TIDMIOG
RNS Number : 1906U
Independent Oil & Gas PLC
16 January 2017
16 January 2017
Independent Oil and Gas plc
Acquisition of SNS Pipeline and Skipper Update
Independent Oil and Gas plc ("IOG" or the "Company") (AIM:
IOG.L), the development and production focused Oil and Gas Company,
is pleased to announce it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
("MOU") regarding the 100% acquisition of a currently disused
pipeline in the Southern North Sea ("SNS") for a nominal
consideration. The pipeline will provide the proposed export route
for its Southern North Sea assets. The Company also provides
further results of the Skipper appraisal well drilled last
year.
Acquisition of SNS Pipeline
The MOU contains exclusivity provisions until 28(th) February
2017. Discussions regarding the Sale and Purchase Agreement ("SPA")
are at an advanced stage and all parties are committed to
completing this documentation and then concluding the acquisition
at the earliest opportunity. The Company will assume operatorship
of the pipeline at completion and the liability for future
decommissioning.
Under the terms of the SPA, IOG would also acquire the
associated onshore reception facilities. IOG plans to use this
pipeline as the main export route for all of its SNS gas
assets.
Upon acquisition of the pipeline, IOG will undertake an
intelligent pigging inspection to ensure the pipeline's integrity
for safe re-use. The Company then intends to re-commission it to
enable evacuation of the gas from both the Company's Blythe hub and
Vulcan Satellites hub. This will require the installation of
inter-field pipelines and tie-in points as is normal for any gas
field development. With 300,000 million cubic feet per day
("MMcfd") capacity, the pipeline could also accommodate export of
the newly enlarged resources in the Harvey discovery, subject to
further appraisal.
This acquisition is of great strategic importance as it provides
an export route for the Company's SNS gas development portfolio
which IOG has acquired at low cost, mainly due to concerns over the
ability to export the gas. Ownership and recommissioning of this
pipeline will solve this issue, providing a direct export route for
the Company's gas assets into the UK market. By owning the gas
assets and the export route 100%, IOG will benefit from clear
control over the entire process from field to market. There may
also be potential for third parties to use the pipeline in which
case IOG would benefit from tariff income. This strategy is fully
supported by the Oil and Gas Authority ("OGA"), is in line with the
Maximising Economic Recovery principles and is incorporated in the
draft Blythe Field Development Plan submitted to the OGA in
December 2016.
By owning the pipeline, the Company will incur no transportation
tariffs, thereby further improving the economics of the SNS gas
assets. These developments will also benefit from recent stronger
UK gas prices. The Company will need to agree and pay processing
tariffs to the terminal operator in the normal way. There will be
ample ullage through the pipeline and the terminal has capacity to
receive in excess of 400 bcf of gas at rates up to 200 MMcfd for
more than 20 years.
The consideration is for a nominal sum, with IOG agreeing to
bear the liabilities for the future decommissioning of the pipeline
and reception facilities.
Skipper Update
The Company has received further results from the analysis of
the oil samples retrieved from the Skipper appraisal well drilled
in July/August last year. The oil has a high density of
approximately 11 degAPI, a high viscosity and a high Total Acid
Number. However, the Skipper oil is mobile in the very high
permeability reservoir and is also mobile at ambient conditions
thanks to its very low wax content. The Company is undertaking
further technical and commercial evaluation, in particular building
a reservoir model to simulate the oil's mobility in the reservoir.
If a field development plan can be designed to enable the economic
extraction of oil from the Skipper field, the oil properties will
present a challenge for refining and marketability. Depending on
where and when the oil is sold, the Company anticipates the crude
would trade at a significant discount to the prevailing quoted
Brent oil price.
The total cost of the Skipper appraisal well drilled in
July/August 2016 was GBP10 million. As previously announced this
has been part financed via loans and deferred payments which are
due to be repaid at the end of 2017. The total loans and deferred
payments drawn for this purpose was approximately GBP6.8 million
and approximately GBP3.2 million has been paid in cash or shares.
In line with IOG's business plan, the intention is to refinance or
repay these loans in parallel with securing development funding for
some or all of our SNS gas assets in 2017.
Mark Routh, CEO of IOG, commented: -
"This pipeline will be the cornerstone of our Southern North Sea
portfolio which, subject to remediation, will enable us to deliver
our approximately 0.5 trillion cubic feet of gas resources to the
UK market. During a period of relatively low gas prices we have
bought, at very attractive prices, quality assets which were
considered effectively stranded. Subject to completion of the
acquisition, full ownership and control of the export route creates
significant value for the Company, especially given the recovery in
UK gas prices. Owning our gas portfolio and export infrastructure
100% will enable us to accelerate both the development planning and
funding processes."
"The update on the Skipper crude quality has confirmed the
earlier results and has provided us with some new data. The oil
qualities are likely to be challenging, however given the oil's
mobility in the reservoir we continue to explore the potential
extraction and marketing options to deliver value from the
asset."
"We look forward to providing further updates on our portfolio
in due course."
-S-
The information communicated in this announcement is inside
information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation
596/2014.
Enquiries:
Independent Oil and Gas plc
Mark Routh (CEO) +44 (0) 20 3879
Peter Young (CFO) 0510
finnCap Ltd
Matt Goode / Christopher Raggett +44 (0) 20 7220
(Corporate Finance) 0500
Camarco +44 (0) 20 3757
Billy Clegg / Georgia Edmonds 4980
Notes
About Independent Oil and Gas:
IOG is an oil and gas company with established assets in the UK
North Sea. The company's strategy is to deliver near term
development and production assets in North West Europe, through its
extensive technical and commercial expertise, whilst maintaining
some exposure to exploration upside. The company is looking to grow
both organically and through acquisition.
All of IOG's licences are owned 100% and operated by IOG.
Further information can be found on
www.independentoilandgas.com
About the Vulcan Satellites:
The Vulcan Satellites consist of three fields, Vulcan East,
Vulcan North West and Vulcan South, which hold independently
estimated 2C resources of 77.4 BCF, 131.3 BCF and 112.0 BCF
respectively, 320.7 BCF collectively. These fields lie in Block
49/21a (Licence P039), Block 49/21d (Licence P2122), Block 48/25b
(Licence P130) and Block 49/21c (Licence P1915) in the UK sector of
the Southern North Sea. They lie approximately 30-45km east of
IOG's 100%-owned Blythe field and are considered ready for
development with no further appraisal required. The Company is
preparing Field Development Plans for these three fields which will
form a gas hub. IOG has assumed liability for decommissioning a
suspended well on Vulcan East, which in April 2015 was
independently estimated to cost GBP3.0 million as part of a
development campaign, based on prevailing rig rates at that
time.
About the Blythe Hub:
The Blythe hub licences comprise Blythe, Elgood, Hambleton,
Truman and Harvey.
About Blythe:
The Blythe gas discovery in the Rotliegendes Leman formation
straddles Blocks 48/22b and 48/23a in the Southern North Sea in
licence P1736. The Blythe Leman reservoir needs no further
appraisal and has independently verified 2P reserves of 34.3 BCF
(6.1 MMBoe). (Source: ERC Equipoise Competent Person's Report
("CPR") dated September 2013.) The Blythe licence has been extended
to 31 December 2017. The Company submitted a draft field
Development Plan to the Oil & Gas Authority in December 2016.
Subject to completion of the pipeline acquisition, the Company
intends to submit the full field development plan on a combined
Blythe and Elgood development in the first half of 2017.
Gas tested to surface from three separate intervals in the
Carboniferous beneath the Blythe Leman gas discovery from one of
the Blythe discovery wells, 48/23-3 drilled by Arco in 1987. The
maximum rate achieved was 0.9 MMcfd from an unstimulated vertical
test. (Source: End of well report 48/23-3 - November 1987.) This
was deemed uncommercial at the time, before the advent of
horizontal multi-fracture stimulated wells. Further technical work
including seismic reprocessing and remapping needs to be completed
to evaluate this potential resource to refine the gas-in-place
estimates which are between 70 BCF and 310 BCF. (Source: Tullow Oil
48/23a Relinquishment Report - May 2009.)
Oil has flowed to surface from the naturally fractured Zechstein
Carbonates in the Hauptdolomit formation above the Blythe Leman gas
discovery from two wells. Well 48/22-1 drilled by Burmah in 1966
flowed 39deg API oil at rates up to 2,000 barrels per day (Source:
Composite well log 48/22-1 - October 1966) and well 48/23-3 drilled
by Arco in 1987 at flowed 38deg API oil at a maximum rate of 1,128
barrels of oil a day. (Source: End of well report 48/23-3 -
November 1987.) The extent of the structure and potential oil
resources in the Hauptdolomit remains unknown. Previous estimates
considered that the mapped closure was probably small. Oil-in-place
has been estimated between 2 MMBbls and 4 MMBbls. (Source: Tullow
Oil 48/23a Relinquishment Report - May 2009.) Further evaluation
and re-mapping is continuing now that a development will proceed on
the main Blythe gas discovery.
About Harvey:
IOG has a 100% working interest in licence P2085 to the east of
Blythe (Blocks 48/23c & 48/24b) which was awarded in the 27th
licensing round. Recent 3D seismic reprocessing and remapping by
Beagle Geoscience Limited has led to an improved understanding of
the complex faulting that exists in the overlying strata. Based on
this work, the internal management probabilistic estimates of the
P90/P50/P10 gas initially in place for Harvey are 77/176/403 BCF
and probabilistic estimates of the P90/P50/P10 resources are
44/113/290 BCF.
IOG is now considering committing to a firm appraisal well on
Harvey which would be required before a reservoir model could be
built and a development plan could be prepared. If an appraisal
well was to be drilled successfully and Harvey was subsequently
developed, the Company believes that it could be tied back to the
same pipeline as the Blythe and Vulcan Satellite hubs.
About Elgood:
IOG has a 100% working interest in licence P2260 awarded in the
28th licensing round to the west of Blythe containing the Elgood
discovery (Block 48/22c). Elgood was drilled by Enterprise Oil in
1991 and tested gas to surface at 17.6 MMcfd but was not progressed
by Enterprise due to size and gas prices at that time.
IOG is now working on the development plan for Elgood to be
submitted in conjunction with the Blythe field development plan and
will commission a CPR to confirm the resources over this area.
Based on the work undertaken by Beagle, the internal management
probabilistic estimates of the P90/P50/P10 gas initially in place
for Elgood are 26/35/48 BCF and probabilistic estimates of the
P90/P50/P10 resources are 15/22/31 BCF.
SNS portfolio:
The probabilistic Gas Initially in Place and resources estimates
for IOG's SNS portfolio of Blythe, Elgood, Harvey and the Vulcan
Satellites are as follows: -
SNS Portfolio Gas Initially Estimated resources
in Place
--------------- ------------------ ------------------------
Field (BCF) (BCF)
--------------- ------------------ ------------------------
P90 P50 P10 P90 P50 P10
--------------- ----- ---- ----- ------- ------- ------
Blythe 39 52 84 22 34 48
--------------- ----- ---- ----- ------- ------- ------
Elgood 26 35 48 15 22 31
--------------- ----- ---- ----- ------- ------- ------
Harvey 77 176 403 44 113 290
--------------- ----- ---- ----- ------- ------- ------
Vulcan North
West 184 215 251 112 131 153
--------------- ----- ---- ----- ------- ------- ------
Vulcan East 104 124 145 64 77 91
--------------- ----- ---- ----- ------- ------- ------
Vulcan South 117 186 275 59 112 193
--------------- ----- ---- ----- ------- ------- ------
Totals 547 789 1206 315 490 806
--------------- ----- ---- ----- ------- ------- ------
This does not include other discoveries that may be
sub-commercial, or potential additional resources that could be
recovered from the carboniferous sections or other undrilled
prospects in the SNS portfolio.
About Skipper:
The Skipper oil discovery is in Block 9/21a in the Northern
North Sea in licence P1609. IOG owns 100% of the Skipper licence
P1609 and is the Operator. In July/August 2016 the Company
successfully drilled its first operated appraisal well and
retrieved oil samples, in order to design the optimum field
development plan. Skipper has independently verified gross 2C
resources of 26.2 MMBbls. Following the results from the appraisal
well, IOG management's estimates of the oil in place in the Skipper
reservoir are minimum/most likely/maximum 119.3/142.6/168.3 MMBbls.
Recovery factor estimates will be revised during the full field
reservoir simulation studies which are now underway.
Competent Person's Statement:
In accordance with the AIM Note for Mining and Oil and Gas
Companies, IOG discloses that Mark Routh, IOG's CEO is the
qualified person that has reviewed the technical information
contained in this announcement. Mark Routh has an MSc in Petroleum
Engineering and has been a member of the Society of Petroleum
Engineers since 1985. He has over 35 years' operating experience in
the upstream oil and gas industry. Mark Routh consents to the
inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it
appears.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
ACQBCGDBRDBBGRU
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 16, 2017 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Iog (LSE:IOG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Iog (LSE:IOG)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024