Predator Oil & Gas Holdings PLC MOROCCO -- Operations Update (4208R)
30 June 2020 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMPRD
RNS Number : 4208R
Predator Oil & Gas Holdings PLC
30 June 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
30 June 2020
Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc / Index: LSE / Epic: PRD /
Sector: Oil & Gas
Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc
("Predator" or the "Company" and together with its subsidiaries
"the Group")
MOROCCO - Operations Update
Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc (PRD), the Jersey-based Oil
and Gas Company with operations in Trinidad, Morocco, and Ireland,
notes that the Moroccan authorities have stated that the state of
emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is being extended to
July 10(th) during which time there would be an easing of some of
the current restrictive public health measures.
Company focus
Executing safely the Company's proposed drilling programme for
the Guercif Permits I, II, III and IV ("Guercif") onshore Morocco
remains the most important single objective for the Board and
management of the Company. Predator (75%) operates Guercif in joint
venture with the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines
("ONHYM") acting on behalf of the State (25%).
Rig status
During the period of lockdown in Morocco, the Star Valley Rig
101 has remained securely stacked in the country ready for
mobilisation when circumstances permit.
Petrophysical studies and evidence for gas
NuTech has completed for the Company a modern petrophysical
analysis of the GRF-1 well. The gross interval between 1,386 and
1,413 metres TVD KB (27 metres) has interpreted gas saturations in
the range 37 to 51%, whilst a gross interval between 1,635 and
1,925 metres TVD KB (290 metres) has gas saturations ranging from
30 to 72%. The new petrophysical analysis supports the presence of
a gas charge and is consistent with thermogenic gas shows (mainly
methane, but with traces of ethane and propane) recorded on the
GRF-1 mud logs and the small volume of gas recovered on a Formation
Interval Test at the time of drilling in 1972.
Additional target in first exploration well
The NuTech analysis has identified the upper part of the
interval between 1,386 and 1,413 metres TVD KB in GRF-1 as a new
additional target for the first exploration well. As a result, the
well will present an opportunity to evaluate the western edge of a
newly interpreted Tertiary fan complex, covering an area of between
20 and 25 km(2). A successful drilling result would prove the
geological concept and de-risk a large area hitherto regarded as
being less prospective and not included in estimates of potential
gas resources.
Gas marketing study
SLR Environmental Consulting (Ireland) Limited has been
appointed to carry out a review of the technical feasibility of
transporting produced natural gas in the form of compressed natural
gas ("CNG") from a potential Guercif production site to the
Moroccan centres of industrial production. Potential market size
and Indicative costs of CNG transportation will be related to the
specific Moroccan infrastructure environment, which includes a
railroad passing through Guercif linking Guercif to Morocco's
industrial and commercial centres. This study will assess the
potential for early monetisation of gas discovered at Guercif.
Other options to develop an integrated gas business in Morocco are
being assessed for regulatory, technical and commercial
feasibility, including subsurface gas storage at Guercif in the
context of security of energy supply and a Floating Storage and
Regassification Unit ("FRSU"). Presence of gas infrastructure
linking Morocco with Europe and the demand for both gas-to-power
and to replace coal and oil to reduce carbon emissions is a
scenario the Company is very familiar with in Ireland.
Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive of Predator, commented:
"Guercif is pivotal to the Company in terms of developing a gas
business utilising the excellent infrastructure that exists in
Morocco. We are ready to progress the drilling programme as soon as
COVID-19 public health restrictions are eased to facilitate the
recommencement of safe operations. We have used lockdown to define
additional Guercif prospectivity and to review potential LNG
markets suitable for FSRU penetration in those countries where
management have a long history of experience and understanding. The
business environment is changing, and we need to adapt to change
and use this experience and understanding to maximise our business
development opportunities. Post COVID-19 will require significant
coordinated effort to re-build economies and natural gas will be an
inevitable and pragmatic contributor to this evolutionary process,
whilst providing jobs, government taxes and security of flexible
energy supply necessary for inward investment."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on market abuse
For more information please visit the Company's website at
www.predatoroilandgas.com :
Enquiries:
Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc Tel: +44 (0) 1534 834 600
Dr. Stephen Staley Non-executive Chairman Info@predatoroilandgas.com
Paul Griffiths Chief Executive Officer
Novum Securities Limited Tel: +44 (0) 207 399 9425
Jon Belliss
Optiva Securities Limited Tel: +44 (0) 203 137 1902
Christian Dennis
Flagstaff Strategic and Investor Communications Tel: +44 (0) 207 129 1474
Tim Thompson predator@flagstaffcomms.com
Mark Edwards
Fergus Mellon
Notes to Editors:
Predator is an oil and gas exploration company with the
objective of participating with FRAM Exploration Trinidad Ltd. in
further developing the remaining oil reserves in the producing
Inniss Trinity oil field onshore Trinidad, primarily through the
application of C02 EOR technology. Potential for cash flow exists
by executing a Pilot Enhanced Oil Recovery project using locally
sourced liquid carbon dioxide for injection into the oil reservoirs
("C02 EOR"). Near-term expansion and growth potential is focussed
on upscaling the C02 EOR operations in the Inniss-Trinity oil field
and potential acquisitions of assets suitable for C02 EOR
development, subject to all necessary approvals.
In addition, Predator also owns and operates exploration and
appraisal assets in current licensing options offshore Ireland, for
which Successor Authorisations have been applied for, adjoining
Shell's Corrib gas field in the Slyne Basin on the Atlantic Margin
and east of the Kinsale gas field and Barryroe oil field in the
Celtic Sea.
Predator is operator of the Guercif Petroleum Agreement onshore
Morocco which is initially prospective for Tertiary gas in
prospects less than 10 kilometres from the Maghreb gas
pipeline.
The Company has a highly experienced management team with a
proven track record in the oil and gas industry.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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