TIDMLBE
RNS Number : 0034Q
Longboat Energy PLC
15 February 2023
15 February 2023
Longboat Energy plc
("Longboat Energy", "Longboat" or the "Company")
Norwegian Portfolio Update and New Country Entry
Longboat Energy, the emerging full-cycle E&P company, is
pleased to provide an operational update and to announce its entry
into Malaysia.
Norwegian Portfolio
Norway remains Longboat's key focus area. Having made four
potentially commercial discoveries in less than 18 months, the
Company is now focussed on maturing these assets towards
development and realising the value that has been created.
On 11 January 2023, the Company announced that it had been
awarded the Lotus prospect (Longboat, 30%) in the Norwegian 2022
APA Licensing Round. Lotus is located immediately adjacent to
Longboat's Kveikje discovery (Longboat, 10%) and adds significantly
to the materiality of Longboat's acreage position in this area.
Kveikje and Lotus, on success, are likely to form part of the
new Equinor operated Ring Vei Vest ("RVV") cluster development
project. The RVV project will develop multiple oil discoveries made
west of the Troll field in recent years. This includes the Rover
Sør oil discovery announced last week by Equinor, which further
increases the size of the multi-hundred-million-barrel RVV
development project.
Following a short hiatus in anticipation of the APA award,
Longboat is actively pursuing monetisation options for its position
in the area. This process has attracted significant interest and
Longboat anticipates being able to provide the market with a
further update during the first quarter of 2023.
The Transocean Norge rig is booked for the high-impact Velocette
exploration well (Longboat, 20%), which is expected to spud in Q3
2022 and is targeting a large gas prospect with gross mean volumes
of 177 mmboe. The well has attracted considerable attention and was
recently featured on Westwood Global Energy Group's list of "Key
wells to watch in 2023". The chance of success associated with the
Velocette prospect is 30%.
The Company is working to confirm up to two additional wells for
its 2024 drilling programme alongside the firm well commitment on
the Lotus prospect which is expected to be drilled in H2 2024.
Kveikje and Oswig are among the five largest discoveries made in
Norway in 2022 and in recognition of this excellent exploration
achievement, Longboat has been awarded the Norwegian "Explorer of
the Year Award" by GEO365 for 2022.
Malaysian Bid Round
Under the Malaysian Bid Round ('MBR') 2022 Longboat, via its
subsidiary Longboat Energy (2A) Limited, has been awarded by
Petroliam Nasional Berhad ('PETRONAS') a Production Sharing
Contract ("PSC") for Block 2A, a large exploration block offshore
Sarawak with material gas resource potential. MBR is an annual
licensing round organised by Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM),
PETRONAS as the custodian of petroleum resources in Malaysia.
Longboat will become operator with a 36.75% interest in the PSC
alongside partners Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd (40%), Petroleum
Sarawak Exploration & Production Sdn. Bhd. (7.5%) and Topaz
Number One Limited (15.75%).
Block 2A is offshore Sarawak, north-west of the prolific Central
Luconia hydrocarbon province, outboard of recent gas discoveries.
The Block covers approx. 12,000km(2) and is located in water depths
of between 100-1,400 metres. One of the world's largest LNG
facilities, the Bintulu LNG plant, is located onshore on the coast
of Sarawak.
A number of large prospects across multiple plays have been
identified across Block 2A. The main prospect is a large anticlinal
structure called Kertang with a closure of over 100km(2) at
multiple levels and significant volume potential representing
multiple trillions of cubic feet of gas in stacked reservoirs.
Seismic indicators for the presence of gas can be observed in the
area and over the crest of the prospect. These indicators, together
with geochemical analysis of sea floor samples over the main
prospect provide strong evidence of the area being gas-prone.
PETRONAS is actively supporting new entrants in the region and
the Company believes establishing a presence in the Malaysia via
the Block 2A PSC will open-up further opportunities in the
future.
Helge Hammer, Chief Executive of Longboat, commented:
"Our immediate focus remains on progressing and monetising the
exploration successes achieved to date in Norway. We are encouraged
by levels of interest in the Kveijke discovery which has been
re-invigorated by the recent award of the adjacent Lotus asset. As
well as the high-impact Velocette well scheduled for Q3 this year,
we are looking to establish up to a three well programme for
2024.
"We are delighted to have been awarded Block 2A which marks our
entry into Malaysia, where our management team and partners have
extensive past experience. This potentially significant opportunity
has been acquired without a material initial cost obligation and
with three years until a drill decision. By establishing a presence
in Malaysia and building a relationship with PETRONAS we are
significantly expanding Longboat's opportunity set."
The information contained within this announcement is considered
to be inside information prior to its release.
Ends
Enquiries:
Longboat Energy
Helge Hammer, Chief Executive Officer via FTI
Jon Cooper, Chief Financial Officer
Nick Ingrassia, Corporate Development
Director
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Callum Stewart Tel: +44 20 7710 7600
Jason Grossman
Simon Mensley
Ashton Clanfield
FTI Consulting (PR adviser)
Ben Brewerton
Rosie Cobbett Tel: +44 20 3727 1000
Catrin Trudgill longboatenergy@fticonsulting.com
Background
Longboat Energy was established at the end of 2019 to create a
full-cycle E&P company through value accretive M&A and
near-field exploration. Since June 2021, Longboat has entered a
series of four transactions to acquire interests in a portfolio of
nine, gas-weighted exploration wells drilling on the Norwegian
Continental Shelf close to existing infrastructure. To date, eight
of these wells have been drilled resulting in five hydrocarbon
discoveries (Egyptian Vulture, Mugnetind, Rødhette, Kveikje and
Oswig), representing a technical 63% success rate.
Longboat has targeted exploration prospects located in close
proximity to existing infrastructure, with an overlap between
exploration partners and infrastructure owners, providing a
portfolio with a clear low-cost route to monetisation and
low-carbon drilling and development opportunities, well aligned to
Longboat's ESG targets which includes a corporate 'Net Zero' on a
Scope 1 and 2 basis by 2050.
Standard
Estimates of reserves and resources have been prepared in
accordance with the June 2018 Petroleum Resources Management System
("PRMS") as the standard for classification and reporting with an
effective date of 31 December 2020.
Review by Qualified Person
The technical information in this release has been reviewed by
Hilde Salthe, Managing Director Norge, who is a qualified person
for the purposes of the AIM Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas
Companies. Ms Salthe is a petroleum geologist with more than 20
years' experience in the oil and gas industry. Ms Salthe has a
master's degree from Faculty of Applied Earth Sciences at the
Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim .
Glossary
"mmboe" Million barrels of oil equivalent
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END
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