24th Jun 2015 07:00
For Immediate Release, Embargoed until 7 am
24 June 2015
LGO ENERGY PLC
("LGO" or the "Company")
Upgraded Resource Assessment, Goudron Oil Field
The Company is today pleased to announce the results of the independent review of the LGO operated Goudron Field in southeast Trinidad conducted on its behalf by Senergy (GB) Limited ("LR Senergy"). Best estimate oil in place ("STOIIP") within the field has increased since the previous independent review by Challenge Energy Limited ("Challenge") in 2012 by over five-fold and is now estimated to be 805 million barrels ("mmbbls"). Proved (1P) gross oil reserves in the producing Goudron Sandstone and C-sand reservoirs has increased by over 110% to 1.54 mmbbls, and the gross proved and probable reserves (2P) have increased by nearly 60% to 11.37 mmbbls.
Proved (1P) net attributable oil reserves, calculated by the Company, total 1.47 mmbbls and total proved and probable reserves (2P) total 11.30 mmbbls.
Neil Ritson, LGO's Chief Executive, commented:
"We are delighted with the steady progress being made in developing the very significant potential of the Goudron Field, including the higher reserves now estimated by LR Senergy. We are especially excited about the far larger oil in place that is now recognized in the field. As a result we are accelerating our plans to drill further C-sand and Goudron Sandstone wells beyond the 30 wells already approved and complete studies in order to access this oil, for example through an EOR scheme, and we anticipate seeing the proved and probable oil reserves continue to rise over the next few years."
LR Senergy were commissioned in 2014 to conduct a comprehensive review of the Goudron Field including all historic and recent drilling and production activity in the field. Based on that work a preliminary field development plan has been constructed that seeks to access, through primary production alone, a best estimate STOIIP of 490 mmbbls. On this basis reserves have been computed for the field and are presented in Table 1 below. Recoverable volumes are expressed as gross and net reserves. Gross volumes are defined as the total estimated petroleum to be produced from the effective date of 31 March 2015. Net reserves are defined as the portion of the gross resources attributable, before royalties and taxes, to the interest owned by LGO.
Table 1: Reserves Data (million barrels of oil)
Gross (1) | Proved
(1P) | Proved and Probable
(2P) | Proved, Probable and Possible (3P) | Net Attributable (2) | Proved
(1P) | Proved and Probable
(2P) | Proved, Probable and Possible (3P) |
Reserves | 1.54 | 11.37 | 23.58 | 1.47 | 11.30 | 23.51 |
Sources: (1) LR Senergy, June 2015 and (2) LGO Energy, June 2015
In 2013 LGO's local 100% owned subsidiary Goudron E&P Limited ("GEPL"), which operates the field, was granted improved royalty terms by the Petroleum Company of Trinidad & Tobago ("Petrotrin") which have now been included in the economic model for the field reserves. Petrotrin also agreed to extend the term of the Incremental Production Services Contract ("IPSC") and the longer contract life to 2024 and beyond is also reflected in the current reserves estimates.
In evaluating the oil in place, LR Senergy has divided the field into three zones with different levels of confidence. The historic field area has the least uncertainty and is where the bulk of the immediately accessible oil reserves are located. A wider area which is constrained by the approximately 160 existing wells that have been drilled on the field since 1927 gives rise to a larger oil in place estimate and finally an upside area has been defined which includes areas where there is less well control, but where the geological model supports the presence of reservoirs in a favorable structural position to contain oil. These estimates are provided in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Oil in place Data (million barrels of oil)
Gross Oil in Place (STOIIP) | |||
Low Estimate, P90 | Best Estimate, P50 | High Estimated, P10 | |
Historic Field Area | |||
Goudron Sandstone | 50 | 112 | 191 |
C-Sands | 68 | 125 | 209 |
Consolidated Total | 118 | 237 | 400 |
Well Constrained Area | |||
Goudron Sandstone | 80 | 170 | 287 |
C-Sands | 179 | 320 | 524 |
Consolidated Total | 259 | 490 | 811 |
Upside Area | |||
Goudron Sandstone | 168 | 343 | 564 |
C-Sands | 252 | 462 | 771 |
Consolidated Total | 420 | 805 | 1,335 |
Source: LR Senergy, June 2015
This table indicates the significant uncertainty that still remains in the in-place volumes for the field notwithstanding the significant number of existing wells. The Upside Area is currently excluded from the LR Senergy reserves analysis due to the limited appraisal, but represents another potential 150 to over 500 mmbbls of STOIIP not yet considered for development.
Since the Challenge report in 2012 LGO has drilled a total of 11 new C-sand wells in the field and had a production history from eight of these new wells in March 2015, including the first new well GY-664 which has now been on primary, free flowing oil production for over 12 months. Electric logs for the overlying Goudron Sandstones have also been acquired in the new wells and these have been used in the studies, however, no production has yet been initiated from the Goudron Sandstones as the wells have all been completed for production in the deeper C-sand interval. The Company feels that there is considerable potential in the Goudron Sandstone which has been attributed by LR Senergy with a best estimate STOIIP of between 112 and 343 mmbbls. As a result the Company is now preparing plans for the drilling of new Goudron Sandstone wells as part of its short to medium term development plans.
Due to data constraints, which are currently being addressed through data collection in and location of the new wells being drilled at this time, LR Senergy were not requested to consider the contingent resources that could be accessed through a future enhanced oil recovery scheme ("EOR"). In 2012 Challenge estimated gross upside (3C) contingent resources of 63.2 mmbbls from a STOIIP of 350 mmbbls associated with a prospective water flood scheme. The equivalent STOIIP estimated by LR Senergy is in excess of 1.3 billion barrels and therefore the Company feels there is considerable further upside on the contingent resources compared to those previously estimated.
Water flooding has been assessed by previous operators on the field, but it has so far not been considered practical to implement a pilot project. Water floods have been carried out at the nearby Navette, Beach and Trinity-Inniss fields and it is considered that ultimate oil recovery of the Goudron Field could be similarly enhanced and this has the potential to add significant reserves. Studies aimed at assessing the most practical and economic means to access and develop the contingent resources in the field are planned and are likely to be included in future reserves reports.
LGO currently has capital available from the undrawn portion of the BNP Paribas US$25 million loan facility and free cash flow from the operations of the field. At this time those funds are considered sufficient to carry out the work program sanctioned by the LGO board of directors and approved by the Trinidadian authorities and Petrotrin. Additional sources of capital may be required to ensure full access to the proved and probable reserves, and to an EOR scheme designed to access possible reserves and contingent reserves.
GEPL has a 100% working interest and operatorship in the IPSC of the Goudron Field. Under the IPSC arrangements an initial volume of oil each month, the First Tranche Oil, is provided to Petrotrin who pay a lifting fee to GEPL. The computed First Tranche Oil declines annually and the volume is currently approximately 40 bopd. Over the remaining life of the contract the First Tranche Oil is calculated to be 67,800 barrels and has been subtracted from gross reserves. All other oil production is sold to Petrotrin within the Trinidadian tax and royalty regime and royalties are paid in cash.
Qualified Person's Statement:
The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Neil Ritson, Chief Executive Officer and Director for LGO Energy plc, who has over 35 years of relevant experience in the oil industry. Mr. Ritson is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), an Active Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.
The estimates provided in this statement are based on the Petroleum Resources Management System ("PRMS") published by the Society of Petroleum Engineers ("SPE") and are reported consistent with the SPE's 2011 guidelines. A copy of the PRMS is available at http://www.spe.org/industry/reserves.php All definitions used in the announcement have the meaning given to them in the PRMS.
Enquiries:
LGO Energy plc | +44 (0) 203 794 9230 |
Neil Ritson Fergus Jenkins | |
Beaumont Cornish Limited | +44(0) 20 7628 3396 |
Nomad | |
Rosalind Hill Abrahams Roland Cornish | |
FirstEnergy Capital LLP | +44(0) 20 7448 0200 |
Joint Broker Jonathan Wright David van Erp
| |
Bell Pottinger | +44 (0) 20 3772 2500 |
Financial PR Henry Lerwill | |
Glossary:
1P | proved reserves |
2P | proved plus probable reserves |
3P | proved plus probable plus possible reserves |
best estimate | the most likely estimate of a parameter based on all available data, also often termed the P50 (or the value of a probability distribution of outcomes at the 50% confidence level) |
bopd | barrels of oil per day |
contingent resources | those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations, but the applied project(s) are not yet considered mature enough for commercial development due to one or more contingencies. Contingent Resources may include, for example, projects for which there are currently no viable markets, or where commercial recovery is dependent on technology under development, or where evaluation of the accumulation is insufficient to clearly assess commerciality |
C-sand | sandstone reservoirs below the pre-Mayaro unconformity and above the pre-Lower Cruse unconformity encompassing sandstones of equivalent age to both the Gros Morne and the Lower Cruse formations |
EOR | enhanced oil recovery |
Goudron Sandstone | sandstone reservoirs above the pre-Mayaro unconformity |
IPSC | Incremental Production Service Contract |
mmbbls | million barrels of oil |
proved reserves | those quantities of petroleum, which, by analysis of geoscience and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be commercially recoverable (1P), from a given date forward, from known reservoirs and under defined economic conditions, operating methods, and government regulations |
probable reserves | those additional reserves which analysis of geoscience and engineering data indicate are less likely to be recovered than Proved Reserves but more certain to be recovered than Possible Reserves. It is equally likely that actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater than or less than the sum of the estimated Proved plus Probable Reserves (2P) |
possible reserves | those additional reserves which analysis of geoscience and engineering data suggest are less likely to be recoverable than Probable Reserves. The total quantities ultimately recovered from the project have a low probability to exceed the sum of Proved plus Probable plus Possible (3P) Reserves, which is equivalent to the high estimate scenario |
PRMS | Petroleum Resources Management System |
reserves | those quantities of petroleum anticipated to be commercially recovered by application of development projects to known accumulations from a given date forward under defined conditions |
STOIIP or oil in place | stock tank oil initially in place, those quantities of oil that are estimated to be in known reservoirs prior to production commencing |
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