23 Dec 2021 07:00
23 December 2021
Victoria Oil & Gas Plc
("VOG" or "the Company")
Ministerial Approval on Matanda Licence Extension Received
Victoria Oil & Gas Plc, the Cameroon based gas and condensate producer and distributor, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary Gaz du Cameroun S.A. ("GDC") has received, as operator, approval from the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development for the extension of the Matanda Block licence.
The exploration phase of the licence has been extended by one year from 17 December 2021. This has been approved by the Minister and the associated Arrêté (Decree) has been received.
GDC was assigned 75% ownership and became operator of the Matanda PSC in December 2018 with Afex Global Limited ("AFEX") holding the remaining 25%. Société Nationale Des Hydrocarbures ("SNH") has a 25% back in right after an Exploitation License is granted. The 1,235 square kilometre block Matanda Block is adjacent to GDC's Logbaba concession and offers several monetisation options for gas discoveries.
The Company's estimate of Prospective Resources remains unchanged from those previously reported, namely 1,196 Bcf in the Matanda Licence (onshore), the onshore being the area of initial focus.
The results of a rigorous prospect evaluation, including significant weighting on ESG elements of the site and operation, led to the selection of the Marula prospect for the first well, the largest of the onshore, Tertiary-aged prospects with internally estimated unrisked Pmean Prospective Resource of 69 Bcf, and better than 40% geological chance of success.
Using the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA"), coupled with the addition of ESG issues to the prospect evaluation table, resulted in a well location that is on Government-owned, late life plantation land, and over 3km km from any dwellings. The site is also away from areas of vulnerable Mangrove forestation which conservationists are working hard to protect in the coastal areas on the Matanda Block.
At the date of this release, many of the long lead items have been ordered and a short list of eight suitable rigs has been drawn up and an Invitation to Tender issued with bids due early next year. The total drilled depth ("TD") of the first well will be less than 1,300m, and it will be vertical, so a trailer-mounted rig of modest power (1,000 HP) will suffice. As there are no other onshore drilling operations in Cameroon, the rig will need to be sourced from overseas. The current schedule shows a Q2 2022 spud date, subject to finalisation of the costings and the necessary funding being available.
Commenting today Roy Kelly, CEO of VOG, said:
"We are extremely pleased to have received this extension for another year and, once again, we thank the Minister and SNH for expediting this extension. The first well will be in the highly prospective onshore area where nearby wells in a similar play (in the contiguous Bomono license) underwent extended well tests and have significantly derisked these shallower plays. I am particularly pleased with the role played by our ESG team in influencing the selection of well location mindful of human and natural habitats around the wellsite.
We face our usual challenge of mobilising land drilling equipment into the country, but most of the rigs on our shortlist are in the region."
For further information, please visit www.victoriaoilandgas.com or contact:
Victoria Oil & Gas Plc
Roy Kelly/Rob Collins Tel: +44 (0) 20 7921 8820
Strand Hanson Limited (NOMAD)
Rory Murphy/James Dance Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494
Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited (Broker)
Mark Percy / Toby Gibbs (corporate advisory) Tel: +44 (0) 207 408 4090
Sam Metcalfe, the Company's Subsurface Manager has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement in his capacity as a qualified person under the AIM Rules. Sam, who has an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, has over 35 years of industry experience.
Background on Matanda
The Matanda Block is situated in the northern part of the Douala Basin, in the transitional zone around the Wouri estuary and the neighbouring onshore area to the south-west of the city of Douala. The block borders GDC's Logbaba concession at the southern boundary. Approximately 30% of the block is in shallow water, whilst the remainder is onshore.
The North Matanda Field was originally discovered by Gulf Oil Corporation in 1980, and to date three wells drilled in the shallow water of the Wourri Estuary on the block tested gas and condensate from the Logbaba Forma on of the North Matanda Field. One onshore well, Missellelle-1, also encountered gas reservoirs in the Logbaba Forma on. During 2008 to 2010, Glencore and AFEX acquired 200 square kilometres of 3D seismic survey over the North Matanda Field and 150 kilometres of 2D seismic survey over the northern, onshore por on of the block. In May 2013, Glencore spudded well NM-3x, an appraisal well into the North Matanda Field to further define and delineate the Cretaceous reservoirs.