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Oil & Gas highlights Falcon, Providence, Petroceltic, Gulf Keystone, UK Oil & Gas, Sound Energy, USOP, Andes Energia, Magnolia Petroleum, Northcote Energy

Published: 09:00 12 Mar 2016 GMT

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Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd (LON:FOG, CVE:FO) said it expected drilling at its Beetaloo basin project in Australia to start in the second quarter of this year.

Falcon, which also has interests in South Africa and Hungary, said preparations for the drilling programme at the site in the Northern Territory were at an advanced stage. It was finalising drilling locations for two new vertical wells, which would penetrate condensate rich gas mature through to dry gas mature sections of the Middle Velkerri shale.

Tendering and contracting for hydraulic stimulation and key well services were ongoing. Falcon Australia holds a 30% interest in 4.6 million gross acres in exploration permits 98, 76, and 117 covering most of the Beetaloo Basin.

Providence Resources (LON:PVR) has just launched a new farm-out process for acreage offshore Ireland which, following the Irish government’s licensing round, is now flanked by exploration areas awarded to ExxonMobil, StatOil and the Chinese state oil company.

Providence is now opening up a partnering process for the Druid and Drombeg exploration prospects, in the Porcupine basin off Ireland’s west coast, and the company said that marketing activities are now underway.

These prospects are each estimated to host potentially significant volumes of oil.

Petroceltic International Plc’s (LON:PCI) debt conundrum appears closer to unravelling, as its activist shareholder Worldview Capital has now acquired the majority of the company’s debt.

Sunny Hill, a subsidiary of Worldview, revealed in a statement on Thursday evening that it had acquired 69.44% of the group’s outstanding indebtedness from certain members of Petroceltic’s banking syndicate.

The debt was acquired at a significant discount to the debt’s face value, Worldview said.

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited (LON:GKP) has confirmed it has received a $15mln gross payment from the Kurdistan Regional Government for crude produced at the Shaikan field.

The oil company will receive around $12mln net. Last month, on February 19, the company flagged that the KRG had authorised the payment. It comprises $5.8mln is for oil exported in January, and $9.2mln of payments towards the recovery of arrears.

Following the KRG payment, Gulf Keystone said its cash position was $56mln.

The consortium behind the Horse Hill development well near Gatwick has posted another good result as flows from the shallowest part of the well matched the nearby Brockham discovery.

Over a continuous nine hour period, oil from the Portland section of the well flowed at 168 barrels per day from approximately 615 metres below ground level. The maximum flow during this test period was also restricted.

UK Oil & Gas (LON;UKOG) , the well’s operator, said that Horse Hill-1 has now produced at a combined average stable rate of over 1,528 bopd from the two Kimmeridge and Upper Portland zones.

Stephen Sanderson, UKOG's executive chairman said:  "The Horse Hill well still continues to flow and perform above management's expectations.

“Higher flow rates and markedly better crude quality than the Upper Portland oil from the nearby Brockham field make the HH-1's commercial prospects very real.

“We look forward to the results from the optimised pumping programme."

Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) has confirmed its acquisition of a 50% stake in the Sidi Moktar gas project, taking its ownership to 75%, and has concurrently announced a deal to bring in a new partner.

James Parsons, Sound Energy chief executive, highlighted that as a result of the two deals the company will see a $6mln cash injection, and will benefit from $18mln of new investment into the project.

Nevada focused explorer US Oil & Gas (USOP) has unveiled plans that could see it raise as much as £3.8mln of new capital.

USOP, depending upon how much it can raise, plans to use the money to drill new wells with a view to establishing reserves from discovered oil resources at the Hot Creek Valley lease area, where it previously drilled the Eblana-1 exploration well back in 2012/13.

The funding, if successful, would also help the company’s efforts to establish a new listing on a suitable stock market (following the closing of GXG Market, upon which it previously traded).

It forms part of USOP’s plan to take advantage of currently low contactor costs, resulting from weak crude prices, in order to advance the Hot Creek asset and provide a shot in the arm for a partnering process that first began in 2014.  The company believes that it can now drill wells for around $1.2m dollars each.

Average daily production increased month on month for South America-focused Andes Energia PLC (LON:AEN). In January, the company produced 3,487 barrels per day, 200 barrels more than it averaged in December.

The bulk of the output came from Argentina, where its Chachahuen, Chanares Herrados, Puesto Pozo Cercado, Vega Grande, La Brea and El Manzano licence areas were responsible for 2,253 barrels of crude per day.

Magnolia Petroleum Plc (LON:MAGP) has told investors that two wells drilled by Chesapeake Energy in Oklahoma’s Mississippi Lime play have now begun producing.

The first well, tagged Gray 7-27-12 1H, had an initial production rate of 1,056 barrels of oil equivalent per day while the second, tagged Gray 7-27-12 2H, yielded 952 boepd. Magnolia Petroleum has a 1.86% in both wells, and as such its net rate would be 20 boepd and 18 boepd respectively.

Northcote Energy Ltd (LON:NCT) is considering whether to take part in a gas project in Indonesia.

The company said it noted an announcement from Andalas Energy & Power about the latter's decision to acquire a 30% stake in the Tuba Obi East (TOE) technical assistance contract in the South Sumatran basin about 19 miles north-west of Jambi city in Jambi province, Sumatra.

Andalas believes any future gas production from the concession may support either gas export, with the project being close to a major export route, or gas-to-power, being in an area facing energy shortages.

Northcote has the right to participate in any project alongside Andalas at a level equal to 12.5% of Andalas’s participation until the end of April 2020.

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