publication of CPR

RNS Number : 5355K

Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC

18 July 2011

 



18 July 2011 to be embargoed for 7am release

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc ("Bahamas Petroleum" or the "Company")

Publication of Competent Persons Report ("CPR")

Bahamas Petroleum is pleased to announce the results from its recent CPR by Ryder Scott Company, L.P. ("Ryder Scott") which confirms the Company's previous estimates of oil potential.

HIGHLIGHTS

·     Four structures over the Bain, Cooper and Donaldson licences with Unrisked Recoverable Prospective Resources (EUR) in excess of 500 million bbls each at multiple reservoir intervals;

·     Three of the four structures have an unrisked EUR in excess of 1 billion barrels of oil;

·     The EUR have been estimated statistically - and each of the separate intervals are considered to have different risk. However, if the hydrocarbon system is working at each level, the four structures have a summed mean EUR greater than four bboe;

·     The report focused on the Cretaceous interval only. The shallower Tertiary strata and deeper Jurassic pre and post-salt will be evaluated after we have completed our 3D seismic interpretation and;

·     The report also addresses the Chance of Success by reservoir interval for each structure.

The CPR was undertaken following the interpretation of Bahamas Petroleum's recently acquired 2D seismic programme, which allowed for evaluation of trap size and potential reservoir intervals. The 2D seismic defined four fold trends, each with the potential for multiple reservoir intervals.

A breakdown of the volumes in three Cretaceous intervals for each of the four structures, assessed in accordance with the Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS) guidelines and definitions, is included in the CPR and is set out below:

Structure	Horizon	Unrisked STOOIP (MMBO) Gross (100%)				Unrisked EUR (MMBO) Gross (100%)				Chance of Success
		Low	Best	High	Mean (2)	Low	Best	High	Mean (2)
A	Top Cretaceous	78.7	231.4	575.9	286.2	12.9	45.7	146.4	66.9	11%
	Top Albian	190.0	1,087.6	3,258.5	1474.3	33.8	202.8	798.3	337.6	13%
	Top Aptian	664.7	2,234.2	5,836.0	2849.7	115.8	437.3	1,502.8	687.3	31%
B	Top Cretaceous	752.8	2,572.3	7,053.7	3322.5	134.6	527.7	1,610.5	764.0	26%
	Top Albian	479.0	1,904.7	5,433.5	2539.7	93.1	388.1	1,314.6	572.6	23%
	Top Aptian	494.0	2,227.3	6,445.7	2964.6	97.8	415.8	1,702.3	703.3	35%
C	Top Cretaceous	201.8	552.6	1,397.3	696.3	32.8	119.2	363.1	168.4	28%
	Top Albian	312.2	839.8	2,109.7	1057.6	54.2	180.0	537.6	250.9	28%
	Top Aptian	174.7	511.7	1,222.9	628.2	29.0	104.8	314.9	148.0	35%
D	Top Cretaceous	99.4	217.4	517.7	268.2	15.7	46.8	132.0	62.4	9%
	Top Albian	677.9	1,703.5	4,029.8	2103.8	115.4	377.9	1,068.3	506.1	12%
	Top Aptian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

MMBO = million barrels of oil

In accordance with the PRMS, Ryder Scott has reported the low, best and high estimates for each horizon. As requested by Bahamas Petroleum , Ryder Scott has also included the mean estimates for each horizon.

The full CPR is available for download on the Company's website, www.bpcplc.com.  

Bahamas Petroleum is currently undertaking a 3D seismic programme over its four southern licences, with more than 40% of the survey completed to date on schedule, time and budget.  The 3D  is expected to help firm up the most appropriate potential drill sites and enhance knowledge of the geology in Cretaceous and the deeper Jurassic and subsalt interval.  Thereafter the Company plans to drill a well, subject to securing the necessary finance and subject to the Government's review of the Company's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which is scheduled to be completed and presented to the Government in Q3 2011.   The regulatory regime under which drilling will be supervised is expected to be put in place in the forthcoming year.  

The current exploration licence period expires in April, 2012.  Under the terms of the licences, the Governor General grants the licence holder, Bahamas Offshore Petroleum (BOP) and Island Offshore Petroleum (IOP), subsidiaries of Bahamas Petroleum, the sole right to undertake exploration in its licence areas subject to conditions set out in the licences and Bahamian legislation and regulations.  If BOP and IOP meet the financial and regulatory provisions of the licences, the Governor General shall renew the licences for another three years providing the Company commits to drill an exploration well and spuds the well before the end of the first renewal year, i.e., by April 26, 2013.  The Company advised the Ministry of the Environment of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in a letter dated in February, 2011, that Bahamas Petroleum has fulfilled the commitments of the current licences and that they intend to continue the exploration program into the next extension (through 2015). The intention is to now spud the first well in 2012 and no later than April 26, 2013.

Dr Paul Gucwa, COO of Bahamas Petroleum, commented:

"It is encouraging to have third party endorsement of the significant oil potential of our licence area. It is important to note however that this report, as requested, deals only with the Cretaceous reservoirs that are structurally trapped within the mapped closures. We believe considerable potential exists in shallower Tertiary section, in stratigraphic traps off structure, in the deeper Jurassic and in the subsalt interval. The potential of these incremental reservoirs is significant and could equal or exceed the volumes reported here. We expect our 3D seismic programme, which is currently underway, will allow us to quantify this additional potential."

Dr. Paul Crevello, CEO of the Company, commented:

"The Ryder Scott report provides the first resource evaluation of the southern fold belt and, for that matter, in The Bahamas. The report is the result of analyses of the recently acquired 2D seismic survey and verifies our earlier studies on the resource potential of The Bahamas.  It has taken the Company nearly five years to mature the project to this level.  The study supports the longstanding vision of our Chairman and Founder, Alan Burns, that The Bahamas may hold significant quantities of hydrocarbons.  We are extremely pleased with the results of the report and look forward to continuing our exploration programme in licences in which the Company holds 100% interests".

Dr Paul Crevello, CEO of the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement in his capacity as a qualified person, as required under the AIM rules.  Dr Crevello has a PhD in Geology, with over 35 years as a practicing Petroleum Geologist and has been a Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists for more than 33 years.

For further information contact:

Bahamas Petroleum Company plc  Dr Paul Crevello, Chief Executive Officer Dr Paul Gucwa, Chief Operating Officer	Tel: Isle of Man: +0044 1624 641194 Bahamas: +001 242 393 0345
Strand Hanson Limited - Nomad Rory Murphy / Liam Buswell	Tel: [phone]
Financial Dynamics - Financial PR Billy Clegg / Ed Westropp / Alex Beagley	Tel: [phone]
Canaccord Genuity - Joint broker Charles Berkeley / Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor	Tel: [phone]
FirstEnergy Capital LLP - Joint broker Hugh Sanderson / Derek Smith	Tel: [phone]
Novus Capital Markets Ltd - Joint broker Charles Goodfellow	Tel: [phone]

Glossary of Key Technical Terms:

"Unrisked recoverable prospective  resource volumes" or "EUR"	Those quantities of petroleum which are estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations, not adjusted for the geological chance of success.
"Chance of Success" or "CoS"	The geological Chance of Success is an evaluation of the probability of a discovery based on the likelihood of the presence of a functioning Petroleum System. The Chance of Success does not consider whether a discovery will be economically viable.
"STOOIP"	Stock Tank Oil Initially in Place is the quantity of petroleum which is estimated, as of a given date, to be contained in potential accumulations prior to discovery.
"PRMS"	The Petroleum Resources Management System which contains the definitions and disclosure guidelines for resources data, as published jointly by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, World Petroleum Council, American Association of Petroleum Engineers and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers.
Low Estimate	P90 on the probability distribution. 90% chance that if hydrocarbons are found the volume will meet or exceed this value.
High Estimate	P10 on the probability distribution. 10% chance that if hydrocarbons are found the volume will meet or exceed this value.
Best Estimate	P50 on the probability distribution. Equal chance that if hydrocarbons are found the volume will be greater or smaller than this value.
Mean Estimate	Statistical mean or "Expected value" of the distribution.

 

END

 

 

MSCGGUAPMUPGPGM