Union Jack Oil building cashflow in the UK
Last updated: 08:03 12 Mar 2024 GMT, First published: 12:20 16 Mar 2021 GMT
Snapshot
- Union Jack unveils latest royalties deal in USA
- Union Jack Oil’s American dream aims to inject some excitement for AIM investors
- Union Jack's US expansion off to fast start, says broker
- Union Jack Oil "in good shape" but frustrated by slow progress
About the company
Union Jack Oil PLC is an oil and gas company with a focus on onshore production, development, exploration and investment opportunities within the UK hydrocarbon sector.
How it is doing
Union Jack Oil PLC (AIM:UJO) has made another US investment, buying a package of royalties in significant shale regions.
In a statement, UJO said it has bought a royalties package comprising producing wells across the Bakken shale in North Dakota and Permian and Eagle Ford Shales in Texas.
At a cost of US$168,000 and funded from existing cash reserves, the deal was brokered by US partner Reach Oil & Gas.
"We are pleased to announce three additional royalties acquisitions, further expanding our cash-generating assets of producing properties in the USA,” executive chair David Bramhill said in a statement.
Union Jack Oil PLC (AIM:UJO) told investors that the Andrews-1-17 Well is being prepared for the start of drilling next week, with a projected spud date around 20 March.
The well, located in West Bowlegs, Oklahoma, will be the first well in Union Jack’s new expansion and investment in the United States. The AIM-quoted firm holds a 45% working interest in the project.
Union Jack Oil PLC (AIM:UJO) has shared an update on its activities at West Newton, in Yorkshire, where a newly revised drilling programme is now expected to see a new well, WN-A3, drilled in late 2024.
The new well is planned to be twinned with the West Newton A-1 discovery well, aiming for significant cost savings. Additionally, the drilling efforts will evaluate a secondary target in the deeper Permian Rotliegend Sandstone.
Insight: Union Jack Oil’s American dream aims to inject some excitement for AIM investors
Union Jack Oil PLC (AIM:UJO) has spent the New Year building a new leg to its business, venturing across the Atlantic to add a new layer of opportunity and excitement for the company and its investors.
It is envisaged as a pivot to fill Union Jack’s calendar with eye-catching value catalysts – through well drilling, testing and adding production - playing to the typical appetites of AIM’s oil and gas audience.
What the brokers say
Union Jack Oil’s Andrews-1-17 well at the West Bowlegs prospect in Oklahoma, is a low-risk well with an estimated 75% geological chance of success, notes house broker Shore Capital.
Andrews-1-17’s targeted objective is the Hunton Limestone, which Union Jack has reported is covered by recently acquired proprietary 3D seismic data and is one of Oklahoma’s leading producing reservoirs.
This will be Union Jack’s first well to be drilled in partnership with Reach and has the potential for rapid commercialisation and payback if the well is successful.
What management says
Union Jack Oil PLC (AIM:UJO) executive chair David Bramhill speaks to Thomas Warner from Proactive after the UK-focused onshore oil and gas company released its interim results for the six months to 30 June 2023.
Bramhill starts by highlighting the company's rude financial health, describing it as being "in good shape" and profitability, before going on to express frustration at the speed of its progress on developing new projects. He emphasises Union Jack's conventional, environmentally conscious approach and calls for a more supportive government stance saying that while the company may be profitable its progress is being constrained in a straightjacket.
Bramhill nevertheless expresses optimism for Union Jack's future success, aiming for substantial profits and emphasising its contribution to a regulated, low-carbon industry.