Max Petroleum shares pull back after reserves update

Shares in oil and gas company Max Petroleum pulled back sharply on Thursday after an strong leap earlier in the week despite the company reporting a solid update on its reserves levels at the March year-end.At the end of March 2014, the group had an estimated 9.5m barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in proved and probable reserves, down 14% compared to the 10.9m boe reported one year earlier. It was, however, up 11% on the 8.6m boe estimated at the end of September. The total proven, probable and possible reserves were up 7% to 10.4m, compared to 9.7m boe six months earlier. The post-tax net present value discounted at 10% was $140m, compared to $184m a year previous and $157m at the end of September of 2013. Total production during the fiscal year ended 31 March 2014 averaged 3,899 barrels of oil per day (bopd), up 17% on the prior year. "Production during the first two months of the current fiscal year has been variable, but averaged approximately 4,500 bopd," the group added. Shares had fallen 22.67% to 1.45p by 13:35. "All in all, a good set of numbers. With that said however, the shares have almost doubled in last few days, probably offsetting a lot of the good news from today," said analysts at Oriel Securities.Max shares soared on Tuesday after the company said that a development well in the Zhana Makat Field in Kazakhstan encountered hydrocarbons in Jurassic sandstone reservoirs in line with expectations. The ZMA-E7 well will be placed on production "as soon as practicable", it said.NR