Petrofac hires Bain & Company to explore North Sea business
Bain & Company has been hired by British oilfield services company Petrofac to explore options for the group’s North Sea operations. This could include the sale of Petrofac’s North Sea operations, as the firm looks to stabilise itself following corruption allegations and the accruing of high levels of debt.
Petrofac has lost about half its value since May, when the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) commenced an investigation into the company and its units. The organisation has a current market capitalisation of £1.45 billion, amid the UK SFO’s investigations for its dealings with Monaco-based Unaoil, and has been struggling to reduce a $1 billion debt pile. The group also saw its CEO, Ayman Asfari, face down allegations of insider trading in Italy, recently, however UK courts backed the embattled Petrofac boss, ruling that he was not served notice of the charges levelled against him by the Italian authorities.
Oilfield service companies had also been hurt by weak demand in recent months, as subdued oil prices forced exploration and production companies to cut capital expenditure and defer or cancel contracts. In spite of this, Petrofac, which designs, builds, operates and maintains oil and gas facilities, said it secured $5.2 billion in new orders over 2017, and it continued to see a high level of tendering activity in its core markets. The company also claimed its backlog stood at $10.3 billion on November 30 2017, reflecting a recovery in new order intake.
Petrofac is a provider of oilfield services to the international oil and gas industry. It is registered in Jersey, with its main corporate office on Jermyn Street, London. The group has reportedly been mulling the sale of its North Sea operations, amid several charges of corruption across its practices. At the end of 2017, the British press reported that US oilfield services companies Schlumberger and Halliburton, as well as a Middle Eastern company were among those circling Petrofac, with an acquisition bid being values at around 600 pence per share.
In order to weigh up its options, Petrofac has hired Bain & Company. The firm is said to be helping the group explore its options for its North Sea operations – options which include a potential sale. Neither Petrofac or Bain have issued a comment on the hire, although in the case of Bain, it is standard practice for consulting firms not to comment on pending client work.
LEKOIL (AIM: LEK), the oil and gas exploration, development and production company with a focus on Africa, announces the completion of a Technical Evaluation Report for OPL325, located offshore in the Dahomey Basin, straddling the western Niger Delta, 50km south of OPL310. The Company holds 62% equity interest in OPL325, through Ashbert Oil and Gas Limited.
Oil and gas industry specialists Lumina Geophysical ("Lumina") carried out a geophysical evaluation of approximately 800 sq km of 3D seismic data provided by LEKOIL. As a result of this seismic review, Lumina have identified and reported on a total of eleven prospects and leads on the block, estimated to contain potential gross aggregate Oil-in-Place volumes of over 5,700 mmbbls (un-risked, Best Estimate case).
Lumina's efforts focused primarily on the Paleocene section of the block, generating new structural and stratigraphic maps using 3D pre-stack time migration seismic data. These maps were used in the volumetric approach to come to an estimation of potential resources in OPL325.
The Company intends to farm-down a portion of its working interest in OPL325 following a detailed prospect/lead risking study.
Lekan Akinyanmi, LEKOIL's CEO, said, "This independent report underlines our belief in the prospectivity of this asset that was part of our original Dahomey Basin study. The deep water turbidite fan play is particularly exciting for OPL325. As one of LEKOIL's key assets, we are delighted to have third party endorsement of our prospective resources, and our significant equity holding in the block gives us plenty of optionality for the next phases of exploration."
The full report will be available on the Company's web site shortly.
Review by qualified person
Samuel Olotu, Chief Technical Officer, and technical expert for the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement in his capacity as a qualified person under the AIM Rules. Mr. Olotu holds a BSc degree in Geology and an MSc in Geophysics from the University of Ibadan, and has over 20 years' experience in the oil and gas industry (ranging from asset management, field development, reservoir management and seismic data processing and interpretation) in Nigeria, Europe, Middle-East and Asia. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the National Association of Petroleum Explorationists and the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society.
RNS Number : 4047D
88 Energy Limited
Corporate Presentation
88 Energy Limited ("88 Energy", "the Company") (ASX, AIM: 88E) is pleased to confirm that the Company's latest corporate presentation is now available at the link below and on the 88 Energy website at www.88energy.com.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4047D_-2018-1-30.pdf
RNS Number : 4064D
EnQuest PLC
31 January 2018
ENQUEST PLC, 31 January 2018.
AGREEMENT WITH BP ON THISTLE DECOMMISSIONING
Following the completion of the acquisition of an initial 25% interest in the Magnus oil field on 1 December 2017, EnQuest PLC ('EnQuest') is pleased to announce it has agreed with BP to undertake the management of the physical decommissioning activities for Thistle and Deveron.
Under the terms of this agreement with BP:
· EnQuest will receive $30 million in cash in exchange for undertaking the management of the physical decommissioning and making payments by reference to 3.7% of the gross decommissioning costs of the Thistle and Deveron fields when spend commences, subject to a cap of £57 million. EnQuest's current estimate of its exposure to decommissioning costs is lower than the $30 million cash being received; and
· EnQuest will also have an option, exercisable over a 12 month period, to receive a further $20 million in cash in exchange for making additional payments by reference to 2.4% of the gross decommissioning costs of these fields, subject to a cap of £42 million.
The transaction aligns the interests of the parties involved in the production and decommissioning phases, reflecting the industrial logic for the operator to undertake the decommissioning of these assets.
RNS Number : 3972D
Premier Oil PLC
31 January 2018
PREMIER OIL PLC
("Premier")
Award of the Andaman II licence, Indonesia
31 January 2018
Further to the announcement by the Government of Indonesia, Premier is pleased to confirm that it, together with its joint venture partners Mubadala Petroleum and Kris Energy, has been awarded the Andaman II Licence in the 2017 Indonesian Licence Round. The Andaman II licence is located in the underexplored but proven North Sumatra basin offshore Aceh, Indonesia.
Premier has identified numerous prospects and leads which exhibit DHIs (direct hydrocarbon indicators) on the existing 2D seismic data, significantly de-risking a potentially material gas play. Premier assesses that the overall licence has the potential for significant gas volumes which, in the success case, would be delivered to existing gas consumers in North Sumatra.
The forward plan is to acquire 3D seismic in the initial three year term.
Tony Durrant, CEO, commented:
'This award is in line with Premier's strategy of targeting low commitment high impact exploration in proven hydrocarbon provinces and has the potential to deliver significant organic growth opportunities for our existing Indonesian business in the longer term.'
Notes to editors
The JV comprises Premier (operator, 40%), Mubadala Petroleum (30%), and Kris Energy (30%).
RNS Number : 7994C
Petrofac Limited
24 January 2018
Press Release
24 January 2018
BOARD STATEMENT
Petrofac Limited ("Petrofac" or "the Company") announces that it has been informed by its Group Chief Executive Ayman Asfari (Mr Asfari) that the UK High Court of Justice has today handed down a judgment that Mr Asfari was not served process in connection with the administrative sanctions made against him by the Italian National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange ("CONSOB"), and therefore has ordered that the Certificate of Service relating thereto should be set aside and annulled.
The UK High Court order will be served on CONSOB, who will have seven days following service to apply to set aside or vary the judgment. Mr Asfari continues to refute all of the charges made against him and is engaged in appeal proceedings in Italy.
Rijnhard van Tets, Petrofac's Chairman, said: "The Board has supported Ayman in his defence from the outset and this decision confirms his assertion that due process was not followed. We hope that a swift conclusion will now be reached to prove that in no way did Ayman act improperly."
The Board attaches a personal statement from Mr Asfari in connection with this issue.
Ends
PERSONAL STATEMENT BY AYMAN ASFARI
"I welcome today's ruling from the High Court which confirms, as I have stated from the outset, that I was never served the CONSOB notice of charges against me, and consequently I was never given the chance to defend myself.
"I have always emphatically maintained that I have done nothing wrong. Whilst I am pleased with today's decision by the UK courts, I have also commenced an appeal process in the Italian courts on both the merits and the procedure of the case, in which I have set out my defence and the evidence that supports it, and will continue to pursue vigorously the fair and swift resolution of this issue in full."
Ends
This announcement contains inside information which is disclosed in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulation which came into effect on 3 July 2016
Petrofac has landed a North Sea deal for a suite of Chevron’s assets.
The three-year deal includes operations, maintenance and construction personnel across five of Chevron’s North Sea assets – the Captain Wellhead Protector Platform, Captain Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, Alba North platform, Alba Floating Storage Unit and the Erskine platform.
Around 85 personnel currently supporting these assets will transfer to Petrofac from multiple organisations at the end of a transition period.
Dave Blackburn, senior vice president, EPS West, said: “We are delighted to have secured this new scope with Chevron in support of its North Sea business. Our offshore labour supply expertise is strong and assured. This award is testament to our ability to provide a tailored, scalable approach to manning services, in pursuit of efficiency.
“We look forward to deploying our expertise and working collaboratively with Chevron and our new team members to effect a safe and seamless transition to operations across these five assets.”
As part of the deal, Petrofac will support and deploy offshore personnel via its dedicated 24/7 Operations Hub, through which all of its labour supply contracts are managed.
The deal follows engineering and construction services work previously agreed between the pair.
Petrofac employs 13,000 people and operates out of seven strategically located operational centres, in Aberdeen, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Woking, Chennai, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur and has a further 24 offices worldwide.
RNS Number : 4608C
Serica Energy plc
22 January 2018
Serica Energy plc
("Serica" or the "Company")
Erskine production interruption
London, 22 January 2018 - Serica Energy plc (AIM: SQZ) has been informed by the operator of the Erskine field that, during routine pipeline cleaning operations of the Lomond to Everest condensate export pipeline, a blockage occurred in the pipeline.
The cause is currently being investigated and during this period, the Erskine field will be unable to produce. An update will be issued as soon as further information is available.
RNS Number : 4617C
Sound Energy PLC
22 January 2018
22 January 2018
Sound Energy PLC
("Sound Energy" or the "Company")
Disposal of Italian Portfolio
Sound Energy, the African and European focused upstream gas company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding conditional sale and purchase agreement (the "Binding Agreement") with Saffron Energy Plc ("Saffron") under which it is proposed that Saffron acquires Sound Energy's portfolio of Italian interests and permits through the acquisition by Saffron of the entire issued share capital of the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Sound Energy Holdings Italy Limited ("SEHIL"). SEHIL holds all of Sound Energy's Italian oil and gas interests through its own wholly owned subsidiary, Apennine Energy SpA ("APN"). It is proposed that Saffron will be renamed Coro Energy plc.
The Binding Agreement constitutes the first part of the transaction envisaged by the heads of terms announced on 5 October 2017 (the "Heads of Terms") and the acquisition of SEHIL by Saffron will result in the combination of the Italian oil and gas portfolios of Sound Energy and Saffron (the "Proposed Transaction").
The Binding Agreement is conditional on, inter alia, completion of a firm and conditional placing by Saffron (which will be subject to shareholder approval) to raise funds for working capital, the approval of shareholders of Saffron and re-admission of the entire issued, and to be issued, share capital of Saffron to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc ("AIM"), as well as the approval by Sound shareholders of the Sound Capital Reduction (as defined below). It is currently expected that these conditions will be satisfied by the end of April 2018.
Under the Binding Agreement, and subject to Saffron shareholders approving the issue of new shares by Saffron, the consideration for the disposal of SEHIL will be fully satisfied through the issue of 185,907,500 new ordinary shares of £0.001 each in the capital of Saffron (the "Consideration Shares"), subject to any rounding of fractional entitlements.
The Consideration Shares are intended to be issued by Saffron directly to Sound Energy's shareholders, pro rata to their holdings of Sound Energy shares on a record date (the "Repayment Record Date") expected to be set as 26 March 2018, with Saffron being bound to issue the Consideration Shares pursuant to the terms of a deed poll (the "Deed Poll") to all Sound Energy shareholders on the record at the Repayment Record Date (the "Repayment Record Date Shareholders"). Because the issuance of the Consideration Shares to Sound Energy shareholders in consideration for the transfer by the Company of the shares in SEHIL to Saffron will constitute an indirect capital repayment by Sound to its shareholders, Sound Energy will propose a capital reduction (the "Sound Capital Reduction"). The issuance of the Saffron shares directly to Sound Energy's shareholders will not be possible unless the Sound Capital Reduction receives Sound Energy shareholder approval of the same, at a general meeting to be convened on 8 February 2018. A circular to Sound Energy shareholders convening the general meeting and containing details of the Binding Agreement and the proposed Capital Reduction will be posted in the coming days.
Under the terms of the Binding Agreement, Sound Energy will retain: (i) its economic rights to receive the proceeds of any future sale of the land comprising the Badile permit and situated in the Piedmont Lombard Basin in northern Italy owned by SEHIL (the "Badile Land"), which had an unaudited carrying value of £1.6 million as at 30 June 2017; and (ii) the benefit of expected SEHIL Italian VAT receivables totalling €4.0 million linked to Badile drilling costs (the "VAT"). Under the Proposed Transaction, Saffron has undertaken to remit the net proceeds of the Badile Land sale and the VAT to Sound Energy on receipt by SEHIL.
Furthermore Saffron has agreed to grant Sound an overriding royalty of 5% on all revenue that may be derived from any wells drilled on the exploration license D.R.74 AP, colloquially referred to as 'Laura'.
As at 30 June 2017 APN had unaudited total assets of £11.0 million inclusive of the Badile Land and the VAT. APN generated revenues of £0.8 million and a loss before tax of £4.9 million in the year ended 31 December 2016 and unaudited revenues of £0.4 million and an unaudited loss before tax of £14.5 million in the six months ended 30 June 2017.
A more detailed summary of the terms of the Binding Agreement is set out below.
Under the Proposed Transaction, subject to Saffron Energy shareholder approval, Saffron will issue each of James Parsons and Marco Fumagalli (both Sound Energy directors), in their capacities as directors of Saffron, with options to subscribe for 10 million new ordinary shares in the capital of Saffron (the "Ordinary Shares") at a price of 4.38p per new Ordinary Share (the "Option Grant"). Sara Edmonson and Fiona MacAulay (both directors of Saffron) will receive options on the same terms and in the same amount, and David Garland, in his capacity as director of Saffron, will receive options to subscribe for 2 million new Ordinary Shares on the same terms.
Related Party Transaction
James Parsons and Marco Fumagalli are directors of both Sound Energy and Saffron. Under the AIM Rules for Companies ("AIM Rules"), James Parsons and Marco Fumagalli are, therefore, deemed to be related parties of the Company and the Proposed Transaction, as a result of the Option Grant, is a related party transaction pursuant to Rule 13 of the AIM Rules. The independent directors of Sound Energy, Stephen Whyte, Brian Mitchener and Richard Liddell, consider, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, that the terms of the Proposed Transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as the shareholders of Sound Energy are concerned.
Saffron acquisition of Po Valley Operations Limited
The Company understands that Saffron has entered into an acquisition agreement with ASX listed Po Valley Energy Limited ("Po Valley"), pursuant to which Saffron will acquire the entire issued share capital of Po Valley Operations Limited ("PVO"), thereby acquiring Po Valley's portfolio of Italian interests and permits. Po Valley is currently interested in 53.8 per cent of Saffron's issued ordinary share capital and the consideration payable by Saffron for its acquisition of PVO will be the issuance of 200,000,000 new ordinary shares in Saffron.
Suspension of Saffron Ordinary Shares
By virtue of the size of the transactions being undertaken by Saffron Energy, these are being treated as a reverse takeover of Saffron under Rule 14 of the AIM Rules for Companies, and will require Saffron shareholder approval and the publication of a Saffron AIM admission document. Documents to convene a general meeting of Saffron shareholders are currently under preparation, and it is expected that such Saffron general meeting will be held in February 2018. Accordingly, the Ordinary Shares will remain suspended from trading on AIM, pending publication of an AIM admission document by Saffron.
The Consideration Shares will not be issued to Sound shareholders unless and until the Ordinary Shares have been re-admitted to trading on AIM (by which time Saffron will have been re-named Coro Energy plc).
Summary of Binding Agreement
(a) the consideration payable by Saffron for the entire issued share capital of SEHIL is the issue of the Consideration Shares upon completion of the Binding Agreement ("Completion") to Sound Energy shareholders;
(b) the Binding Agreement is conditional on certain conditions having been satisfied or waived on or prior to Completion of the Sound Capital Reduction, including the following:
(i) completion of a firm and conditional placing of new Saffron shares to raise funds for working capital;
(ii) Saffron shareholder approval;
(iii) Sound Energy shareholder approval of the Sound Capital Reduction;
(iv) Court approval of the Sound Capital Reduction; and
(v) receipt of required regulatory approvals;
(c) the Binding Agreement may be terminated in certain circumstances:
(i) by Sound Energy, in the event of a Saffron material adverse change (meaning any event, matter, change or condition which occurs, or is announced, or becomes known to Saffron (whether or not becoming public) where that event, change or condition causes, or could reasonably be expected to cause, a reduction in the consolidated net assets of Saffron and its subsidiaries of more than £200,000, excluding certain global events);
(ii) by Sound Energy at any time before 8.00 am on the second court date relating to the Sound Capital Reduction (the "Second Court Date") if any Saffron director or the board of directors of Saffron, excluding any Saffron directors excluded from recommending and voting thereon, publicly changes (including by attaching qualifications to) or withdraws (including by abstaining) their statement that they consider the Proposed Transaction and/or readmission of Saffron's shares to trading on AIM to be in the best interests of the Saffron shareholders or their recommendation that the Saffron shareholders approve the Proposed Transaction and/or readmission, or publicly states an intention to change their voting intention in respect of any Ordinary Shares held by them;
(iii) by Saffron, in the event of a SEHIL material adverse change (meaning any event, matter, change or condition which occurs, or is announced, or becomes known to Sound Energy (whether or not becoming public) where that event, change or condition causes, or could reasonably be expected to cause, a reduction in the consolidated net assets of SEHIL and its subsidiaries of more than £200,000, excluding certain global events) (a "SEHIL Material Adverse Change");
(iv) by Saffron at any time before 8.00 am on the Second Court Date if any Sound Energy Director or the board of directors of Sound Energy, excluding any Sound Energy directors excluded from recommending and voting thereon, publicly changes (including by attaching qualifications to) or withdraws (including by abstaining) their statement that they consider the Sound Capital Reduction and/or the Proposed Transaction to be in the best interests of the Sound Energy shareholders or their recommendation that the Sound Energy shareholders approve the Sound Capital Reduction, or publicly states an intention to change their voting intention in respect of any Sound Energy shares held by them; and
(v) by Saffron, in the event that Sound Energy makes any disclosure against the Sound Energy warranties prior to Completion which causes or constitutes or is reasonably likely to cause or constitute a SEHIL Material Adverse Change;
(d) Sound Energy will give various warranties to Saffron concerning (among other things) its capacity to enter into the Binding Agreement and related documents, the share capital, business and assets of SEHIL and its subsidiary, APN, litigation and tax;
(e) Saffron will be required to give certain warranties to Sound Energy, for the benefit of the Sound Energy shareholders, concerning (amongst other things) its capacity to enter into the Binding Agreement and related documents, its share capital, litigation and tax;
(f) Sound Energy agrees to provide a restoration payment to Saffron (or SEHIL or APN, as Saffron may direct) in respect of Badile in a total aggregate amount of EUR 870,000 to cover costs with respect to the site restoration of Badile (payments to made on a quarterly basis in instalments on the basis of estimates submitted by Saffron to Sound Energy). If, at the end of the Badile site restoration process, Saffron has not received the full EUR 870,000, Sound Energy agrees to make a balancing payment (the "Badile Site Restoration Payments");
(g) in addition to providing the Badile Site Restoration Payments, Sound Energy also agrees to indemnify Saffron, SEHIL and/or APN from and against any costs relating to the Badile site restoration which are incurred by Saffron, SEHIL and/or APN above and beyond the Badile Site Restoration Payments which directly result from:
(i) the requirement of any regulatory authority (whether or not pursuant to applicable laws or regulations);
(ii) changes in any applicable laws or regulations following the date of the Binding Agreement;
(iii) changes following the date of the Binding Agreement in either:
(A) environmental laws applicable to the restoration of Badile; and/or
(B) the specific restoration requirements for Badile imposed by the relevant regulatory authority on Saffron, SEHIL and/or APN (whether or not pursuant to applicable laws or regulations);
(iv) any bid or tender for works comprised or forming part of the Badile site restoration costs expiring as a result of delays in receipt of approvals from any regulatory authority (whether or not pursuant to applicable laws or regulations) and any new or revised bid or tender for such works being for an increased cost; or
(v) a dispute regarding unpaid rent and unlawful occupation of land relating to the Badile Land;
(h) in addition to the above, Sound Energy provides certain indemnities in the Binding Agreement to Saffron in respect of specific identified liabilities, including in respect of certain SEHIL/APN employees, expired search permits, plants in decommissioning, surface fees, unauthorised drilling and Sound shareholders receiving Consideration Shares in breach of applicable laws or regulations. Sound Energy will also give a reasonably standard form tax covenant (the "SEHIL Tax Covenant");
(i) under the Binding Agreement, no warranty claim can be brought unless it is for an amount at least equal to £20,000, and until the party bringing the claim has a claim or basket of claims exceeding £200,000; and
(j) the liability of each of Sound Energy and Saffron under the Binding Agreement is limited as follows:
(i) Sound Energy's total liability for all claims under the SEHIL Tax Covenant and certain of the Sound warranties in relation to licences held by APN shall not exceed £8.6 million;
(ii) Sound Energy's total liability limit for all claims under the Sound Energy warranties and in respect of the indemnities given by Sound Energy is £2.5 million; and
(iii) Saffron's total liability limit for all claims under the warranties given by it is £2 million,
it being noted that Sound Energy's total liability under (i) and (ii) shall not exceed £8.6 million, and that the financial limitations do not apply (in the case of Sound Energy and Saffron) to certain fundamental warranties or in the case of fraud or misrepresentation.
The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Ecuador will receive investors for refinery
Between the companies that would arrive at the country the next 30 of January would be Petrofac, of the United Kingdom; Conocophillips, from the United States, and Rosneft, from Russia. President Lenin Moreno confirmed during his visit to Manabí, that on Tuesday, January 30, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Pablo Campaña, and the Minister of Hydrocarbons, Carlos Pérez, will present the El Aromo Pacific Refinery project to investment companies. As already announced last December, among the interested companies were Petrofac from the United Kingdom, Conocophillips from the United States, Rosneft from Russia and others from the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Japan and China. Each one would have an investment fund. For example, the American company has as possible financiers to Blackstone and Goldman Sachs. The Ecuadorian government plans to build a high conversion plant in the province of Manabi with capacity to process 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day, between 14 and 18 degrees API with a 500 megawatt generation plant. The plant should produce fuels with Euro 5 standard quality. The initiative plans to tender the project under the Construction-Operation-Transfer (BOT) modality. According to Campaña, the idea of this approach is to form a consortium of companies with an attractive management model of direct private investment, without debt, so that they can become partners of Petroecuador. Currently, Petroecuador has a 51% stake in the mixed economy company that manages this project. While, the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA that started with 49% reduced its capital to 15% The current cost of the refinery would be $ 8,000 million. During the previous government it was said that the construction value reached $ 13,000 million. Until 2015, the government of Rafael Correa tried to get a third partner for the project company, "but that option did not materialize," Rafael Poveda, the former Coordinator of Strategic Sectors, said in an interview with this newspaper. Then, Poveda indicated that they were talking with a syndicate of banks led by a Chinese entity to make it concrete as financing for the construction of the plant. The former minister said the loan would have a grace period during the 60 months after construction. In his speech, Moreno referred to the previous government's investment in this project, which is considered fundamental for the country and province of Manabí. "Unfortunately, the last government invested too much money in doing a work that does not cost that amount. Ask Carlos (Pérez), all the companies that want to invest, the moment they are told: 'We have here invested $ 1,500 million and we want to participate in those 1,500 million' ... Companies do not laugh out of courtesy, out of respect, but They tell us: 'There is not $ 1,500 million invested here! Please make an assessment. " Moreno added that another assessment must be made, "hopefully with an international entity, a United Nations entity that makes an assessment and the rest will be charged to the man, who by carelessness or corruption, took the rest of the money," he said. the president from Manabí. ( I ) Data Capacity The Ecuadorian government plans to build a high conversion plant in the province of Manabí with capacity to process 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day, between 14 and 18 degrees API, with a plant of 500 megawatts. 15 percent of the capital of the mixed economy company corresponds to PDVSA. cost The current value of the refinery is $ 8,000 million. The previous government handled costs of $ 13,000 million. ( I )
RNS Number : 0714C
Faroe Petroleum PLC
17 January 2018
Faroe Petroleum plc
("Faroe Petroleum", "Faroe", the "Company")
Eight exploration licences awarded in Norway
Faroe Petroleum, the independent oil and gas company focussing principally on exploration, appraisal and production opportunities in Norway and the UK, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded eight new prospective exploration licences, including four operatorships, in the Norwegian North Sea under the 2017 Norwegian APA (Awards in Pre-defined Areas) Licence Round.
Licence PL926 Blue Libelle - Blocks 33/9, 33/12 and 34/10: Faroe (40% and operator), DNO (30%) and Concedo (30%): The Blue Libelle is on the Tampen Spur on the north-western margin of the North Viking Graben. It is a structural prospect of Middle Jurassic age sandstones that sits between the producing fields Statfjord and Gulfaks. The work programme involves acquiring and/or reprocessing 3D seismic data and a drill or drop decision by February 2020.
Licence PL908 Århus - Block 9/11, 9/12, 10/10 and 10/11: Faroe (30%), Statoil Petroleum (70% and operator): The Århus Prospect is located in the Åsta Graben, north of the Trym Field in the Central Graben where various targets in the Oligocene Vade Formation have been mapped. The work programme involves the acquisition of new 2D data with Electromagnetic data and a drill or drop decision by February 2020.
Licence PL906 Skræmetindan - Blocks 7/11 and 7/12: Faroe (20%), Aker BP (40% and operator), Maersk (20%) and Statoil (20%): The Skræmetindan Prospect is located on the Cod Terrace in the Central Graben. It is a structural prospect of Jurassic age containing sandstones in the Ula Formation. The work programme involves acquiring and reprocessing 3D seismic with a drill or drop decision by February 2020.
Licence PL006E SE Tor Extension - Block 2/5: Faroe (85% and operator), AkerBP (15%): This licence contains a portion of the Paleocene Gomex exploration target which extends outside the existing SE Tor Licence. The work programme is the same as the existing PL006C SE Tor.
Licence PL810B Katie Extension - Blocks 2/1 and 8/10: Faroe (40% and operator), Spirit Energy (30%) and AkerBP (30%): The licence contains the north-eastward extension of the Katie Prospect located on the eastern side of the Oda Development. The work programme is the same as the existing PL810 Katie Licence, involving seismic reprocessing and a drill or drop decision by February 2019.
Licence PL740C Brasse North Extension - Blocks 31/4: Faroe (50% and operator), Point Resources (50%): The licence contains the northward extension of the Brasse Extension on the eastern side of the Brage Field. The work programme is the same as the existing PL740/B Brasse Licence (Faroe 50%).
Licence PL065B Tambar Extension - Block 1/3: Faroe (45%), AkerBP (55% and operator): This licence contains a potential north-westward extension of the Tambar Field. The work programme is the same as the existing PL065 Tambar licence.
Licence PL019E Ula Extension - Block 7/12: Faroe (20%), AkerBP (80% and operator). The licence contains a potential eastward extension of the Ula Field. The work programme is the same as the existing PL019 Ula Licence.
Graham Stewart, Chief Executive of Faroe Petroleum, commented:
"We are very pleased to announce the award of eight new and prospective licences in the latest Norwegian licensing round. We have further consolidated our position in core areas of the Norwegian continental shelf in which we have delivered recent exploration success.
"We look forward to high-grading these new licence opportunities in the coming period. This good quality new exploration acreage, together with our enhanced production portfolio and development pipeline, ensures that our shareholders are exposed to a well balanced and sustainable set of growth opportunities going forward.
"Faroe has a material and exciting drilling programme in 2018. We are currently drilling the Iris and Hades exploration well in the Norwegian Sea, to be followed by the Fogelberg appraisal well. Two further exciting Norwegian exploration wells, Rungne and Cassidy, are planned to be drilled in the second half of 2018."
RNS Number : 0226C
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.
16 January 2018
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (LSE: GKP)
("Gulf Keystone", "GKP" or "the Company")
Shaikan Crude Oil Sales Agreement Signed
Gulf Keystone is pleased to announce that a crude oil sales agreement has been signed between Gulf Keystone Petroleum International Ltd ("GKPI"), on behalf of the Shaikan contractors, and the Kurdistan Regional Government ("KRG"). Under the agreement, the KRG will purchase Shaikan crude oil at the monthly average Dated Brent oil price minus a total of c.$22 per barrel for quality discount, as well as domestic and international transportation costs. This discount is based on the same variables contained within other oil sales agreements in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The majority of the Shaikan crude oil is currently being transported by truck from the Shaikan field to Fishkhabour, where it has been injected into the export pipeline to Turkey gradually since 15 November 2017, while the remainder is sold domestically.
The agreement is effective from 1 October 2017 until 31 December 2018. GKPI will now invoice the KRG for oil sales for the months from October 2017 onwards on the basis of the realised netback price and net entitlement volumes in accordance with the Shaikan Production Sharing Contract, as amended by the 1st PSC Amendment in 2010 ("Shaikan PSC"). The Company continues its discussions with the KRG's Ministry of Natural Resources ("MNR") on the terms of a potential 2nd PSC Amendment. The Company will inform the market of any material developments in this regard.
The information communicated in this announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.
RNS Number : 8465B
Official List
15 January 2018
NOTICE OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF LISTING FROM THE OFFICIAL LIST
15/01/2018 7:45 AM
TEMPORARY SUSPENSION
Carillion PLC
The Financial Conduct Authority ("the FCA") temporarily suspends the securities set out below from the Official List effective from 15/01/2018 7:45 AM following the Company's earlier announcement this morning:
Ordinary Shares of 50p each
fully paid
Premium Equity Commercial Companies
(GB0007365546)
This notice has been issued by Listing Applications - 0207 066 8352.
RNS Number : 8399B
Carillion PLC
15 January 2018
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF THAT JURISDICTION.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
15 January 2018
Carillion plc ("Carillion")
Compulsory liquidation of Carillion
Further to the announcement made on 12 January 2018, Carillion continued to engage with its key financial and other stakeholders, including Her Majesty's Government ('HMG'), over the course of the weekend regarding options to reduce debt and strengthen the group's balance sheet. As part of this engagement, Carillion also asked those stakeholders for limited short term financial support, to enable it to continue to trade whilst longer term engagement continued.
Despite considerable efforts, those discussions have not been successful, and the board of Carillion has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect. An application was made to the High Court for a compulsory liquidation of Carillion before opening of business today and an order has been granted to appoint the Official Receiver as the liquidator of Carillion. We anticipate that the Official Receiver will make an application to the High Court for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to be appointed as Special Managers, to act on behalf of the Official Receiver, and we further anticipate that an order will be granted to that effect.
Philip Green, Chairman of Carillion, said:
"This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years. Over recent months huge efforts have been made to restructure Carillion to deliver its sustainable future and the Board is very grateful for the huge efforts made by Keith Cochrane, our executive team and many others who have worked tirelessly over this period. In recent days however we have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision. We understand that HM Government will be providing the necessary funding required by the Official Receiver to maintain the public services carried on by Carillion staff, subcontractors and suppliers."
This and other Carillion news releases can be found at www.Carillionplc.com
Carillion plc's LEI code is: 6SNZTEXLR1M5211YYB89
RNS Number : 8021B
Ryanair Holdings PLC
15 January 2018
RYANAIR SMASHES WEEKLY BOOKINGS RECORD
3 MILLION BOOKINGS IN ONE WEEK FOR FIRST TIME IN ITS HISTORY
Ryanair today (15 Jan) announced that it smashed its weekly bookings record, taking over 3m bookings in one week (for the next 20-week period) for the first time in its history. This new weekly 3m bookings record is a direct result of Ryanair's low fares and the continuing success of the "Always Getting Better" customer experience programme.
Wednesday (10 Jan) was the busiest day for bookings last week and the most popular destinations for customers included winter holidays to Lanzarote and Tenerife and city breaks to Porto, Milan and Naples.
Ryanair's Kenny Jacobs said:
"We are delighted to announce this new weekly record of over 3 million bookings made on the Ryanair.com website and app last week, the equivalent of:
· 5 bookings a second
· the population of Lithuania
· the population of Madrid
· more than half of the total passengers Virgin Atlantic carry in an entire year
To celebrate our record week of bookings, we are releasing seats for sale from just €14.99 for travel between now and April, which are available for booking until midnight Wednesday (17 Jan). Since these amazing low prices will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto www.ryanair.com and avoid missing out."
RNS Number : 7588B
Gaming Realms PLC
15 January 2018
Gaming Realms plc
("Gaming Realms", the "Company" or the "Group")
Gaming Realms signs a 3-year licensing agreement with 888 Holdings
Gaming Realms plc (AIM: GMR), the developer, publisher and licensor of mobile real money and social games, is pleased to announce that it has signed a three-year licensing and revenue share agreement with 888 Holdings Plc (888), involving the distribution of new "Slingo Originals" content.
Under the terms of the agreement, 888 will host new Slingo games on its "Dragonfish" B2B platform, distributing across 200+ bingo sites. The new games include Slingo Xxxtreme and Slingo Reel Extreme, with a number of other new games due be rolled out over the next 12 months.
The new games will also be available on Gaming Realms' proprietary sites with free demonstrations at www.slingooriginals.com.
RNS Number : 8081B
Gem Diamonds Limited
15 January 2018
GEM DIAMONDS LIMITED
("Gem Diamonds" or "the Company")
Recovery of exceptional quality 910 carat diamond
Gem Diamonds Limited (LSE: GEMD) is pleased to announce the recovery of an exceptional quality 910 carat, D colour Type IIa diamond from the Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
The diamond, the largest recovered from Letšeng, is believed to be the fifth largest gem quality diamond ever recovered.
Clifford Elphick, Gem Diamonds' Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"Since Gem Diamonds acquired Letšeng in 2006, the mine has produced some of the world's most remarkable diamonds, including the 603 carat Lesotho Promise, however, this exceptional top quality diamond is the largest to be mined to date and highlights the unsurpassed quality of the Letšeng mine. This is a landmark recovery for all of Gem Diamonds' stakeholders, including our employees, shareholders and the Government of Lesotho, our partner in the Letšeng mine."
A photograph of the diamond, and further information on the Company, can be viewed on the Gem Diamonds' website www.gemdiamonds.com
The Gem Diamonds Limited LEI number is 213800RC2PGGMZQG8L67.
RNS Number : 8075B
JKX Oil & Gas PLC
15 January 2018
JKX Oil & Gas plc ('JKX' or the 'Company')
Successful completion of well workover in Ukraine
JKX announces that Poltava Petroleum Company ("PPC"), its wholly owned subsidiary in Ukraine, successfully completed the workover of well IG101Z in December 2017. The well was side tracked with an open hole at a depth of 2,392-2,445 m. This was the first drilling operation conducted by PPC since 2015.
The well was kicked off with nitrogen and opened to the EPF at a choke size of 40/64". The initial flow rate was 8.6 MMscf/d of gas and 365 b/d of condensate and FWHP of 1615 psig. Following the initial reservoir pressure survey multi-rate tests on 20/64", 25/64", 32/64", 36/64" choke were performed to provide reservoir data for IPR model validation, reservoir dynamic properties, and depletion optimization.
After multi-rate tests the well was flowing at a choke size of 25/64̎". The average well production rate was 3.4 MMscf/d of gas and 94 b/d of condensate. Production optimization led to the choke at IG101 being reduced to 20/64" from 5 January 2018. The current well production rate on 20/64" choke is 2.1 MMscf/d of gas and 55 bpd of condensate with a FWHP of 1470 psig.
Commenting on the announcement, Victor Gladun, JKX's acting CEO, said, "The initial results from this well have met our expectations, providing a good start for our 2017-2018 well sidetrack program."
RNS Number : 8023B
SDX Energy Inc.
15 January 2018
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY SDX TO CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014 ("MAR"). ON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE ("RIS"), THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
15 January 2018
SDX ENERGY INC.
("SDX" or the "Company")
Spud of ONZ-7 well, Morocco
SDX Energy Inc. (TSXV, AIM: SDX), the North Africa focused oil and gas company, has spud its ONZ-7 development well on the Sebou permit in Morocco.
The ONZ-7 well is the fifth well in the Company's nine well campaign. The well is anticipated to take 10-15 days to drill and if successful is expected to be completed, flow tested and connected to existing infrastructure.
About SDX
SDX is an international oil and gas exploration, production and development company, headquartered in London, England, UK, with a principal focus on North Africa. In Egypt, SDX has a working interest in two producing assets (50% North West Gemsa & 50% Meseda) located onshore in the Eastern Desert, adjacent to the Gulf of Suez. In Morocco, SDX has a 75% working interest in the Sebou concession situated in the Rharb Basin. These producing assets are characterised by exceptionally low operating costs making them particularly resilient in a low oil price environment. SDX's portfolio also includes high impact exploration opportunities in both Egypt and Morocco.
For further information, please see the website of the Company at www.sdxenergy.com or the Company's filed documents at www.sedar.com.
Petrofac secures rotating equipment contract with Chrysaor
Petrofac has been awarded a Rotating Equipment Management Services contract in support of Chrysaor’s operations in the UKCS.
Under the 12-month agreement, Petrofac will provide fully integrated services across Chrysaor’s Armada, North Everest and Lomond assets in the North Sea.
The new contract expands Petrofac’s existing role on the assets, which were acquired by Chrysaor in November 2017.
A dedicated team of Petrofac engineers and support staff will now provide field service, equipment repairs, material procurement and technical support requirements to ensure operational targets for key rotating equipment are achieved.
Dave Blackburn, Senior Vice President, Engineering and Production Services West, said: “We are delighted to retain our involvement with these assets and to support Chrysaor’s vital investment in the future of the North Sea. We look forward to developing our relationship with them by providing safe and efficient delivery.”