8th Feb 2021 07:00
8 February 2021
PRESIDENT ENERGY PLC
("President" or the "Company")
GROUP RESERVES and RESOURCES at 31 December 2020
President Energy (AIM: PPC), the energy company with a diverse portfolio of production and exploration assets focused primarily in South America announces its updated reserves and contingent resources assessed as at 31 December 2020.
Highlights
· Argentina reserves and contingent resources have been independently certified according to Argentina law with Louisiana reserves internally assessed
· Group net 2P Reserves of over 24 MMboe limited to current life remaining of concessions taking no account of the anticipated early extension of such contracts
· Significant contingent resources in producing areas awaiting conversion to reserves after contract terms are prolonged
· The Company expects to drill record number of new wells this year in drive to produce more reserves
· Paraguay exploration PMean internally estimated at in excess of 536 MMbo undiscovered oil-in-place are in addition to the figures reported today
Peter Levine, Chairman, commented
"The robust Group reserves and contingent resources of President assessed as at the end of last year, combined with the enshrined legal right to extend our all our Argentine licences, underlines our production potential for years to come in a country with long term hydrocarbon needs.
"It is important to note that the reserves as at 31 December 2020 do not represent the total of what is present and/or recoverable in the respective fields but only rather what are present and/or recoverable over the term of President's current licenses as at the audit date. In practise, the Company intends to exercise its legal right to extend its Rio Negro licenses beyond their current terms and therefore as is discussed the total present and/or recoverable reserves in the ground are materially higher.
"We look forward to delivering on that potential in 2021, with a record actual and contingent work programme announced on 20 January, including a prospective return to drilling in Puesto Guardian. This year's work is supported by more stable realisation prices in the markets we serve combined with both federal government and provincial investment incentives in Argentina".
NET RESERVES TABLE as at 31 December | |||||||||
| YE2019 Reserves (MMboe) | YE2020 Reserves (MMboe) | YE2020 Reserves + contingent resources (MMboe) | ||||||
| 1P | 2P | 3P | 1P | 2P | 3P | 1P | 2P | 3P |
Puesto Guardian, Salta | 7.5 | 12.1 | 19.7 | 5.7 | 12.7 | 20.8 | 5.7 | 12.7 | 20.8 |
Rio Negro, Neuquen Basin | 7.6 | 13.8 | 23.3 | 7.6 | 10.9 | 13.2 | 10.2 | 19.9 | 30.3 |
Total Argentina | 15.1 | 25.9 | 43.0 | 13.3 | 23.6 | 34 | 15.9 | 32.6 | 51.1 |
Louisiana | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Group Total | 15.6 | 26.4 | 43.5 | 14.0 | 24.3 | 34.7 | 16.6 | 33.3 | 51.8 |
Argentina Reserves
President has received an independently certified report on its reserves and contingent resources in Argentina assessed at 31 December 2020 which have been determined in accordance with Argentine law and will be filed with the appropriate regulatory authority. In compliance with the relevant regulations, the reserves auditors are changed each year to ensure independence.
Brief details of the reserves and contingent resources are set out in the table above. For the purpose of the reserves calculation, the base oil prices taken are Brent US$50 per barrel for 2021 and US$60 per barrel flat thereafter over the remaining life of the concessions in Argentina and of the wells in Louisiana. In Argentina a discount is always applied to Brent price. So that on the US$50 per barrel Brent used as at end of last year, the realisable price would be US$45 or less depending on the production source. Gas prices in Argentina are calculated at flat rates of US$2.2 per MMBtu for summer and US$3.2 per MMBtu for winter. By way of comparison, it is estimated that the actual realisable prices in February at President's core producing Rio Negro assets are approximately US$52 per barrel of oil taking into account the prevailing higher Brent prices.
The reduction in Argentine reserves year on year are reflective inter alia of the hydrocarbons produced in the relevant year, and critically the diminishing time remaining on the relevant concessions. The number of years remaining at each concession dictate and restrict the amount of reportable reserves; i.e. only hydrocarbons that can be extracted during the present contract period are taken into account.
Rio Negro
President will exercise its entrenched legal rights to renew and extend its core Puesto Flores/Estancia Vieja concession currently due to expire in November 2027, for a further ten years until November 2037 in accordance with the relevant sections of the Argentine Federal Hydrocarbons Law (the "Law"). These sections provide President definitive and inalienable right to extend the concession term by successive periods of ten years thereby giving President the time and ability in the future to fully exploit the production potential of the relevant areas.
Concrete discussions with the Province of Rio Negro with regard to such extension are anticipated to take place later this year with a view to concluding the same before the year end. Such extension will have a positive effect on reserves as hydrocarbons during the prolonged period move from the contingent resources categories to the more definitive reserve categories. Definitions of both reserves and resources are set out in the Glossary below.
Salta
In Salta, where the long-term Concession extends to 2050, President is in the preliminary stage of planning to finally return to drilling later this year with three new vertical production wells as well as 3D seismic data acquisition. In the event of success these would be the first new producing wells at the Puesto Guardian Concession for nearly 10 years which is itself a testament to the long life of the current well stock. These wells would complement the already firm drilling programme in Rio Negro in the first part of this year with the four committed wells there within H1 representing the highest number of individual wells drilled by President in any year since the Company first arrived in Rio Negro in 2017.
In terms of Salta, President's realisable prices in the Reserves report are calculated at US$38 per barrel on the basis of US$50 Brent. By way of comparison actual realisable prices for Salta in February are estimated at approximately US$45.
Louisiana
In relation to Louisiana due to robust production, the expected life of the wells have been extended resulting in a modest increase in internally estimated reserves all of which fall into the 1P category.
Paraguay
The figures reported today properly and appropriately take no account of any exploration resources in Paraguay which are internally assessed at over 536 MMbo of Pmean undiscovered oil-in-place.
Dr Martin Gee, PhD in Geophysics (Oxon), BSc (First Class hons) in Earth Sciences (Cardiff) who meets the criteria for qualified persons under the AIM guidance note for mining and gas companies, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.
Glossary:
1P means proven reserves
2P means proven and probable reserves
3P means proven, probable and possible reserves
Boepd barrels of oil equivalent (oil and gas) per day
Contingent resources means oil/gas estimated at a given date to be potentially recoverable but which are at that date not capable of being commercially recoverable eg because they cannot be produced within the current term of the contract
Law means sections 35 and 58bis of the Argentine Hydrocarbons Law 17,319 (as amended by Law 27,007)
MMbo meand million barrels of oil
M3/d means cubic metres of production of gas or oil as the case may be
MMBtu Million of standard British thermal units
MMsft/d million standard cubic feet of gas per day
Oil in place means the total content of an oil reservoir
Pmean means the expected average value of all possible outcomes
Contact:
President Energy PLC Rob Shepherd, Group FD Nikita Levine, Investor Relations
| +44 (0) 207 016 7950
|
finnCap (Nominated Advisor) Christopher Raggett, Tim Harper
| +44 (0) 207 220 0500 |
Shore Capital (Corporate Broker) Jerry Keen, Antonio Bossi
|
+44 (0) 207 408 4090 |
Notes to Editors
President Energy is an oil and gas company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (PPC.L) primarily focused in Argentina, with a diverse portfolio of operated onshore producing and exploration assets.
The Company has operated interests in the Puesto Flores, Estancia Vieja, Puesto Prado and Las Bases Concessions, and Angostura exploration contract, all of which are situated in the Rio Negro Province in the Neuquén Basin of Argentina and in the Puesto Guardian Concession, in the Noroeste Basin in NW Argentina. Alongside this, President Energy has cash generative production assets in Louisiana, USA and further significant exploration and development opportunities through its acreage in Paraguay and Argentina.
The Group is also actively pursuing value accretive acquisitions of high-quality production and development assets capable of delivering positive cash flows and shareholder returns. With a strong strategic and institutional base of support, including the international commodity trader and logistics company Trafigura, an in-country management team as well as the Chairman whose interests as the largest shareholder are aligned to those of its shareholders, President Energy gives UK investors access to an energy growth story combined with world class standards of corporate governance, environmental and social responsibility.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of article 7 of Regulation 596/2014
Related Shares:
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