TIDMMATD
RNS Number : 4211B
Petro Matad Limited
08 October 2020
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY
PETRO MATAD LIMITED TO CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED
UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014 ("MAR"). ON THE
PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION
SERVICE ("RIS"), THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
08 October 2020
Petro Matad Limited
('Petro Matad' or the 'Company')
Operational Update and Planned Retirement of CFO
Petro Matad Limited, the AIM quoted Mongolian oil company,
provides the following operational update and announces the
year-end 2020 retirement of John Henriksen who has served the
Company as an Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer since
2012.
Block XX Exploitation Licence
The Block XX Exploitation Licence (EL) application remains with
the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry (MMHI) awaiting the
convening of the meeting of the Mineral Resource Professional
Council (MRPC) to review and approve the Heron reserves report.
This meeting has been delayed due to a reorganisation within MMHI
which followed Mongolia's parliamentary elections in Q2. We
understand that whilst the nominees for the Petroleum Subcommittee
- which will review the Heron reserves report - have been
finalized, the full membership of other subcommittees has yet to be
confirmed which is causing a delay in ratification.
This has resulted in an unavoidable delay for the Company in
progressing the EL application, as we had anticipated that the MRPC
would have concluded its review of the Heron reserves report before
the end of September. We have been advised that the ministerial
ratification of the MRPC is imminent and review of the reserves
report is included as a matter of urgency on the MRPC agenda. We
continue to work closely with the MMHI to overcome this delay, meet
the MRPC and secure the approval of the reserves report to allow us
to progress to the remaining stages of the approval process.
As previously advised, once the reserves report has been
approved, the EL award process requires the development area to be
agreed with industry regulator Mineral Resources and Petroleum
Authority of Mongolia (MRPAM) and the Plan of Development must be
reviewed and approved by MRPAM and MMHI/MRPC. The Plan of
Development is ready for submission to the relevant bodies as soon
as the reserves report approval is in hand.
Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment
The Company has had its Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment
(DEIA) for the Heron Development approved by the Ministry of
Environment. This is a major milestone as the field work,
documentation and local community engagement requirements in the
preparation of the DEIA are significant and time consuming. An
approved DEIA is one of the documents required to get the final
ministerial sign off on the EL approval. Securing the DEIA approval
whilst countrywide Covid-19 restrictions have remained in force was
achieved with the cooperation of central and local government
bodies and with the hard work of the Company's HSSE and Community
Relations departments.
The assay of Heron 1 oil has also been completed and the results
are now under review. Overall, and as expected, the assay has
demonstrated that the oil from Heron 1 is very similar to the oil
produced in the neighbouring Blocks XIX and XXI. Heron 1 oil is a
light, sweet, waxy crude with an API gravity of 44(o) making it one
of the lightest oils found to date in the Tamtsag basin.
Retirement of Chief Financial Officer
The Company is today also announcing the retirement of John
Henriksen who has served the Company as Executive Director and
Chief Financial Officer since late 2012. Mr. Henriksen's retirement
will be effective as of 31 December 2020 until which time he will
continue to serve in his current capacity.
Effective 1 January 2021 and until the appointment of a new
Chief Financial Officer, Tamir Battogtokh, who has been the
Company's Chief Accountant since 2010 will take on the
responsibility to manage the finance function within the Company
and to ensure the maintenance of the Company's financial controls
and governance processes. Mr. Henriksen recently returned to
Mongolia and will be working from our head office in Ulaanbaatar to
oversee this transition within the finance department. Whilst the
board is fully confident that Ms. Battogtokh has the required
skills and knowledge to successfully discharge the added
responsibilities, Mr. Henriksen has agreed to provide support as
may be required throughout 2021.
Petro Matad thanks Mr. Henriksen for his years of service to the
Company and wishes him well in his retirement.
Mike Buck, CEO of Petro Matad said :
"Whilst the delay in progressing the Block XX Exploitation
Licence application has been unfortunate, we are doing all we can
to support the authorities to expedite the MRPC meeting and we have
completed all the necessary preparations to be ready for the
subsequent phases of the approval process.
Meanwhile, securing the approval of the DEIA is a major
achievement and we are pleased to have this in hand. We also
continue to carefully manage our cash resources whilst we pursue
the permits we need while investigating various funding options for
our future operations.
With regard to the retirement of our long-serving CFO, I am
honoured to have had the opportunity to work with John Henriksen
during the course of our careers. He is a consummate professional
and a pleasure to work with. He will be missed by all his
colleagues and friends in Petro Matad and we wish him all the best
in his retirement."
- Ends -
Further information please contact:
Petro Matad Limited
+97 670 141 099 / +97 675 751
Mike Buck, CEO 099
Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Toby Gibbs
Jerry Keen
John More +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
FTI Consulting (Communications
Advisory Firm)
Sara Powell
Ben Brewerton +44 (0) 20 3727 1000
About Petro Matad
Petro Matad is the parent company of a group focussed on oil
exploration, as well as future development and production in
Mongolia. At the current time, Petro Matad holds 100% working
interest and the operatorship of three Production Sharing Contracts
with the Government of Mongolia. Block XX has an area of 10,367
square kilometres in the far eastern part of the country and Blocks
IV and V have an area of 29,062 square kilometres and 21,143 square
kilometres, respectively, in the central western part of the
country.
Petro Matad Limited is incorporated in the Isle of Man under
company number 1483V. Its registered office is at Victory House,
Prospect Hill, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1EQ.
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