Last checked at 26 Nov 2021 07:00
26 November 2021
ECO (ATLANTIC) OIL & GAS LTD.
("Eco," "Eco Atlantic," "Company," or together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")
Unaudited Results for the six months ended 30 September 2021
Corporate and Operational Update
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM: ECO, TSX ‐ V: EOG), the oil and gas exploration company with licences in the proven oil province of Guyana and the highly prospective basins of Namibia, is pleased to announce its results for the three and six months ended 30 September 2021, alongside a corporate and operational update.
Results Highlights:
Financials:
· Cash and cash equivalents of US$6.22 million and no debt as of 30 September 2021.
· Raised US$4.9m in the form of a private placement in July 2021.
· Total assets of US$19.9 million, current liabilities of US$626,381 and total equity of US$16.7 million as of 30 September 2021.
Operations during and post-period end:
Guyana
· On 28 June 2021, Eco subscribed for 5,000,000 new common shares in JHI Associates Inc. ("JHI"), which holds a 17.5% interest in the Canje Block offshore Guyana, representing 6.4% of JHI's share capital. Eco was also issued a warrant to subscribe for a further 9,155,471 new common shares in JHI at an exercise price of US$2.0 per share for a period of eighteen months, which, if exercised in full, ceteris paribus, will provide Eco with a 10% interest in JHI on a fully diluted basis.
· On the Canje Block, Guyana, Eco received a detailed update from JHI Associates Inc. on 30 October 2021 that ExxonMobil had successfully and safely drilled the Sapote-1 well. The well recorded hydrocarbon shows while drilling and in the logging sequence, in a deeper interval than anticipated, but had no shows in the upper primary objective horizon. With sidewall coring and wireline logging complete, ExxonMobil will now work to define the reservoir properties, including porosity and permeability, and the cored samples will be analysed for hydrocarbons.
· On the Orinduik Block, the JV Partners (Eco Atlantic (15% working interest ("WI")), Tullow Guyana B.V. ("Tullow") (Operator, 60% WI) and TOQAP Guyana B.V. ("TOQAP") (25% WI)) are advancing towards finalisation of the target selection process and updating the drilling targets inventory. The partnership aims to establish firm targets in the near-term and advance towards drilling.
Namibia
· In October 2021, Eco completed drafting the four new Joint Operating Agreements ("JOAs") for its new 2021 Petroleum Licenses in the Walvis Basin, offshore Namibia. The Company has received all paying partner approvals on the JOAs and Namibia's Ministry of Mines and Energy has approved Eco Atlantic to be the Operator of all four blocks, which total some 7,065,484 acres (28,593 km2).
· The Company continues to monitor and assess opportunities, both technical and corporate, particularly with the upcoming drilling activity in the region. Two high impact deepwater wells are anticipated to spud in Namibia in Q4 2021: TotalEnergies Venus-1 well, using the Maersk Venturer, and Shell Namibia's Graff-1 well, using the Valaris DS-10.
Solear Ltd.
· Solear, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eco, signed effective October 2021 an MOU with B&S Power Holdings Co. ("B&S Power"), an independent developer and operator of solar parks in Europe and South America, to jointly acquire and develop Ready to Build ("RTB") solar parks, funded exclusively by an international EPC firm. As part of the joint venture, B&S Power will inject their current development assets base into Solear. The companies are now evaluating a 104MW RTB park in Greece and additional transactions in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Spain.
Outlook:
Guyana
· Eco remains funded for further anticipated drilling on the Orinduik Block and continues, with its JV Partners, to assess all opportunities available to drill at least one exploration well into the light oil cretaceous stacked targets after the target selection process is finalised.
· Eco continues to firmly believe that Orinduik offers significant upside, with the eastern section of the Block closer to the established Liza oil trend than any other Block offshore Guyana. The partnership is focused on the careful selection of locations and is able to drill a number of stacked or multiple target sections targeting light oil.
· Guyana continues to be one of the most prolific exploration regions in the world, with over ten billion barrels of oil discovered in the last six years. Eco and the JV Partners have already delivered two substantial oil discoveries on the Orinduik Block and the Block continues to offer significant upside potential.
Namibia
· The Company's licences in Namibia cover approximately 28,593 km2, with over 2.362 BBOE of prospective P50 resources.
· Eco has a strategically significant acreage position in-country and is progressing its various work programmes across its four blocks offshore Namibia. The Company has witnessed considerable interest from multiple international oil companies in Namibia.
· The Company continues to monitor and assess opportunities, both technical and corporate, particularly with the upcoming third-party drilling activity in the region. Two high impact deepwater wells are anticipated to spud in southern Namibia in Q4 2021: TotalEnergies Venus-1 well, using the Maersk Venturer, and Shell Namibia's Graff-1 well, using the Valaris DS-10.
Solear Ltd.
· Solear, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eco, is an independent renewable energy company focused on solar development projects in southern Europe.
· Following the acquisition of the Kozani Project in January 2021, Solear continues to pursue, at low cost, the assessment of additional projects, developing in-country relationships and seeking high turnover, early-stage opportunities.
Corporate:
· Eco continues to evaluate additional asset and corporate opportunities in both West Africa and South America with its strategic partner and substantial shareholder Africa Oil Corp. - with a focus on near-term high-impact exploration opportunities.
· The Company continues to keep a strict control over costs throughout the business, which continues to generate material savings, ensuring that Eco remains well capitalised with a strong balance sheet.
Gil Holzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented:
"We are pleased to report on another active period for the Company, where we have worked hard to offer a string of exploration and corporate catalysts, to create value for shareholders, and simultaneously maintain our balance sheet strength in anticipation of a busy 2022.
"We are extremely upbeat about our operational outlook for 2022; in the near-term, we look forward to updating the market on technical results of the Sapote-1 well and updated drilling plans on the Canje Block, and we are confident that our investment in JHI will generate considerable opportunity and value going forward. On our Orinduik block we are close to finalising the drilling targets selection process and continue to see substantial prospectivity in the light oil cretaceous section on the Block.
"Elsewhere across our portfolio, we see the current third-party exploration programmes in Namibia as potential catalysts for wider regional success. The near-term will be exciting, with TotalEnergies Venus-1 and Shell's Graff-1 wells and in Guyana, with ExxonMobil's Fangtooth-1 well, just north and down dip of Orinduik on the Stabroek Block testing some of the deeper sections.
"It is also encouraging to see the progress that Eco's renewable energy arm, Solear, is making with a number of strategic partnerships, including potential monetisation of assets and further acquisitions together with its JV partners.
"Lastly, with increasing oil prices and with active M&A activity in the industry, we continue to review various opportunities with a view to broadening our asset inventory.
"We look forward to updating shareholders on our various workstreams across our world-class asset base, as well as other corporate activities through which we're confident will deliver long-term value."
The Company's unaudited financial results for three and six months ended 30 September 2021, together with Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months to 30 September 2021, are available to download on the Company's website at www.ecooilandgas.com and on Sedar at www.sedar.com .
The following are the Company's Balance Sheet, Income Statements, Cash Flow Statement, and selected notes from the annual Financial Statements. All amounts are in US Dollars, unless otherwise stated.
Balance Sheet
| September 30, |
| March 31, |
2021 | 2021 | ||
| Unaudited |
| Audited |
Assets |
|
|
|
Current assets |
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents | 6,221,320 |
| 11,807,309 |
Short-term investments | 52,618 |
| 1,552,640 |
Government receivable | 13,945 |
| 22,697 |
Amounts owing by license partners, net | 343,568 |
| 193,655 |
Accounts receivable and prepaid expenses | 54,210 |
| 46,480 |
| 6,685,661 |
| 13,622,781 |
|
|
|
|
Investment in associate | 10,000,000 |
| - |
Petroleum and natural gas licenses | 1,072,260 |
| 1,072,260 |
Renewable energy licenses | 1,380,290 |
| 1,411,186 |
Right of use assets | 325,267 |
| 332,495 |
Security deposit | 482,891 |
| 490,455 |
|
|
|
|
Total Assets | 19,946,369 |
| 16,929,177 |
|
|
|
|
Liabilities |
|
|
|
Current liabilities | |||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 603,394 |
| 501,022 |
Advances from and amounts owing to license partners, net | - |
| 97,153 |
Short-term portion of lease liability | 22,987 |
| 22,987 |
Total current liabilities | 626,381 |
| 621,162 |
|
|
|
|
Warrant liability | 2,284,339 |
| - |
Lease liability | 332,687 |
| 325,917 |
Total liabilities | 3,243,407 |
| 947,079 |
|
|
|
|
Equity |
|
|
|
Share capital | 61,070,124 |
| 59,099,725 |
Restricted Share Units reserve | 267,669 |
| 267,669 |
Stock options | 2,660,684 |
| 2,675,724 |
Foreign currency translation reserve | (1,206,332) |
| (1,198,097) |
Non-controlling interest | - |
| (48,674) |
Accumulated deficit | (46,089,183) |
| (44,814,249) |
|
|
|
|
Total Equity | 16,702,962 |
| 15,982,098 |
|
|
|
|
Total Liabilities and Equity | 19,946,369 |
| 16,929,177 |
Income Statement
|
| Three months ended |
| Six months ended | ||||
| September 30, | September 30, | ||||||
|
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
|
| Unaudited |
| Unaudited | ||||
Revenue |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest income |
| 3,911 |
| 7,247 |
| 8,435 |
| 35,656 |
|
| 3,911 |
| 7,247 |
| 8,435 |
| 35,656 |
Operating expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Compensation costs |
| 338,089 |
| 141,322 |
| 584,267 |
| 313,626 |
Professional fees |
| 352,342 |
| 87,799 |
| 423,023 |
| 120,414 |
Operating costs |
| 38,195 |
| 330,738 |
| 479,792 |
| 850,415 |
General and administrative costs |
| 200,960 |
| 142,267 |
| 309,357 |
| 229,270 |
Share-based compensation |
| 5,888 |
| 42,177 |
| 11,710 |
| 54,820 |
Interest expense |
| 7,109 |
| - |
| 10,513 |
| - |
Fair value change in warrant liability |
| (637,189) |
| - |
| (637,189) |
| - |
Foreign exchange gain (loss) |
| 99,153 |
| (45,298) |
| 53,222 |
| (36,265) |
Total operating expenses |
| 404,547 |
| 699,005 |
| 1,234,695 |
| 1,532,280 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss for the period |
| (400,636) |
| (691,758) |
| (1,226,260) |
| (1,496,624) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Foreign currency translation adjustment |
| (21,484) |
| (124,801) |
| (8,235) |
| (87,942) |
Comprehensive loss for the period |
| (422,120) |
| (816,559) |
| (1,234,495) |
| (1,584,566) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss for the period attributed to: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity holders of the parent |
| (421,643) |
| (691,758) |
| (1,226,260) |
| (1,496,624) |
Non-controlling interests |
| 21,007 |
| - |
| - |
| - |
|
| (400,636) |
| (691,758) |
| (1,226,260) |
| (1,496,624) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to equity holders of the parent |
| (0.00) |
| (0.00) |
| (0.01) |
| (0.01) |
Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share |
| 198,403,885 |
| 184,697,723 |
| 191,550,804 |
| 184,697,723 |
Cash Flow Statement
| Six months ended | ||
| September 30, | ||
2021 |
| 2020 | |
| Unaudited | ||
Cash flow from operating activities |
|
|
|
Net loss from operations | (1,226,260) |
| (1,496,624) |
Items not affecting cash: |
|
|
|
Share-based compensation | 11,710 |
| 54,820 |
Depreciation and amortization | 38,124 |
| - |
Accrued interest | 6,770 |
| - |
Revaluation of warrant liability | (637,189) |
| - |
Changes in non‑cash working capital: |
|
|
|
Government receivable | 8,752 |
| 535 |
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 102,372 |
| (219,050) |
Accounts receivable and prepaid expenses | (7,730) |
| (88,992) |
Advance from and amounts owing to license partners | (247,066) |
| 339,469 |
| (1,950,517) |
| (1,409,842) |
|
|
|
|
Cash flow from investing activities |
|
|
|
Investment in associate | (10,000,000) |
| - |
Short-term investments | 1,500,022 |
| - |
| (8,499,978) |
| - |
|
|
|
|
Cash flow from financing activities |
|
|
|
Issuance of shares | 4,793,789 |
| - |
Exercise of stock options | 71,388 |
| - |
| 4,865,177 |
| - |
|
|
|
|
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (5,585,318) |
| (1,409,842) |
Foreign exchange differences | (671) |
| (64,178) |
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 11,807,309 |
| 18,667,016 |
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | 6,221,320 |
| 17,192,996 |
Notes to the Financial Statements
Basis of Preparation
The consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a historical cost basis with the exception of certain financial instruments that are measured at fair value. Historical cost is generally based on the fair value of the consideration given in exchange for assets.
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Critical accounting estimates
Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognized prospectively from the period in which the estimates are revised. The following are the key estimate and assumption uncertainties considered by management.
**ENDS**
For more information, please visit www.ecooilandgas.com or contact the following:
Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas |
c/o Celicourt +44 (0) 20 8434 2754 |
Gil Holzman, CEO Colin Kinley, COO Alice Carroll, Head of Marketing and IR |
+44(0)781 729 5070 | +1 (416) 318 8272 |
Strand Hanson Limited (Financial & Nominated Adviser) |
+44 (0) 20 7409 3494 |
James Harris Rory Murphy James Bellman |
|
Berenberg (Broker) |
+44 (0) 20 3207 7800 |
Matthew Armitt Emily Morris Detlir Elezi |
|
Celicourt (PR) |
+44 (0) 20 8434 2754 |
Mark Antelme Jimmy Lea Ollie Mills |
|
Hannam & Partners (Research Advisor) |
|
Neil Passmore
| +44 (0) 20 7905 8500
|
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
Notes to editors:
About Eco Atlantic:
Eco Atlantic is a TSX-V and AIM quoted Oil & Gas exploration and production Company with interests in Guyana and Namibia, where significant oil discoveries have been made.
The Group aims to deliver material value for its stakeholders through oil exploration, appraisal and development activities in stable emerging markets, in partnership with major oil companies.
In Guyana, Eco Guyana holds a 15% Working Interest alongside TOQAP Guyana B.V. ("TOQAP") a company jointly owned by TotalEnergies E&P Guyana B.V. (60%) and Qatar Petroleum (40%) and Operator Tullow Oil (60%) in the 1,800 km2 Orinduik Block in the shallow water of the prospective Suriname-Guyana basin. The Orinduik Block is adjacent and updip to ExxonMobil Operated Stabroek Block, on which twenty discoveries have been announced and over 10 billion BOE recoverable resources are estimated. On 28 June 2021, Eco acquired a 6.4% interest, with the option to increase its stake to 10%, in JHI Associates Inc. a private company which holds a 17.5% WI in the 4,800km2 Canje Block. The Canje Block is operated by ExxonMobil and is held by Working Interests partners Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Limited (35%), with TotalEnergies E&P Guyana B.V. (35%), JHI Associates (BVI) Inc. (17.5%) and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc. (12.5%).
Jethro-1 was the first major oil discovery on Orinduik Block. The Jethro-1 encountered 180.5 feet (55 meters) of net heavy oil pay in excellent Lower Tertiary sandstone reservoirs. Joe-1 was the second discovery on the Orinduik Block and comprised of high quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir, with a high porosity of Upper Tertiary age. The Joe-1 well encountered 52 feet (16 meters) of continuous thick sandstone.
In Namibia, the Company holds operated interests in four offshore petroleum licences totalling approximately 28,593km2 with over 2.362bboe of prospective P50 resources in the Walvis Basin. These four licences, Cooper, Guy, Sharon, and Tamar are being explored with industry partners with Eco Operating and maintaining an average 60% Working Interest. Eco has been granted a drilling permit on its Cooper Block (Operator).
Eco Atlantic is a 100% shareholder in Solear Ltd., Solear is an independent private clean energy investment company focused on low cost, high yield solar development projects in southern Europe. Solear offers investors exposure to a portfolio of pre-construction opportunities across the renewable energy value chain, from Ready-to-Build to early-stage development.