Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) told investors that it has now received the final results of resource certification, relating to the TE-5 well core, and the findings are “entirely consistent” with preliminary results announced to the market on December 20.
At that time, the preliminary results from RPS Energy validated Sound’s own in-house resource estimates with the consultant seeing 0.65 TCF of originally in place gas at the TE-5 Horst location alone, while a recoverable, contingent resource figure was set at 0.377 TCF.
READ: Sound Energy secures binding agreement for Italian asset sale to Saffron Energy
Significantly, the important third party assessment covers only 1% of the group’s total project area in Morocco, where new exploration efforts are now being advanced.
Additionally, the company’s statement revealed that non-executive chairman Stephen Whyte has decided to step-down, and has resigned as a director with immediate effect (he will remain an advisor to the company until the end of March).
He has been replaced immediately by Richard Liddell, who has been non-executive director at Sound since 2015. It is now anticipated that the company will seek additional non-executive directors, and will review its succession planning.
Whyte decided to spend more time on his recently increased portfolio of other non-executive director positions (for example he is now on the board of Echo Energy Plc), meanwhile, Sound told investors that it has confirmed with chief executive James Parsons that he will be remaining in his current role for the next twelve to eighteen months.
READ: Sound Energy: consultant validates in-house gas estimates for Tendrara
Parsons is chairman of recently recapitalised and relaunched Echo Energy, and similarly was recently hired as chairman of Saffron Energy plc which is in the process of acquiring Sound’s Italian assets as part of its own reboot.
"It has been a huge pleasure to work with James and the team and to participate in Sound's exciting journey in Morocco,” Whyte said.
“The resources certification is a huge milestone for the company and I wish them every success in the future and look forward to maintaining my relationships with a number of the Sound Energy directors in connection with our other mutual board appointments."
Commenting on the resource validation, Liddell said: "I am delighted with our resources certification, which confirms our internal estimates of the scale of our Eastern Morocco discovery and positions us for rapid progress on the gas sales agreement and development funding solutions,” Liddell said.
“2018 is a critical year for Sound Energy as we continue to build our onshore gas business around the play-opening TAGI and Paleozoic reservoirs in Morocco.”