Rockhopper Exploration makes 'good progress' ahead of new Egyptian campaign

(Sharecast News) - Oil and gas outfit Rockhopper Exploration told investors on Thursday that it had made some "good progress" with its Falklands operations in its last trading year.Rockhopper revealed that it had extended letters of intent with contractors at its 40% owned Sea Lion asset by up to twelve months as it moved to progress the project to sanction.Elsewhere, Rockhopper's 22% owned Egyptian operations had seen current production from its Abu Sennan project in Egypt hit approximately 3,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day, broadly in line with average production rates throughout 2018, while its Al Jahraa-10 well was brought into production at a rate of 130 barrels of oil per day and its exploration well ASZ-1X was spudded on 8 November.Moving forward, Rockhopper has agreed to an active drilling programme with an unnamed partner in 2019, including the drilling of one exploration well, two development wells and a water injection well, as it continues to target the Al Jahraa field.Drilling will kick off during the first quarter, with capital expenditure expected to come to roughly $4m.On the numbers side of things, the AIM-listed firm saw out the year with a cash balance of $40m but noted that it had accrued unpaid costs of roughly $5m as a result of pre-development expenditures at Sea Lion.As of 1040 GMT, Rockhopper shares had slipped 4.35% to 22p.