A busy week for the small cap and junior oilers. Here are some highlights...
Hurricane Energy Plc (LON:HUR) has more or less doubled its estimation of the Lancaster field’s size, now seeing some 593mln barrels in the ‘base case’.
The new estimates, revealed in a new power point presentation, put the field’s oil-initially-in-place in a range of 1.29bn to 3.03bn barrels and estimates recoverable resources between 255mln and 1.07bn barrels.
The estimates assume a recovery factor of 25%, though Hurricane says it should be noted that higher rates are seen in several basement oilfields elsewhere in the world.
Friday’s numbers come ahead of a capital markets event, and also precede a new competent persons’ report (CPR) which in recent interviews was described as being ‘imminent’.
As well as doubling Hurricane’s prior in-house estimates, which at 300mln barrels that admitted as being ‘conservative’, the latest resource figure are around three times higher that than the last CPR which in 2013 set the bar at 200mln barrels.
Meanwhile, Aminex plc (LON:AEX) has a “number options available”, it said this week, as it looks at early production and monetisation from its Ntorya gas project in Tanzania.
On Thursday, the company said it is prioritizing the preparation of a development plan for Ntorya, and it is looking to monetise gas as quickly as possible.
The company is working with the Tanzanian authorities as it advances plans for a suitable early production systems.
In an interview with Proactive Investors, chief executive Jay Bhattacherjee explained that Aminex has options to make money locally before a larger gas field development to feed Tanzania’s national gas network.
“We’ve got quite a few options available to us,” he said.
“Ultimately we’ll be putting gas into the national pipeline, but, there’s quite a local demand for that gas, there’s quite a few mines around the area and there’s quite a few local businesses and there’s a few things we can do.”
Bhattacherjee highlighted that local gas-to-power or compressed natural gas (CNG) are possible avenues for early revenues.
Octant Energy Corp said its deal to buy oil assets in Kenya is expected to be finalised within the next two weeks and revealed it had closed the second tranche of its debenture financing for US$9mln.
In late 2015, the firm agreed a deal to acquire the effectively "drill ready" assets from subsidiaries of former oiler Afren Plc via administrators.
Significantly, Octant has now received Kenyan government approval for the transfer of these assets.
The Kenyan assets include the block L17/L18 and block 1.
Block L17/L18, in which the vendor has a 100% interest, lies in the Lamu coastal basin and both L17 and L18 cover an area of around 1,275 sq km and 3,630 sq km respectively.
They are both onshore and in water depths varying from a few meters along the shoreline up to around 500 metres.
Meanwhile, Kenya Block 1 is on the western margin of the Mandera-Lugh basin and spans an area of 22,250 sq km. The vendor’s working interest is 80%.
Elsewhere, Asia-focused Greka Drilling Limited's (LON:GDL) speciality is unconventional or coal bed methane gas wells.
The AIM-listed group recently completed its 50th well in a CBM gas campaign for Essar Oil in India with no time lost for injuries or accidents throughout the programme.
The latest well was part of a contract that so far has seen 33 directional wells and 1 vertical well drilled.
Greka drilled 16 wells in a previous campaign and has now drilled almost 60,000 metres for Essar in India, including drilled 39,724 metres continuously in the Raniganj block, West Bengal during the latest campaign.
Speaking of drilling, LGO Energy PLC (LON:LGO) announced the success of its second new well at the Goudron field, onshore Trinidad.
The well, GY-683, was a low risk ‘infill’ targeting a known producing zone.
It reached target depth of 1,250 feet, and it is being placed on production via 269 feet of net oil pay in the Mayaro Sandstone reservoir.
Fergus Jenkins, LGO chief operating officer, said: “I am pleased to confirm that drilling and completion work has progressed entirely to plan and that the anticipated net oil pay is present and will shortly be placed on production."
Elsewhere, 88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) told investors it is all clear to start drilling the Icewine-2 well at its shale project on Alaska’s North Slope.
The exploration company today revealed that the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) approved the permit to drill.
It was the last remaining permit needed before drilling operations could get underway.
88 Energy says the well will now spud in the week commencing April 24.
A programme of well stimulation and testing is slated for June/July.
Shares in iGas Energy PLC (LON:IGAS) ticked higher on Friday as it was revealed that private equity fund manager, Kerogen Capital has ended up with a near 28% shareholding in the UK shale play following completion of its recent refinancing.
Unconventional Energy Limited, a vehicle of the oil & gas industry investment specialist has declared it now holds 679,282,165 shares in the AIM-listed firm, a 27.999% stake.
The Igas refinancing involved a US$35mln injection of fresh funds from strategic investor Kerogen and a debt-for-equity swap with its lenders.
According to the company, the new structure will be sustainable in the current oil price environment and will allow it to expand while maintaining its valuable carry agreements - some US$230mln of work to be paid by well-funded partners.
Last month, iGas received some positive operational news, securing approval for a shale gas well in Nottinghamshire.