Jersey Oil & Gas Loss Flat After Settlement; On Track Despite Virus

(Alliance News) - Jersey Oil & Gas PLC on Wednesday posted a broadly flat annual loss as income from a settlement agreement more or less offset an administrative expense increase.

Shares in Jersey Oil & Gas were up 13% at 65.40 pence in London in afternoon trading.

The upstream oil and gas company reported a GBP2.1 million pretax loss for 2019, very slightly wider than 2018's GBP2.0 million loss.

While the company did incur a 57% increase in administrative expenses to GBP2.2 million from GBP1.4 million, much of this increase was offset by the receipt of GBP750,000 in other income from a settlement agreement with Total E&P UK Ltd after the Total SA subsidiary terminated its 2013 farm-in to licence P2032. In 2018, other income received amounted to only GP12,037.

Jersey Oil was awarded licences in the Greater Buchan Area of the North Sea in 2019 and now owns a 100% equity interest in the Buchan field, as well as the Glenn and J2 discoveries. Looking ahead, it said it expects lifetime cash flows from the Greater Buchan Area to be more than USD3 billion and puts the project's estimated value at around USD1.2 billion.

Concept selection is planned for summer 2020, and the development workstreams for the Greater Buchan Area area are on track despite the need to work from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chief Executive Andrew Benitz said: "Our efforts during 2019 resulted in transformational asset growth for our company. Our successful application in the 31 SLR has provided our business with a vastly increased portfolio and the potential to develop a highly valuable business for all of our stakeholders. The [Greater Buchan Area] project promises to be the largest new area hub development in the UK central North Sea in recent times.

"The company is currently entirely focused on the timely delivery of concept selection for this major new area hub that has the potential to create significant value for stakeholders."

By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.