Interim Results
Fusion Oil & Gas PLC
3 April 2001
Fusion Oil & Gas plc
('Fusion' or 'the Company')
Interim Results for the Six Months ended 31 December 2000
Fusion is an international oil and gas exploration company, with extensive
interests in deepwater West Africa, comprising 9 licences across 7 countries.
The Company listed on AIM in September 2000 and will be drilling its first
exploration wells this month.
* Successful flotation on AIM and £15m fund raising
* Loss after taxation of £179k, in line with projections at flotation
* Significant progress made post flotation:
* Participating in two deepwater wells in Mauritania
* Commencing drilling in Ghana
* Acquired deepwater acreage offshore Cameroon, in highly prospective
region
* Completed acquisition of deepwater acreage covering c.11,000km(2) in
Senegal-Guinea Bissau
* Completed second seismic survey in deep water Gambia
* Seismic surveys underway in Senegal-Guinea Bissau and Cameroon
* £3.4m exploration programme due for the remainder of this reporting year
Dr Alan Stein, Managing Director, Fusion Oil and Gas plc, commented:
'In a short space of time Fusion has established a significant position in the
highly prospective exploration region of deepwater West Africa. With a current
drilling programme in place and a portfolio of exciting exploration
opportunities the group has considerable upside potential.'
3 April 2001
For further details or a downloadable version of the interim report with
illustrations please refer to the company's web page www.fusionoil.com.au or
contact:
Fusion Oil & Gas plc Tel (61) 89 226 3011
Level 2 Scott House Fax (61) 89 226 3022
46 Kings Park Rd e-mail fusion@fusionoil.com.au
West Perth 6005
Western Australia
Alan Stein Managing Director
Jonathan Taylor Exploration Director
Fusion Oil & Gas plc Tel 020-8891-3252
8 Old Lodge Place Fax 020-8891-1555
St. Margarets e -mail peter@fusionoil.demon.co.uk
Twickenham
Middlesex
TW1 1RQ
United Kingdom
Peter Dolan Chairman
College Hill Associates Tel. 020 7457 2020
78 Cannon Street Fax. 020 7248 3295
London EC4N 6HH e-mail james.henderson@collegehill.com
James Henderson
FUSION OIL AND GAS PLC
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
It gives me great pleasure to present the interim results for the period ended
31 December 2000. These are the first set of results published by Fusion Oil &
Gas plc and it is with some considerable satisfaction that I can report that
the company has achieved, and made progress towards, several key milestones
since its incorporation in June 2000.
On 30 June 2000, our offer to acquire Fusion Oil & Gas NL became
unconditional. This was followed on 28 September with our admission to the
Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange and the
successful completion of a £15 million fund raising.
The successful capital raising and associated AIM listing was a landmark
achievement and on behalf of the Board I would like to acknowledge the
exemplary efforts of our management, staff and advisory team during this
critical period for the company.
Fusion, in a short space of time, has developed a successful strategy of
frontier deepwater exploration and shallow water shelf or onshore exploration
in proven petroleum provinces. The rationale for listing on AIM and the
accompanying fund raising was to fund a programme of seismic acquisition,
exploration drilling and expansion of our licence portfolio. Since flotation
we have made good progress in furthering our strategy and have acquired an
exceptionally strong exploration portfolio with significant upside potential.
Results
In the period to 31 December the Group's turnover was £155,514, resulting in a
loss after taxation of £178,750, in line with our forecast at the time of our
flotation. The loss per share was 0.196p.
Drilling and Exploration Programme
In December we announced that the ENI-Saipem drilling rig Scarabeo 7 had been
contracted to drill two wells on the Company's exploration licences in
Mauritania. This was followed in March with the announcement that drilling in
PSC B would commence during early April 2001.
In February 2001 the Company completed a second seismic survey in its
deepwater licence in the Gambia.
During March the Company issued a letter of intent to contract a rig to drill
the Fusion-1X onshore exploration well in the Company's North Tano exploration
licence in Ghana. The well is due to commence drilling in May.
The next major milestones for the Company will be the drilling operations in
Mauritania and Ghana. In Mauritania we will be participating in the first
deepwater exploration wells in Northwest Africa. These wells have the
potential to open up a new deepwater petroleum province. Encouraging results
would have a significant impact upon the future direction of the Company. In
Ghana there have been numerous wells drilled in the North Tano licence all of
which encountered indications of oil or gas. However the Fusion 1X well will
be the first to be drilled to test a valid onshore structural feature as
defined by seismic data.
New Exploration Acreage
On 16 January the Company acquired two deepwater exploration interests in the
Senegal-Guinea Bissau Common Zone ('AGC') covering an area of approximately
11,000 km2. Seismic operations over both permits started in March.
On 14 March the Company acquired deepwater exploration interests in Cameroon
covering an area of approximately 2,000 km2. Seismic operations started in
March.
Outlook
The above activity highlights the very real progress we have made. We now have
strong positions in Mauritania, Gambia, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Ghana,
Cameroon and Gabon. With a seismic exploration campaign across several
licenses and a three well drilling programme underway I am confident we are
well placed to deliver significant shareholder value for the future.
Dr Peter Dolan
Chairman
3 April 2001
FUSION OIL AND GAS PLC
REVIEW OF OPERATIONS
Mauritania
Fusion has a 3% and 6% working interest in offshore blocks PSC A and PSC B
respectively in the Republic of Mauritania, Northwest Africa. These large
licences cover a total area of 28,000 km2 and extend from the coastline to
water depths in excess of 2,000 m. Previous exploration in Mauritania
(1969-1991) resulted in the drilling of 11 nearshore wells; 8 in water depths
less than 200 m. Hydrocarbon shows were encountered in the majority of these
wells.
In August 1998 Woodside Mauritania Pty Ltd ('Woodside') and British-Borneo
International Ltd ('British Borneo') signed a farm-in agreement to both PSCs,
whereby the Fusion interest would be free-carried through the initial 2D
seismic acquisition phase and potentially through the drilling of two offshore
wells. Both PSC's are operated by Woodside Mauritania Pty Ltd. British Borneo
has subsequently been acquired by AGIP.
During the period 1998 to 2000 the joint venture acquired over 8,000 km of 2D
seismic and over 3,000 km2 of 3D seismic which is one of the largest 3D
surveys acquired in West Africa. The final 3D volume was delivered in November
2000. The prospect and lead inventory has matured and currently contains over
30 leads and prospects within, or immediately adjacent to the 3D survey area,
with cumulative un-risked prospective reserves in excess of 4,500 mmbbl.
In December the Company announced that the joint venture had committed to
drill at least two exploration wells using the ENI owned rig Scarabeo-7 on
assignment from AGIP.
During February the joint venture agreed that the first two wells Chinguetti-1
and Courbine-1 would be drilled in PSC B. The Chinguetti prospect is in
approximately 800 m of water. It is an anticlinal feature overlying a salt
dome covering an area in excess of 10 km2. The Chinguetti well is expected to
TD at 2,600 m after having tested multiple Tertiary reservoir objectives. The
Courbine prospect is in approximately 1,300 m of water. It is an anticlinal
feature overlying a compressional toe-thrust covering an area in excess of 25
km2. The Courbine well is expected to TD at 4,000 m after having tested
Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous reservoir objectives. The well may be deepened
to 4,700 m to obtain information about deeper prospective horizons.
Both wells are designed to provide maximum information about the various
petroleum systems that are thought to be present in the basin while at the
same time testing potentially economic reserves. In January 2001 DeGolyer and
Macnaughton prepared an independent expert's report on the drilling program
for Woodside. The report showed an estimated mean non-risked recoverable
reserves in the primary objectives of 180 and 216 million barrels for the
Chinguetti and Courbine prospects (formerly referred to by Woodside as leads 1
and 8S) respectively. In addition there are a number of prospects and leads
with comparable reserves potential within a 20km radius of the Chinguetti
prospect (including Courbine) which could, in the event of success, be
developed by means of tie-back to central infrastructure.
Drilling operations are expected to commence early in April, 2000. The
Chinguetti-1 well is expected to take 30-40 days to reach its objective while
the Courbine-1 well is expected to take 40-60 days.
The Gambia
Fusion was awarded a 100% interest in a deepwater licence in the Gambia in
October 1999.
The licence area is approximately 5,000 km2 extending from the 50 m
bathymetric contour to beyond 2,000 m. The Gambia has been sparsely explored
since the onset of exploration in the region in the late 1960's. The only
well, drilled offshore The Gambia (Jammah-1, 1979), targeted a shelf-edge
carbonate feature and encountered viable reservoir horizons and good source
rocks but only minor hydrocarbon shows.
In December 1999 the Company acquired 1,000 km of 2D seismic data over the
western half of the Gambia licence. The new data confirmed the presence of
large prospective Upper Cretaceous intra-slope features and, for the first
time, identified the presence of salt diapirism at the base of the continental
slope.
Specialised processing of the 1999 data has identified large areas of
potentially sand-prone Upper Creatceous sequences on the continental slope
that could be effective reservoirs. These are analogous to recently proven
play concepts in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Although high risk these reservoirs
have the potential to contain significant reserves, large enough to justify
deepwater field development.
In February 2001 the Company announced the completion of a second seismic
survey of approximately 720km designed to detail potentially prospective
salt-related structures identified by the 1999 survey.
The structural trend detailed by the 2001 survey lies in a favourable position
to be charged by the same source rocks that are present in Mauritania to the
north. The primary reservoir objective is Upper Cretaceous.
The Company intends to evaluate the 2001 survey before continuing discussions
with companies that have expressed an interest in joining the project.
Gabon
Fusion has a 38.75% interest in Iris Marin and Themis Marin in the Gabon.
The PSC's (Production Sharing Contracts) covering these areas were signed
between the Republic of Gabon and Fusion on 12 November 1999, and ratified by
the Gabonese Parliament on 30 December 1999. Fusion operates the Iris Marin
and Themis Marin exploration permits in the Republic of Gabon on behalf of the
Iris and Themis Joint Ventures. The other joint venture parties are Sunset
Downs Pastoral Company Pty Ltd (25.7%), Horizon Energy and Resources NL
(12.9%), Hardman Resources NL (12.9%) and Millennium Oil Corporation (10.0%).
Both permits cover offshore coastal areas, with water depths ranging from the
coastal zone to 50 m. The combined area under licence is approximately 2,000
km2.
In September 2000 the Company completed an initial evaluation of both permits
recognising prospective leads in both PSC's. This formed the basis of the
independent evaluation conducted by Scott Pickford Group Ltd in the Fusion AIM
Admission document dated September 2000. The Company has continued to build on
its regional database and has secured permission from previous operators to
access their technical data. The process of retrieving this information is
underway. The Company will review this information before determining an
appropriate strategy for the acquisition of new seismic data.
There are several wells proposed for drilling in adjacent permits during the
next twelve months which could significantly impact upon the exploration
potential of both Iris and Themis.
Ghana
Fusion has a 90% interest in the North Tano Exploration Licence in Ghana.
Fusion operates the North Tano Exploration licence in the Republic of Ghana
through its wholly owned subsidiary West Oil Ghana Pty Ltd. The Petroleum
Agreement covering this acreage was signed between the Republic of Ghana, West
Oil Ghana Pty Ltd and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation ('GNPC') on 26
March 1998, and ratified by Parliament on the 24 June 1998. The licence
surrounds the North Tano gas and oil field (estimated gas-in-place 101 bcf,
oil-in-place 54 mmbbl), which is operated by GNPC.
The North Tano License is located in the east of the Abidjan Margin
sedimentary basin. This basin has yielded a number of offshore oil and gas
fields in Cote d'Ivoire (including the Lion, Espoir, Foxtrot, Belier, Kudu and
Ibex fields) as well as the North Tano and South Tano fields in Ghana. These
accumulations are at various stages of appraisal, development or production.
During the second half of 2000 the Company licensed 150 km2 of non-exclusive
3D seismic data in the offshore part of the permit where it also reprocessed
some existing 2D seismic data. In the onshore area the Company has reprocessed
most of the existing 2D seismic data, conducted an extensive gravity survey
and has undertaken an analysis of oils collected from prolific surface
seepages and previous exploration wells.
An inventory consisting of 15 onshore and offshore leads and prospects has
been identified within the North Tano licence. The inventory is currently
constrained by sparse or poor quality data coverage. It is expected that
additional offshore 3D and onshore 2D seismic data would reveal additional
leads and prospects. Offshore prospectivity consists primarily of Upper
Cretaceous stratigraphic targets within the large Assinie submarine canyon
system and possible small satellite features to the North Tano field. The
Assinie Canyon is a major sediment conduit and demonstrates several phases of
shelf incision and infill. The WT-1X well, drilled in the distal portion of
the canyon system in 2000 by Dana Petroleum plc, discovered oil and gas at two
stratigraphic levels. WT-1X is located 16 km to the south of the North Tano
license.
Reprocessing of onshore seismic data has revealed evidence of a horst
structure, named Tikobo North, near the basin margin. This feature coincides
with a distinct topographic high, and a pronounced gravity anomaly. It is
flanked by earlier wells that reported significant oil shows. Due to these
various factors the Tikobo North horst was selected as the favoured initial
drilling target in the permit.
Potential recoverable reserves for the Tikobo North prospect are estimated by
the Company to be around 50 mmbbl. Commercial evaluation of the mean case
reserve with conservative input parameters suggests that the economics are
robust even with low oil prices.
In January the company received approval from GNPC for its plans to test the
Tikobo North horst feature with the Fusion-1X exploration well. This will be
the first onshore exploration well in Ghana to be drilled on a seismically
defined feature. In March the company entered the final stage of negotiation
prior to award of the drilling and major service contracts. The well is
scheduled to spud in May 2001. The well will be drilled to test several
prospective reservoirs within the Cretaceous Kobnaswaso Formation.
Senegal/Guinea Bissau Common Zone (AGC)
Fusion has an 88% interest in Croix du Sud Convention de Recherche and a 10%
interest in Cheval Marin Convention de Recherche in Senegal.
The Agence de Gestion et de Cooperation entre la Guinee-Bissau et le Senegal
('AGC') is the Joint Commission established by the Governments of Senegal and
Guinea-Bissau to administer petroleum and fishing activity within their
maritime border zone.
In August 2000 the Company announced the signature of the Croix du Sud
Convention covering what had previously been known as Block 4. This Convention
covers an area of approximately 3,500 km2. Fusion is the operator with an
interest of 88 %. The remaining 12% (carried) is held by the AGC.
In September 2000 the company signed the Cheval Marin Convention incorporating
what had previously been known as Blocks 1, 2 and 3. The Cheval Marin
Convention covers an area of approximately 6,500 km2. AGIP is the Operator,
with an interest of 75%. Fusion has 10% and the remaining 15% (carried) is
held by the AGC. The award of both Conventions received Presidential
ratification in February 2001.
Several deepwater play systems were identified by Fusion during pre-award
technical studies. The presence of large quantities of biodegraded oil
immediately adjacent to these blocks in the Dome Flore and Dome Gea
accumulations demonstrates the presence of a prolific petroleum system in this
area. Several large leads have already been delineated on the existing seismic
data which have the potential to contain significant quantities of
hydrocarbons.
AGIP, as operator of the Cheval Marin permit, has commenced acquisition of
1,300 km of 2D seismic data using the vessel Akademik Nemchinov operated by
Veritas Geophysical Limited. Upon completion of the Cheval Marin survey Fusion
will also use the Akademic Nemchinov to acquire 1,000 km of 2D seismic data in
Croix du Sud.
These data will be used to detail a prospect and lead inventory for both
permits which will high-grade areas for further studies prior to maturing
potential drilling locations.
Cameroon:
Fusion has a 100% interest in the Ntem Petroleum Concession Contract
In March 2001 the Company announced that it had signed a Petroleum Concession
Contract (PCC) with the Republic of Cameroon. The Ntem contract area covers
approximately 2,000 km2. Water depths range from less than 1000 m to over 2000
m. Fusion has been awarded the Ntem contract as a result of an application
made during a competitive bidding round which closed on 30 June 2000.
Fusion holds 100% equity in the Ntem contract. The contract has three, two
year exploration terms. There is an obligation to acquire 2D or possibly 3D
seismic data over the Ntem permit in its first two-year exploration term to
further evaluate several prospective features, some with possible direct
hydrocarbon indicators, that have already been identified on the existing
seismic data. Fusion contracted Veritas Geophysical Limited to commence
acquistion of a block-wide 2D seismic survey during March. These data will be
used to detail a prospect and lead inventory which will high-grade areas for
further studies prior to maturing potential drilling locations.
The Ntem permit is situated in the Southern Douala basin and lies adjacent to
the northern border of the Equatorial Guinea territory of Rio Muni. The
Southern Douala basin has recently been the focus of considerable industry
attention following the 1999 discovery of the deepwater Ceiba field, offshore
Rio Muni. The Ceiba field is located 100 km south of the Ntem permit in water
depths of 700 m. Production from Ceiba commenced in 2001, some 14 months after
the initial discovery, with a current production rate of 40,000 bopd. Reserves
for the Ceiba field are estimated at approximately 600 mmbbl.
Industry activity is high in the licences surrounding the Ntem permit. The
operator of the Ceiba field, Triton Energy Ltd, recently announced a farmin to
the Block L deepwater licence, operated by US major Chevron, that lies between
the Ceiba field and Ntem permit. Exploration drilling in Block L is scheduled
prior to end 2002. A 3D dataset has recently been acquired adjacent to the
Ntem permit boundary in the shallow-water Perenco/ExxonMobil Ebodje permit.
Dr Alan Stein
Managing Director
3 April 2001
Fusion Oil & Gas plc
Consolidated Profit and Loss Account for the period 12 April 2000 to 31
December 2000
£
Interest and other income 155,514
Operating costs 334,264
Loss on ordinary activities 178,750
before taxation
Taxation 0
Loss on ordinary activities 178,750
after taxation
Loss per ordinary share 0.196p
Fusion Oil & Gas plc
Consolidated Balance Sheet at 31 December 2000
£
Fixed Assets
Tangible 24,395
Intangible exploration and appraisal expenditure 1,765,974
1,790,369
Current Assets
Debtors 73,449
Cast at bank 13,540,658
13,641,107
Creditors
(amounts falling within one year)
Creditors 515,533
Net current assets 13,098,574
Net Assets 14,888,943
Capital and Reserves
Called up share capital 912,233
Share premium account 14,155,460
Accumulated losses (178,750)
Shareholders' funds 14,888,943
Fusion Oil & Gas plc
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the period 12 April 2000 to 31 December
2000
£
Net outflow from operating activities (24,930)
Returns on Investing and Servicing of Finance
Interest Received 155,514
Capital Expenditure and Financial Investment
Purchase of Intangible Fixed Assets (1,018,213)
Acquisitions and Disposals
Acquisition of Subsidiary 351,453
Cash Outflow before Financing (536,176)
Financing
Net Proceeds from share issues 13,651,831
Proceeds from issue of convertible note 425,000
Net inflow from financing 14,076,831
Increase in cash for the period 13,540,658
Note to the accounts:
1. Accounting policies & presentation of financial information:
The accounting policies summarised below have been applied consistently
throughout the period from 12 April 2000 (date of incorporation) to 31
December 2000.
Basis of accounting
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
Basis of consolidation
The accounts consolidate the undertakings of Fusion Oil & Gas plc and its
subsidiaries for the period from the date on which control passed.
2. Called up share capital
31 December 2000
£
Authorised:
500,000,000 ordinary shares of 1 pence each 5,000,000
25,000,000 'B' shares of 1 pence each 250,000
5,250,000
Called up allotted and fully paid:
91,223,300 ordinary shares of 1 pence each 912,223
During the period shares were allotted as follows:
The company was established with two £1 subscriber shares. On 16 June 2000
these shares were subdivided to 200 shares of 1 pence each.
On 16 June the Company presented an offer to the shareholders of Fusion Oil &
Gas NL to exchange their shareholdings in Fusion Oil & Gas NL for shares in
Fusion Oil & Gas Limited (now plc). On 30 June 2000 the offer became
unconditional and on 18 July 2000 the Company completed the acquisition of 100
per cent of the fully paid ordinary shares of Fusion Oil & Gas NL. In
accordance with this offer the company allotted 60,000,600 shares to the
shareholders of Fusion Oil & Gas NL.
In the terms of the offer the Company had a contingent obligation to issue one
of its shares for each Partly Paid Ordinary Share in Fusion Oil & Gas NL upon
those shares being paid up. During the period Fusion Oil & Gas plc issued
160,000 shares to holders of Partly Paid Ordinary Share in Fusion Oil & Gas NL
who paid up their shares.
At 31 December 2000 there were a further 7,929,341 Partly Paid Ordinary Shares
in Fusion Oil & Gas NL for which the latest payment date is 28 February 2005.
On 23 August 2000 the Company raised £425,000 in working capital through the
issue of a Convertible Note. On 28 September the Company issued a total of
1,062,500 shares on conversion on the note.
On 28 September 2000 the Company raised a total £15 million through the
placement of 30,000,000, 1 pence shares at a premium of 49 pence per share
with various institutions.