the end of 2019 to create a full-cycle E&P company through value accretive M&A and near-field exploration. Longboat's initial focus has been in Norway where the Company has drilled eight exploration wells resulting in five hydrocarbon discoveries, representing a technical 63% success rate. In July 2023, Longboat completed a transaction with Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd ("JAPEX") to form a new joint venture company in Norway named Longboat JAPEX Norge AS. Under these arrangements, JAPEX will make a cash investment of up to US$50 million, of which US$16 million was paid on completion, for a 49.9% shareholding in of Longboat JAPEX Norge AS and provide the Joint Venture with a US$100 million Acquisition Financing Facility to finance acquisitions and associated development costs. Longboat retains 50.1% ownership in Longboat JAPEX Norge AS. Also in July 2023, Longboat JAPEX Norge AS announced its first production acquisition in Norway of interests in the Statfjord satellite fields, Statfjord Øst and Sygna. Longboat entered Malaysia in February 2023 through the award of a Production Sharing Contract for Block 2A, offshore Sarawak. Block 2A covers approx. 12,000km2 and is located in water depths of between 100-1,400 metres where a number of large prospects across multiple plays have been identified, with significant volume potential representing multiple trillions of cubic feet of gas. Longboat's activities remain focused on creating a portfolio with a clear low-cost route to monetisation and low-carbon drilling and development opportunities, well aligned to Longboat's ESG targets which includes a corporate 'Net Zero' on a Scope 1 and 2 basis by 2050.

Standard

Estimates of reserves and resources have been prepared in accordance with the June 2018 Petroleum Resources Management System ("PRMS") as the standard for classification and reporting with an effective date of 31 December 2020.

Review by Qualified Person

The technical information in this release has been reviewed by Hilde Salthe, Managing Director Norge, who is a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies. Ms Salthe is a petroleum geologist with more than 20 years' experience in the oil and gas industry. Ms Salthe has a Masters Degree from Faculty of Applied Earth Sciences at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.

 

END