Echo Energy Plc (LON:ECHO) was a focus this week after the firm finally unveiled its hotly anticipated new project, following the recently renamed company’s reboot.
The company has agreed a partnership with Pluspetrol Bolivia Corporation, acquiring an 80% stake in the Huayco block, in Southern Bolivia, where it sees ‘significant multi-TCF gas potential’.
It highlighted that Huayco spans 75 square kilometres located close to key export gas pipeline infrastructure which would allow any new discovery to be hooked into high value gas markets in Brazil and Argentina.
To acquire the 80% stake, Echo will cover 100% of the costs for the first well at Huayco (and a proportional 80% share of other future wells), albeit the initial evaluation period only commits the company to technical studies.
Echo chairman James Parson said: “We understand the strategic value of establishing relationships with key regional industry participants, and see Pluspetrol as a long-term partnership across the region who can assist Echo whilst we build our operating capability.”
Elsewhere, Cantor Fitzgerald repeated its ‘buy’ recommendation on Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) this week following an upgrade to internal estimates for its Tendrara acreage in Morocco.
Sound increased its gas initially in place (GIIP) figure to just over 1 trillion standard cubic feet (TCF) from 800bn initially.
WATCH: ''This is a very exciting time'', as Sound drills at Sidi Moktar - Malcolm Graham-Wood
The number refers only to that part of Tendrara covered by a 3D seismic survey and was published following drilling and testing of TE-8, the latest well on the property.
Hurricane Energy stirred up
Meanwhile, another punter favourite, Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR) waa stirred up this week as broker Macquarie Capital said it reckons the group’s shares are likely to trade considerably higher in one year’s time, that is if the oil firm can achieve project financing with a reasonable level of dilution.
In a note to clients, the Australian broker repeated an ‘outperform’ rating on the innovative North Sea oil explorer, with a price target of 87p which suggests nearly 180% upside to the current share price of 31.25p.
That would be welcome news for Crystal Amber Fund Limited (LON:CRS) - the investment group run by veteran investor Richard Bernstein – which on Friday said it believes the recent fall in its share price primarily reflects the decline in that of Hurricane Energy, its largest investment.
The fund said it attributes Hurricane's share price decline principally to its warrant issue announced on May 12 and comments at its annual general meeting on June 7, which referred to the near term focus being on funding and delivering the Early Production System.
Crystal Amber stressed that it “believes in the strategic value of Hurricane's asset base.” The fund currently holds 150,000,000 shares in Hurricane, a 12.2% stake, bought at an average cost of 23p a share.
Home-grown drilling
Even closer to home, UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG) provided some exciting news from drilling at its 100%-owned Broadford Bridge (BBB-1) exploration well in West Sussex this week.
Having earlier in the week announced that begun the process of coring at the well, where samples are extracted from the areas most likely to be hydrocarbon-bearing, UKOG said on Friday that its was "delighted to announce that mobile light oil has been observed seeping from open natural fractures in Kimmeridge Limestone 4 core samples at Broadford Bridge-1.
Stephen Sanderson, UKOG's executive chairman said: "I am privileged and excited to have seen, smelt and touched the oil in the KL4 samples today, alongside UKOG's management and operations team. This is a significant and positive result at such an early stage in the well."
He added: "Whilst this is still early days, the presence of mobile oil within a Kimmeridge geological feature that has no structural oil trapping configuration, demonstrates that both BB-1 and Horse Hill-1 could be part of the same Kimmeridge continuous oil deposit. This oil deposit may therefore extend over 30 km from north to south across the Weald Basin."
Production testing at Horse Hill yielded some 1,688 barrels oil per day, marking it among the very best exploration well results ever in Britain’s onshore oil industry.
But, now as a number of the Horse Hill partners are going their own ways, chasing their own follow-up projects, the dividing lines between the ambitious oil juniors are becoming very apparent.
David Lenigas, a key player in putting the original Horse Hill gang together, for example, on Monday took to Twitter evidently to challenge some criticisms of his chairmanship of Horse Hill stakeholder Doriemus PLC (LON:DOR).
And he also sent barbs in the direction of the executives running Solo Oil PLC (LON:SOLO) and UK Oil & Gas Investment PLC (LON:UKOG).
Lenigas, meanwhile, also described UKOG’s Broadford Bridge initial well results on Tuesday as “absolutely cracking good news”.
Good news from Alaska
Elsewhere, 88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) confirmed this week that the second stage of fracking in the Icewine-2 appraisal well in Alaska has been completed successfully.
Two zones of the HRZ shale have now been fracture stimulated, the company highlighted, with more than 98% of the intended proppant volume injected into the reservoir.
With the completion of the fracking, the company can now advance the Icewine-2 well to the pivotal production testing phase.
Meanwhile, Tlou Energy Limited (LON:TLOU) got a boost this week from news it has achieved ‘first power’ from its coal bed methane (CBM) project in Botswana, where the Lesedi gas field is hooked into generators.
WATCH: First power from Botswana CBM 'a very significant development' for Tlou Energy
The company describes it as a ‘significant milestone’ which is evidence of the group’s ability to deliver power from, and therefore further monetise, the CBM gas resource.
"First Gas-to-Power via CBM in Botswana is an extremely significant milestone for the Company and in effect a proof of concept of 'first gas monetisation',” said Tony Gilby, Tlou managing director
And Aminex PLC (LON:AEX) pleased investors this week by telling then that it had now repaid its corporate loan facility in full, and described itself as a ‘debt-free’ gas producer.
WATCH: Being debt free 'gives us a new base to grow from' , says Aminex CEO Jay Bhattacherjee
It also highlighted that its operating subsidiary in Tanzania, Ndovu Resources, continues to be paid in dollars for gas sales from the Kiliwani North project although there have been some delays.
Aminex's chief executive Jay Bhattacherjee described it as “a major milestone”.