Cameroon update

RNS Number : 0341U

Tower Resources PLC

31 March 2021

 

31 March 2021

Tower Resources plc

("Tower" or the "Company")

Cameroon update

Tower Resources plc (TRP.L, TRP LN), the AIM listed oil and gas company with its focus on Africa , is pleased to announce an update regarding planned operations on the Thali license (the "PSC") in Cameroon held by its subsidiary Tower Resources Cameroon SA ("TRCSA"), and the NJOM-3 well.

The Government of the Republic of Cameroon has notified TRCSA that the President of the Republic has approved a further extension of the First Exploration Period of the PSC, and the Company is now awaiting a formal confirmation from the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development of the details of the extension. As previously announced, the Company declared Force Majeure in March 2020 in respect of the First Exploration Period of the PSC, in light of the restrictions required to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The logistics involved in coordinating personnel and equipment from multiple service providers and locations (as required for an appraisal well with extensive testing) remain challenging, but the Company has a plan to complete drilling of the NJOM-3 well safely in the present circumstances. The Company intends to finalise a schedule with the multiple service companies involved, although this still depends on pandemic developments and the individual service companies' circumstances. But a formal extension of the First Exploration Period is an important element of finalising a schedule as it reduces the uncertainty associated with relying on the current state of Force Majeure, as well as underscoring the support of the Republic of Cameroon for the Thali project.

The Company also reminds investors that it will be reviewing the payment of director fees for the second quarter after the market close today, as usual at the end of a calendar quarter, and will also be reviewing long term incentive (share option) awards for 2021 at the same time.

Jeremy Asher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are grateful to the Republic of Cameroon for their continued support of the Thali project, and in particular to the President of the Republic, the Secretary General of the Office of the Presidency, and the Prime Minister for taking a direct interest in our activity, as well as the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development and his staff and all the staff at the Societé Nationale de Hydrocarbures who have supported us during this First Exploration Period. We are looking forward to seeing the NJOM-3 well drilled as soon as possible, and we will notify investors when we have more material developments."

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

Contacts

Tower Resources plc	[phone]
Jeremy Asher Chairman and CEO
Andrew Matharu VP - Corporate Affairs
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Stuart Gledhill Caroline Rowe	[phone]
ETX Capital Joint Broker Elliot Hance	[phone]
Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited Joint Broker Andy Thacker Zoe Alexander	[phone]
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited Joint Broker Nick Lovering Hugh Rich	[phone]

Notes:

Tower Resources Cameroon S.A, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tower Resources plc, holds a 100% interest in the shallow water Thali (formerly known as "Dissoni") Production Sharing Contract (PSC), in the Rio del Rey basin, offshore Cameroon.

The Thali PSC covers an area of 119.2 km², with water depths ranging from 8 to 48 metres, and lies in the prolific Rio del Rey basin, in the eastern part of the Niger Delta. The Rio del Rey basin has, to date, produced over one billion barrels of oil and has estimated remaining reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent ("boe"), primarily within depths of less than 2,000 metres. The Rio del Rey is a sub-basin of the Niger Delta, an area in which over 34.5 billion barrels of oil has been discovered, with 2.5 billion boe attributed to the Cameroonian section.

An independent Reserve Report conducted by Oilfield International Limited (OIL) and published in March 2020 has highlighted the contingent and potential resources on the Thali licence and the associated Expected Monetary Value (EMV) as follows:

§ Gross mean contingent resources of 17.9 MMbbls of oil and liquids across the proven Njonji-1 and Njonji-2 fault blocks;

§ Gross mean prospective resources of 19.8 MMbbls of oil and liquids across the Njonji South and Njonji South-West fault blocks;

§ Gross mean prospective resources of 111.3 MMbbls of oil and liquids across four identified prospects located in the Dissoni South and Idenao areas in the northern part of the Thali licence;

§ Calculated Best Estimate NPV10 of US$119 million and EMV10 US$91 million for the contingent resources, based on March 2020 Brent price for 2021 of approximately $44/barrel.

In accordance with the guidelines for the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Dr Mark Enfield, BSc, PhD, a Director of Tower Resources plc, who has over 30 years' experience in the oil and gas industry, is the qualified person that has reviewed and approved the technical content of this announcement.

 

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