LONDON (Alliance News) - Bahamas Petroleum Co PLC on Tuesday said it remains confident of securing partners for its assets following a first half which saw a series of changes to the regulatory environment in the Bahamas.
The company said the new Petroleum Act was formally enacted in March, while the process of updating the legal and regulatory requirements governing oil and gas exploration in the Bahamas has been completed.
Bahamas Petroleum said it has held "meaningful" farm-out talks with potential partners and, in the meantime, has been slashing costs to shore up its position ahead of reach an agreement.
Still, the group said its efforts to secure financing for its initial exploration well have progressed at a "slower pace than desired" amid a tough oil and gas market globally.
"The company's core assets are compelling as they offer multi-billion barrel potential, competitive metrics, robust profitability at today's oil price, and advantaged location adjacent to the largest offshore operating environment and energy market in the world. Consequently, we remain confident that we will conclude a partnership agreement within the required timeframes," said Chief Executive Simon Potter.
For the half-year to the end of June, the company made a USD2.1 million pretax loss, narrowed from a USD2.3 million loss a year prior.
Shares in Bahamas Petroleum were up 7.7% at 1.40 pence on Tuesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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