Page 11 - LatAmOil Week 10 2020

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Echo Energy prepares stand-by credit
ECHO Energy, which has assets in Argentina and Bolivia, is putting in place a new stand-by credit facility of up to GBP1mn ($1.29mn) in light of recent movements in oil prices.
The London-listed company said in a state- ment that its production in Argentina had “con- tinued in line with the board’s expectations.” It also reported, though, that the recent drop in crude oil prices, along with “the potential for ongoing volatility in the short term,” had led it to take precautions.
The additional unsecured stand-by credit facility is for an initial GBP400,000, Echo Energy said. It also stated, though, that the amount could be increased up to GBP1mn, with an interest rate remaining broadly in line with the original loan.
“The implementation of this facility is a pro- active step intended to provide the company with access to additional working capital in the short term, if required, including in the event of a continued decline in oil demand driven by recent global events and any, as of yet unfore- seen, local impacts,” the company added.
Echo, which has assets in Bolivia and Argen- tina, also said that it had arranged for a two-year extension of its existing GBP1mn loan, which was originally due to be repaid in full on March 9, 2020. As a result, the final payment on this loan will now be due on March 8, 2022, and the interest rate of the loan will remain unchanged,
the company noted.
Last November, Echo acquired a 70%
non-operated working interest in five producing blocks at Santa Cruz Sur onshore Argentina for $8.5mn. Net daily production from these blocks came to 2,410 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) on average in March.
In the same month, Echo said, two cargoes of oil and condensate were sold. Another oil cargo is expected to be lifted this month, and full pay- ment has already been received for the cargo lifted on February 5. Payment for the second cargo is anticipated in the second half of March, the firm said.
As of February 29, Echo had unaudited cash balances of around $1.4mn. It is expecting to receive additional revenues from the second February cargo, as well as ongoing natural gas sales, before the end of this month.™
Echo has stakes in five Santa Cruz Sur blocks (Image: Echo Energy)
YPF reports on 2019 results
ARGENTINA’S national oil company (NOC) YPF has reported mixed results for 2019.
In its latest annual report, which was released last week, YPF said its revenues had risen to ARS678.6bn ($10.8bn) last year, up by 55.7% on the 2018 figure of ARS435.8bn. It also reported that its operating income prior to the reversal or impairment of assets had sunk to ARS20.4bn, marking a 50.1% year-on-year drop from the 2018 figure of ARS40.9bn.
The decline was even more significant when asset impairment charges were taken into account, YPF noted. Operating income had dropped into the red by ARS21bn in 2019, down from ARS43.8bn the year before, it explained.
At the same time, YPF also reported a rise in its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which came to ARS169.9bn last year. This rep- resents a 39.7% increase on the 2018 figure of ARS121.5bn.
The NOC also saw its capital expenditure climb dramatically in 2019. This figure reached ARS171.7bn, up by 80% on the previous year’s number of ARS95.4bn.
On the operational side, YPF reported that its total hydrocarbon production had amounted to 514,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) last year, down by 3% on the 2018 level. The decline was partly driven by the disposal of certain upstream assets that were producing around 4,100 boepd on average, it said.
Meanwhile, the company’s proven reserves of oil and gas stood at 1.073bn barrels of oil equiva- lent (boe) as of the end of 2019. This was more or less steady on the previous year, just 0.6% down on the 2018 figure of 1.08bn boe.
YPF further stated that its oil-processing plants had seen throughput levels drop by 2.2% y/y to 277,500 barrels per day (bpd) in 2019. Refining capacity utilisation averaged 86.9% over the full year, it added. ™
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