www.aurelianoil.com
Aurelian Oil & Gas PLC, was founded in December 2002, and is focused on the re-emerging Central and Eastern European oil and gas markets, the oldest producing oil province in the world.
Current projects span the region from Poland to Bulgaria, with production in Romania, a deep appraisal well drilled on a large structure in Poland in March 2007 to be developed with a further horizontal well to be drilled in 2010, together with exciting exploration prospects including projects in four countries, Romania (4 blocks), Slovakia (3 blocks), Bulgaria (2 blocks) and Poland (14 blocks). Aurelian is the operator in all of these except Bulgaria.
UPDATE: Aurelian Oil & Gas and shareholder Kulczyk Investments in Polish cooperation agreement
Aurelian Oil & Gas (LON:AUL) is to cooperate with 13.77 per cent shareholder Kulczyk Investments SA in upstream oil and gas opportunities in Poland.
The parties have signed a Relationship and Area of Mutual Interest (R&AMI) agreement under which they will establish a strategic partnership.
Kulczyk and Aurelian will jointly originate and invest in upstream oil and gas opportunities in Poland and co-operate in gas marketing, procurement of oilfield services and, in time, the procurement of midstream processing and production infrastructure.
As part of the agreeement, and where operatorship is available, Aurelian will operate all licences that the partnership co-invests into, with Kulczyk bringing significant capital and strong downstream and gas commercialisation capabilities to the venture, Aurelian said.
Kulczyk is a large industrial group with interests in a broad range of sectors in Poland, including integrated energy which it is seeking to grow further through increased investment in the Polish upstream sector.
Aurelian chief executive Rowen Bainbridge said: "Kulczyk Investments is a strong, well-funded, local partner who we know well and have a long affiliation with.
"Excellent synergies exist between our technical capability and Kulczyk Investments' M&A and gas commercialisation skills. We see this agreement as key catalyst to support the growth of Aurelian's Polish business going forward."
Kulczyk’s business interests, particularly within the energy sector, are prominent across Poland, and therefore this agreement should be seen as a very positive step within the market, said broker Westhouse in a note.
"It should give Aurelian advantages over other E&P companies attempting to exploit shale gas plays within Poland, namely 3Legs Resources, San Leon Energy and FX Energy.
"Kulczyk’s commitment to Aurelian was also demonstrated recently, when it increased its holding in the company, following the disappointing flow test result from the Trzek-3 multi-fracced horizontal well on the Siekierki project," said the broker.
"Once Aurelian can demonstrate that it is able to complete and operate shale gas wells, and achieve commercial flow rates, the benefits of Kulczyk as a major shareholder, and today’s agreement, will become more apparent," concluded Westhouse.
In a separate statement today, Aurelian said its chief financial officer Mark Reid had resigned as CFO and also from the board to pursue other career projects.
Non-executive director John Matthews, who joined the Aurelian board in September 2010, has been appointed as acting finance director, also with immediate effect.
Last month, Aurelian reported a new gas discovery in the country, in the Krzesinki-1 exploration well, which was drilled on the same licence as the Siekierki tight gas field the group is currently developing.
Earlier this month, Aurelian’s largest shareholder, Toscafund Asset Management, bought 1.4 million more company shares and now owns 23.25 per cent of the company. Shortly prior to that, Kulczyk had increased its holding in Aurelian by 1.75 million shares to 68 million shares, giving it the current 13.77 per cent stake.
