Update on Red Leaf and EcoShale In-Capsule Process

RNS Number : 4097B

TomCo Energy PLC

06 October 2015

 

TomCo Energy plc

("TomCo" or the "Company")

Update on Red Leaf and EcoShale™ In-Capsule Process

 6 October 2015

TomCo Energy plc today announces that the Company's technology provider Red Leaf Resources Inc. ("Red Leaf") has released its 2014 Annual Report which contains information to the timing of construction for its Early Production System ("EPS") capsule and improved second generation EPS design ("EPS2").  

The Red Leaf's CEO's statement contained the following information:

"Under prevailing prices, both TOTAL and Red Leaf sought opportunities to conserve cash. Red Leaf, for its part, was facing the necessity of raising cash in a down oil market. Raising money in this oil market would have been difficult for any early stage energy company. It would have been particularly difficult for us given that the commercial version of our first generation design was targeted to be economic at $80/bbl oil.

In March, we reached an agreement with TOTAL to conserve cash and dramatically slow spending in 2015/2016, bring forward ideas for improvement into the design of an improved EPS project (EPS2), and then re-launch full-scale construction of EPS2 in 2017. This decision forced the cancellation of construction contracts and is expected to result in roughly a two-year delay in the commercial demonstration project. But this delay has created the opportunity for the engineers to design the second generation of our EcoShale® technology. Ideas for improvement that had been shelved as we pushed to complete EPS1 are now being engineered into EPS2. Through design simplifications, second generation capsules should be cheaper to build and contain more oil per capsule. As a result, we expect per barrel economics to be substantially improved compared to first generation technology."

Red Leaf's announcement, containing the full CEO statement, can be seen on Red Leaf´s Investor Relation page at:

 http://redleafinc.com/uploads/files/52_RL_Annual_Report_NO_Financials_v18.pdf

Red Leaf Resources Inc., an oil shale development company with proprietary technology and significant resources under lease in Utah.

TomCo will only progress with commercial-scale construction on its Holliday Block at such time as the results of Red Leaf's nearby EPS capsule are available. 

Enquiries:

For further information, please visit www.tomcoenergy.uk.com or contact: 

TomCo Energy plc                                                            Tel: [phone]

Miikka Haromo, CEO

Shore Capital (Nomad & Broker)                              Tel: [phone]

Nominated Adviser 

Pascal Keane / Edward Mansfield   

Corporate Broking 

Jerry Keen   

Tavistock Communications (Financial PR & IR)

Ed Portman / Jos Simson                                              Tel: [phone]  

Notes to Editors:  

TomCo Energy plc (AIM: TOM) is a London based, AIM-listed company, with substantial Oil Shale assets in Utah, USA. 

TomCo holds a 100% interest in two Oil Shale leases, comprising 5 blocks covering 2,919 acres in Uintah County, Utah. Independent natural resources consultants SRK Consultants Ltd, part of the internationally recognised SRK Group, has declared a surface mineable JORC compliant Measured Resource of 126 million barrels on TomCo's 1,186 acre Holliday Block lease. 

The Company has entered into a licence agreement with Red Leaf Resources Inc ("Red Leaf") for the use of their EcoShale™ In-Capsule Process, a proven and environmentally sensitive technology, to extract Oil from TomCo's leases. 

Additionally, Red Leaf is planning a 9,800 bopd commercial operation at their Seep Ridge site, which lies about 15 miles SW of TomCo's Holliday Block lease. 

Led by a highly experienced management team, TomCo's strategy is to develop the Holliday Block lease as a similar follow-on project to Seep Ridge using the EcoShale™ In-Capsule Process, with the same targeted production of 9,800 bopd. 

Glossary: 

bopd: barrels of oil per day 

JORC Code: The mineral resource classification code devised by the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee

 

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