Columbus Energy Plc (LON:CERP) has wrapped up its pre-Christmas investor update, with the executive chairman Leo Koot saying that production targets have been met and exceeded.
"Since the annual general meeting in September, Columbus has continued to deliver at pace upon our wholesale change in strategy and has focused on our target of increasing the company's production in Trinidad to over 550 bopd and becoming cash flow positive by year-end 2017,” Koot said in a statement.
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“It is my pleasure to announce that we have achieved and exceeded these targets, with the company achieving production of 561 bopd within the past week and will be generating more cash than we are spending on our day to day activities across the group as we enter 2018.
“The company now finds itself in a position where we are fully funded for our planned 2018 work programme and can use our positive cash flow and currently available funds to re-invest in further real growth of Goudron production in 2018 and also on other growth opportunities.”
At the same time, Koot noted that due to ‘numerous legacy challenges’ - detailed as “old infrastructure and inferior oil-field practices and equipment” - the company was not able to meet some internal production targets that had been hoped for behind closed doors.
Koot added that the company had subsequently implemented a programme of infrastructure and process improvements and introduced new leadership in the Goudron field. Waterflood operations are also now beginning and are expected to deliver higher oil volumes through 2018.
Highlighted the outlook for 2018, Koot said: “The low case profile forecasts production growth similar to that achieved in 2H 2017 (around 60%-70%%) and the high case targets are significantly greater but, I believe, are potentially achievable.”
Columbus has now hired Tony Hawkins and Troy Wilson as legal and M&A Director and Goudron field manager respectively.