29 Apr 2016 07:00
29 April 2016
CIRCLE OIL PLC
("Circle" or the "Company")
Reserves and Contingent Resources Update
Circle Oil plc (AIM: COP) the international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, announces the results of the Company's 2015 year-end reserves and resources assessment. The Company has engaged a new provider for the evaluation of its reserve and resource base, LR Senergy, a leading independent auditor of hydrocarbons. LR Senergy currently supplies reserves certification for the providers of the Company's Reserve Based Lending ('RBL') facility.
The results of the assessment are set out below and recognise production over the year, the current low oil price environment and are also impacted by the change in assessor. To reflect the downward revisions the Company expects to recognise an impairment charge in its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2015.
Egypt
In Egypt, the net Circle 2P reserves for the NW Gemsa Field as at 2015 year-end are 6.671MMboe. Although this figure is lower than the 2014 year-end 2P figure of 12.49MMboe, a further 1.626MMboe has been re-categorised as P50 Unrisked Contingent Resources as at 2015 year-end. There was also net field production of 1.295MMboe during 2015.
Morocco
In Morocco, the net Circle 2P reserves for the Sebou Permit as at year-end 2015 are 0.980MMboe. This figure is lower than the 2014 year-end 2P figure of 3.74MMboe. Additionally, the P50 Unrisked Contingent Resources as at 2015 year-end are a further 1.183MMboe. There was net field production of 0.276MMboe during 2015.
Reserves
Table 1: Producing and Undeveloped Reserves
| |||||||
| Gross on Licence
| Circle Working Interest
| Operator
| ||||
| Proved (1P)
|
Proved plus Probable (2P) | Proved , Probable plus Possible (3P)
|
Proved (1P) |
Proved plus Probable (2P) | Proved, Probable plus Possible (3P)
|
|
Oil & Liquids Reserves (MMstb) | |||||||
Egypt | 9.795 | 13.889 | 18.511 | 3.918 | 5.556 | 7.405 | PetroAmir |
Morocco | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | Circle |
Total (MMstb) | 9.795 | 13.889 | 18.511 | 3.918 | 5.556 | 7.405 |
|
Gas Reserves (Bscf) | |||||||
Egypt | 11.302 | 16.173 | 21.925 | 4.521 | 6.469 | 8.770 | PetroAmir |
Morocco | 5.566 | 7.915 | 11.231 | 4.026 | 5.686 | 8.012 | Circle |
Total (Bscf) | 16.87 | 24.09 | 33.16 | 8.55 | 12.16 | 16.78 |
|
MMboe (based on nominal conversion 5.8 Bscf=1 MMboe) | |||||||
Egypt | 11.744 | 16.678 | 22.291 | 4.697 | 6.671 | 8.917 | PetroAmir |
Morocco | 0.960 | 1.365 | 1.936 | 0.694 | 0.980 | 1.381 | Circle |
Total (MMboe) | 12.703 | 18.042 | 24.228 | 5.392 | 7.651 | 10.299 |
|
Contingent Resources
Table 2: Unrisked Contingent Resources (Producing Fields)
| ||||||||
| Gross on Licence
| Circle Working Interest
| Operator
| |||||
| Low (P90)
| Best (P50)
| High (P10) | Low (P90)
| Best (P50)
| High (P10)
|
| |
Oil & Liquids Reserves (MMstb) | ||||||||
Egypt | 0.000 | 3.386 | 7.957 | 0.000 | 1.354 | 3.183 | PetroAmir | |
Morocco | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | Circle | |
Total (MMstb) | 0.000 | 3.386 | 7.957 | 0.000 | 1.354 | 3.183 |
| |
Gas Reserves (Bscf) | ||||||||
Egypt | 0.000 | 3.936 | 9.407 | 0.000 | 1.574 | 3.763 | PetroAmir | |
Morocco | 3.627 | 9.166 | 19.453 | 2.715 | 6.861 | 14.529 | Circle | |
Total (Bscf) | 3.627 | 13.102 | 28.860 | 2.715 | 8.435 | 18.292 |
| |
MMboe (based on nominal conversion 5.8 Bscf=1 MMboe) | ||||||||
Egypt | 0.000 | 4.064 | 9.579 | 0.000 | 1.626 | 3.832 | PetroAmir | |
Morocco | 0.625 | 1.580 | 3.354 | 0.468 | 1.183 | 2.505 | Circle | |
Total (MMboe) | 0.625 | 5.644 | 12.932 | 0.468 | 2.809 | 6.336 |
| |
For further information contact:
Circle Oil Plc (+44 20 7182 4913)
Mitch Flegg, CEO
Investec (+44 20 7597 5970)Chris SimGeorge Price
James Rudd
Jonathan Wynn
Murray (+353 1 498 0300)Joe Heron
Pat Walsh
In accordance with the guidelines of the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange the technical information contained in the announcement has been reviewed and approved by Mitch Flegg, Chief Executive Officer of Circle Oil plc. Mitch Flegg, who has over 34 years of experience, is the qualified person as defined in the London Stock Exchange's Guidance Note for Mining and Oil and Gas companies.
Mitch Flegg holds a BSc in Physics from Birmingham University and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB).
Reserves and Resources are categorised in accordance with the 2007 Petroleum Resources Management System prepared by the Oil and Gas Reserves Committee of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and reviewed and jointly sponsored by the World Petroleum Council (WPC), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE).
Recoverable volumes are expressed as gross and net reserves or contingent resources. Gross volumes are defined as the total estimated petroleum to be produced with an effective date of 1st January 2016. Net volumes are defined as net entitlements attributable to the interests owned by Circle arising from the application of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) terms in Egypt and reflecting the concession arrangements in Morocco.
Glossary
Reserves | mean those quantities of petroleum estimated to be either on production or a firm commitment to develop has been documented and is recoverable with reasonable certainty to be commercially recoverable under current economic conditions and government regulations including prices and costs as of the evaluation date |
Proved Reserves | mean those reserves which have a better than 90% chance of being produced. |
Proved plus Probable Reserves | mean those reserves which have a better than 50% chance of being produced |
Proved plus Probable plus Possible Reserves | mean those reserves which have a better than 10% chance of being produced |
Oil & Liquids Reserves | includes Condensate & LPG converted to boe (1 stb condensate = 0.94 boe, 1 tonne LPG = 11.6 boe) |
Contingent Resources:
| the arithmetically summed resources attributable to those quantities of petroleum estimated to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations, but the applied project(s) are not yet considered mature enough for commercial development due to one or more contingencies. |
Low Estimate | in a resource size distribution this is the Low case or P90 (90% probability). |
Best Estimate | in a resource size distribution this is the Base case or P50 (50% probability) or Mean volume. |
High Estimate | in a resource size distribution this is the Upside case or P10 (10% probability). |
MMstb | million barrels of stock tank oil |
Bscf | billion standard cubic feet of gas |
MMboe | million barrels of oil equivalent |
Notes to Editors
Circle Oil plc (AIM: COP) is an international oil & gas exploration, development and production company holding a portfolio of assets in Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt with a combination of low-risk, near-term production, and significant upside exploration potential. The Company's shares were admitted to trading on AIM in October 2004.The Company has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Marmour Permit in southern Tunisia; the Beni Khalled permit in northern Tunisia, the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia and the NW Gemsa permit in Zeit Bay area of Egypt.
Circle's strategy is to locate and secure additional licences in prospective hydrocarbon provinces and, through targeted investment programmes, monetise the value in those assets for the benefit of shareholders. This could be achieved through farm-outs to selected partners who would then invest in and continue the development of the asset into production, or Circle may opt to use its own expertise to appraise reserves and bring assets into production, generating sustained cash flow for further investment.
Further information on Circle is available on its website at www.circleoil.net.