Last checked at 1 Jun 2012 07:00
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc / Index: AIM / Epic: EOG / Sector: Oil & Gas
1 June 2012
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc (`Europa' or `the Company')
Highly Encouraging Competent Person's Report for UK and French Assets
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, the AIM listed oil and gas exploration and development company with a combination of producing and exploration assets in Europe, is pleased to announce the findings of a recently completed Competent Person's Report (`CPR') by ERC Equipoise Limited. The report highlights the prospectivity of Europa's core assets in the UK and France, specifically the 100% owned Bearn des Gaves permit containing the Berenx Deep and Berenx Shallow gas prospects located in the Aquitaine Basin, France.
Overview:
* 50.5 MMboe net mean unrisked resource for all audited UK producing / exploration licences and the Berenx Deep discovery in onshore France * 277 bcf net mean contingent resource for Berenx Deep gas discovery located close to giant producing gas fields * 0.65 MMbbl remaining net 2P oil reserves for three UK onshore producing fields - West Firsby, Crosby Warren and Whisby * 3.7 MMbbl net mean unrisked prospective oil resources for three UK onshore prospects - Broughton, Wressle and Holmwood
Europa's CEO, Hugh Mackay commented, "I am delighted to have received this independent assessment of Europa's UK and French licences which supports our view that our UK exploration assets, including Wressle, Broughton and Holmwood each have the potential to create significant value for shareholders, while Berenx in France could be the company maker we believe it is.
"At 50.5 MMboe the CPR's estimate of our core recoverable reserves and potential resources provides a solid asset backing to our current market valuation and will also play a key role in our ongoing negotiations with potential partners, specifically regarding our French permits. In the meantime, we remain on track to participate in the drilling of the Wressle prospect in the UK later this year which we rate as having a one in three chance of materially adding to our current production of 200 bopd."
Net Oil Reserves Licence Name Interest 1P 2P 3P Mean MMbbl MMbbl MMbbl MMbbl DL003 West Firsby 100% 0.14 0.39 0.75 0.43 DL001 Crosby Warren 100% 0.03 0.08 0.13 0.08 PL199 Whisby 65% 0.11 0.14 0.18 0.14 0.65UK OnshoreNet Contingent Gas Resources Licence Name Interest 1C 2C 3C Mean bcf bcf bcf bcf Bearn des Gaves Berenx 100% 31 134 623 277 Deep 277* *46.1 MMboe
Net Unrisked Prospective Oil Resources
Licence Name Interest Low Best High Mean MMbbl MMbbl MMbbl MMbbl PEDL 182 Broughton 33.34% 0.11 0.37 1.3 0.6 PEDL 180 Wressle 33.34% 0.13 0.5 1.73 0.8 PEDL 143 Holmwood 40% 0.32 1.34 5.0 2.3 3.7
The complete CPR will be available for download from the Europa website (www.europaoil.com ) from 8 June 2012.
The CPR update was prepared by ERC Equipoise Limited, an independent consultancy specialising in geoscience evaluation and engineering and economics assessment. ERC have used all available information and interpretations supplied by Europa. The evaluation of the recoverable hydrocarbons expected for each asset has been 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).
This release has been reviewed by Hugh Mackay, Chief Executive of Europa, who is a petroleum geologist with 29 years' experience in petroleum exploration and management. Mr. Mackay has consented to the inclusion of the technical information in this release in the form and context in which it appears.
* * ENDS * * Glossary`bbl' means barrels
`bcf' means thousands of millions of standard cubic feet
"boe" means barrels of oil equivalent
`bopd' means barrels of oil per day
`C / contingent resources' means quantities of petroleum estimated as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations by application of development projects, but which are not currently considered commercially recoverable due to one or more contingencies
`GIIP' means gas initially in place
`lead' means a project associated with a potential accumulation that is currently poorly defined and requires more data acquisition and/or evaluation in order to be classified as a prospect
`M' means thousands
`MM' means millions
`2P' means Proved and Probable
`prospective resources' means quantities of petroleum estimated as of a given date to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations
`prospect' means a project associated with a potential accumulation that is sufficiently well defined to represent a drillable target
`stb' means a standard barrel which is 42 US gallons measured at 14.7 pounds per square inch and 60 degrees Fahrenheit
For further information please visit www.europaoil.com or contact:
Hugh Mackay Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc +44 (0) 20 7224 3770
Phil Greenhalgh Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc +44 (0) 20 7224 3770
Sarah Wharry finnCap Ltd +44 (0) 20 7600 1658
Henrik Persson finnCap Ltd +44 (0) 20 7600 1658
Frank Buhagiar St Brides Media and Finance Ltd +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Lottie Brocklehurst St Brides Media and Finance Ltd +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Notes
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc has a diversified portfolio of multi-stage hydrocarbon assets that includes production, exploration and development interests, in countries that are politically stable, have transparent licensing processes, and offer attractive terms. The Company currently produces approximately 200 barrels per day of oil in the UK, generating sufficient revenues to cover corporate overheads. In addition, it has highly prospective exploration projects in the UK, Ireland France and Romania, the most significant asset being the Berenx gas appraisal project in onshore France.
XLON