09
September 2024
Pantheon Resources
plc
Investor Presentation webinar
and operations update
Pantheon Resources plc (AIM: PANR) ("Pantheon"
or "the Company"), focused on development of its Kodiak and Ahpun
oil fields (of which it owns a 100% working interest in each),
containing independently evaluated recoverable resources of c. 1.6
billion barrels ("Bbbl") of ANS crude and 6.7 trillion cubic feet
("Tcf") of natural gas in close proximity to pipeline and
transportation infrastructure on Alaska's North Slope, is pleased
to make the following announcements:
Highlights
•
Megrez-1 on track for drilling next quarter from a
gravel pad adjacent to the highway, some three months earlier
than an ice pad location, with advantage of year-round operational
activities
•
Low cost, high impact exploration well with management
estimating high chance of success (69%) and targeting management
P50 Best Estimate of 609 million barrels ("bbls") of recoverable
liquids and 3.3 Tcf of gas
•
Megrez-1 is targeting high quality conventional reservoirs
analogous to the current discoveries and developments on the Alaska
North slope
•
The drilling of Megrez is aligned with the proposed
development model for Aphun offering a substantial quantum of
upside that could change the development concept.
•
The well will be designed to maximise the data to be gathered
and depending on results undertake an extended production testing
operation.
Approvals
granted for commencement of construction of the Megrez
pad
Approvals have now been granted for
construction of a gravel pad at Megrez, some 300 feet west of the
Dalton Highway. The Megrez-1 well will be drilled from this gravel
pad, rather than from an ice pad because it allows for year-round
operations, significantly advancing the schedule for drilling and
testing programme by removing the constraint of a winter operating
window. Year-round operational capability offers many advantages,
including the opportunity for a more extensive well testing
programme than could be achieved during a single winter season,
reduced competition for equipment and services as well as lower
operational costs. Furthermore, spudding the Megrez-1 well as much
as three months earlier than could be achieved from an ice pad
allows for more rapid development approvals for the Ahpun field by
accelerating the incorporation of data from the Megrez-1 well into
the plan before submission in 2025.
Pantheon expects to receive all remaining
permits in the coming months, to allow spudding of the Megrez-1
well in Q4 2024. The well is estimated by management to have a 69%
geological chance of success and will target the eastern topset
sands in Ahpun (directly under and extending east of the Dalton
Highway), with a Company P50 best estimate of Prospective Resources
calculated at 609 million bbls of marketable liquids and 3.3 Tcf of
natural gas. Success at Megrez-1 would represent a substantial
increase to the independently certified gas resource of 6.7 Tcf
within the Aphun project area which will improve the overall merits
of the Phase 1 of the proposed 'Alaska LNG'* project with Alaska
Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) where Pantheon has already
signed a Gas Sales Precedent Agreement. The Ahpun Eastern Topset
play targeted by Megrez-1 is estimated by management to contain, in
a success case, up to an additional 3.3 Tcf of natural gas. When
encountered in previous Company wells, the analogous pay interval
has exhibited reservoir properties materially better than
encountered in the Alkaid Zone and Ahpun's Western
topsets.
Planning for the well operations
is advancing on schedule. The well will be designed to maximise the
data to be gathered, including logging while drilling (LWD),
collecting whole cores through the target sands, and running
wireline logs at total depth. Depending on results, the well will
be completed and tested for up to a maximum of 90 days to gather
the most representative fluid samples and establish the productive
capacity of the formation.
* Alaska LNG
is a federally authorised integrated natural gas and LNG export
project under development, to deliver natural gas within Alaska and
export up to 20 million tonnes per annum ("mmtpa")
of Liquified Natural Gas ("LNG"). AGDC is pursuing an
option to phase Alaska LNG by prioritising the in-state pipeline
portion of Alaska LNG consisting of a pipeline from the North Slope
to Southcentral Alaska to provide natural gas to avert the looming
energy crisis facing the region ("Phase 1").
Webinar and Q&A - Tuesday 17 September 2024 at 16:45
BST
A webinar presentation and Q&A
is scheduled for Tuesday 17
September 2024
at 16:45 BST (the
"Webinar"). Roger Young, eSeis, will join the Pantheon team for a
short insight into the technical case.
The Webinar will focus on the
upcoming Megrez-1 well and will cover, amongst other
topics:
1. Megrez-1
overview
2. Drilling plan -
a simple vertical well, minimizing operational risk
3. Positive
implications of success for Pantheon's development plans
4. Development
progress on Pantheon's existing independently certified c. 1.6
billion barrels of recoverable contingent resources west of the
Dalton Highway.
5.
Q&A
The Webinar is open to all existing
and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event
via your Investor Meet Company dashboard up until 16 September
2024, 08:00 BST, or at any time during the live
presentation.
Investors can sign up to Investor
Meet Company for free and add to meet PANTHEON RESOURCES PLC
via:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/pantheon-resources-plc/register-investor
Investors who already follow
PANTHEON RESOURCES PLC on the Investor Meet Company platform will
automatically be invited.
Jay Cheatham,
Pantheon's Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"A successful Megrez-1 well
could be massive news for our Company. With a management best estimate of
prospective recoverable resources of over 600 million barrels of
marketable liquids, set in a conventional reservoir, analogous to
the recent discoveries on the north slope. the implications for
Pantheon are positive on many levels.
"Clearly a
successful result in Megrez-1 will enhance the economics of initial
production build up following the expected FID planned for the end
of 2027. While allowing for incorporation of the Ahpun Eastern
topsets in the event of a successful Megrez-1 test, we are also
progressing the engineering and environmental planning required to
achieve the earliest possible approval of the environmental impact
statement (EIS) for the Ahpun field development, whether it
incorporates the already discovered and independently assessed 361
million barrels of recoverable marketable liquids, or the potential
for nearly 1 billion barrels of recoverable marketable liquids
estimated by management in the Megrez-1 success
case."
Further information, please contact:
Pantheon
Resources
plc
+44 20 7484 5361
David Hobbs, Executive Chairman
Jay Cheatham, Chief Executive
Officer
Justin Hondris, Director, Finance and Corporate
Development
Canaccord
Genuity plc (Nominated Adviser and
broker)
+44 20 7523 8000
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor
James Asensio
Charlie Hammond
BlytheRay
+44 20 7138
3204
Tim Blythe
Megan Ray
Matthew Bowld
Notes to
Editors
Pantheon Resources plc is an AIM
listed Oil & Gas company focused on developing its 100% owned
Ahpun and Kodiak fields located on State of Alaska land on the
North Slope, onshore USA. Independently certified best estimate
contingent recoverable resources attributable to these projects
currently total c. 1.6 billion barrels of ANS crude and 6.7 Tcf of
associated natural gas. The Company owns 100% working interest in
c. 259,000 acres.
Pantheon's stated objective is to
demonstrate sustainable market recognition of a value of $5-$10/bbl
of recoverable resources by end 2028. This is based on bringing the
Ahpun field forward to FID and producing into the TAPS main oil
line (ANS crude) by the end of 2028. The Gas Sales Precedent
Agreement signed with AGDC provides the potential for Pantheon's
natural gas to be produced into the proposed 807 mile pipeline from
the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska during 2029. Once the
Company achieves financial self-sufficiency, it will apply the
resultant cashflows to support the FID on the Kodiak field planned,
subject to regulatory approvals, targeted by the end of 2028 or
early 2029.
A major differentiator to other ANS
projects is the close proximity to existing roads and pipelines
which offers a significant competitive advantage to Pantheon,
allowing for shorter development timeframes, materially lower
infrastructure costs and the ability to support the development
with a significantly lower pre-cashflow funding requirement than is
typical in Alaska. Furthermore, the low CO2 content of the
associated gas allows export into the planned natural gas pipeline
from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska without significant
pre-treatment.
The Company's project portfolio has
been endorsed by world renowned experts. Netherland, Sewell &
Associates estimate a 2C contingent recoverable resource in the
Kodiak project that total 1,208 mmbbl of ANS crude and 5,396 bcf of
natural gas. Cawley Gillespie & Associates estimate 2C
contingent recoverable resources for Ahpun's western topset
horizons at 282 mmbbl of ANS crude and 803 bcf of natural gas. Lee
Keeling & Associates estimated possible reserves and 2C
contingent recoverable resources totalling 79 mmbbl of ANS crude
and 424 bcf natural gas.
Glossary
ANS: Alaska
North Slope
Prospective Resources:
Prospective Resources are those quantities of
petroleum which are estimated, on a given date, to be potentially
recoverable from undiscovered accumulations.
Working Interest: The legal ownership of the leases awarded by
the State of
Alaska. Pantheon's Net Revenue Interest (NRI) in the leases is less
than 100% by virtue of royalties payable to the State and any ORRI.
State royalties vary between 12.5% and 16.67%. Management estimates
that the average NRI is approximately 85%.