LONDON (Alliance News) - Victoria Oil & Gas PLC said Tuesday its gas consumption in the first quarter of the year was almost three times what it was last year and almost double last quarter's sales, in line with internal expectations.
The company said it sold a total of 1,131.2 million standard cubic feet of gas in the three months to March 31 and 13,591 barrels of condensate with gas production averaging 13.16 million standard cubic feet per day over the period.
This is up from both the previous quarter, when it sold 625.6 million standard cubic feet of gas and 8,608 barrels of condensate, and from the same period a year earlier, when it sold 404.6 million standard cubic feet of gas and 6,345 barrels of condensate.
Victoria Oil & Gas said the figures were in line with internal expectations "as the quarter covered the first half of the dry season where gas consumption in the grid power sector is typically higher due to lower availability of hydroelectric power and the associated higher utilisation of gas".
Victoria Oil & Gas also noted its Gaz du Cameroun Matanda SA subsidiary also made progress at various operations, being granted the Matanda block assignment in April, with work expected to begin at the site at the end of 2016, once Gaz has completed the Logbaba drilling campaign.
This campaign involves the drilling of two wells into the onshore Cameroon Logbaba field to supplement the two existing Logbaba production wells, in order to meet growing market demand.
Victoria Oil & Gas said Gaz du Cameroun has signed a contract with Savannah Oil Services Cameroon to provide the drilling rig for the project and the rig is currently on a ship to Cameroon, and has begun "major site preparation work" at the site. Victoria Oil & Gas said the drilling should cost less than USD40.0 million, significantly below the initial estimates in 2015.
Victoria Oil & Gas said Gaz du Cameroun remains on schedule and expects welling to commence in the second quarter and to complete by the end of 2016.
Victoria Oil & Gas also noted Gaz du Cameroun reached an agreement with construction company SATOM to lay its pipes at the same time as the bitumen road, and said much of the work has now been completed. The company said Gaz du Cameroun expects new thermal customers to come on line in the second quarter.
"The seasonal increase in our gas supply is in line with our internal expectations and demonstrates a level of sales stability. Selling to multiple customers and markets allows Gaz du Cameroun to maximise the value from our fully integrated gas pipeline," Gaz du Cameroun Chief Executive and Victoria Oil & Gas Director Ahmet Dik.
"However, both the average figures and daily supply peaks show we are very near comfortable production capacity," Dik added.
Shares in Victoria Oil & Gas were flat at 42.00 pence on Tuesday.
By Hannah Boland; hannahboland@alliancenews.com; @Hannaheboland
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