(Alliance News) - Valeura Energy Inc on Tuesday said its joint venture partner will stop participating in the deep gas appraisal programme in Turkey's Thrace Basin.
Shares in Valeura were down 14% at 25.50 pence in London on Tuesday afternoon.
Equinor ASA, Valeura's partner in the programme, notified Valeura of its intention to discontinue its participation and the two firms are in talks "on the commercial mechanism by which Equinor will exit the play".
Further details, Valuera said, will be made available "in due course".
Upstream natural gas producer Valuera said it "is in robust financial shape", with a producing shallow gas business generating cash flow as well as a USD37 million working capital position at the end of 2019.
In 2020, Valeura plans on deploying its capital judiciously and continuing the deep gas appriasal programme - the aim of which is to demonstrate commercial development potential and enhance shallow gas play. Its 2020 work programme will be announced later in the first quarter.
President & Chief Executive Sean Guest said: "We are sorry to see Equinor discontinue their participation in the deep play, but we are pleased with how efficient the joint investment has been for Valeura up to this point.
"Through our partnership, we have gathered a significant volume of new data and key learnings about the attributes of the large gas resource base in the Thrace Basin, with much of the investment funded by Equinor's carry under its agreements with Valeura. We will leverage these data in the next phase of appraisal and we remain encouraged about the long-term potential for the play."
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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