1st May 2009 11:21
Afren plc (AIM: AFR)
Results of Extraordinary General Meeting
London, 1st May 2009 - The Board of Afren plc is pleased to announce that the resolutions proposed at the Company's Extraordinary General Meeting held today were duly passed by shareholders.
The following statement was made by Egbert Imomoh, Chairman of Afren, at today's EGM:
Ladies and gentlemen I would like to welcome you to this General Meeting of the Company. Before I put the resolutions to the meeting, I would like to say a few words about the Company.
We continue to make progress on our strategy to become the premier pan-African independent exploration and production company. In 2007, we successfully put in place the drilling capability, financing structure, development plan and the production capacity for the Okoro Setu Project.
In 2008, we demonstrated strong operational performance with First Oil achieved at the Okoro Setu Project in Nigeria. In addition, we acquired Devon Energy's assets in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana and completed the farm-in and appraisal of the Ebok field. We are currently producing circa 26,000 barrels of oil per day from the Okoro field in Nigeria and the CI-11 block in Côte d'Ivoire, representing a 47 per cent. outperformance to guidance on Okoro and a 10 per cent. increase in production on the CI-11 block since we assumed operatorship.
We have responded proactively to the current low oil price environment with early encouraging signs from our cost deflation initiative. Afren is cash generative and profitable at current prices and is reducing its existing debt.
We also recently announced the successful and significant outcome of the Ebok field appraisal. An independent assessment of the recoverable oil reserves from the Ebok field by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. ("NSAI"), post drilling of the Ebok-4 appraisal well, preliminarily confirmed recoverable reserves of 41.2 mmbbls for the FB-1 and FB-2 areas of the field. NSAI has further assigned 14 mmbbls oil of resources to the FB-1 and FB-2 field area. An additional 21 mmbbls oil of contingent reserves and 33 mmbbls prospective resources have been assigned to other areas of the field including the Ebok West and Ebok North Fault Blocks. This represents total potential resources of 109 mmbbls on the Ebok field, as confirmed by NSAI.
Together with the development of the Ebok field, we see significant visible production growth of up to 65,000 working interest boepd from our existing asset base alone by the end of 2010.
Production from the Ebok field of 15,000 to 25,000 bopd is expected in early 2010 from an Early Production System, rising to 35,000 to 50,000 bopd by the end of 2010, from full field development. Afren believes that it is now appropriate to increase its equity capital base and strengthen the balance sheet to finance the Early Production System of the exciting Ebok development. It is intended that Phase Two of the Ebok development will be financed out of internally generated cash flow.
The directors therefore believe that shareholders should support the resolutions.
-Ends-
Enquiries:
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Afren plc |
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Osman Shahenshah |
Chief Executive |
+44 20 7451 9700 |
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Galib Virani |
Investor Relations |
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Pelham Public Relations |
+44 20 7337 1500 |
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James Henderson |
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Mark Antelme |
Related Shares:
AFR.L