Page 19 - LatAmOil Week 34

LatAmOil NEWS IN BRIEF LatAmOil

With regards to the drilling of the two new had been suspended. will be considered for the next drilling pro-
wells this year, President has now entered into Discussions have now recommenced includ- gramme. Eco remains fully funded for a further
the drilling contract, long lead items have been ing as to financial and other terms, with Presi- drilling programme on the Orinduik Block and,
ordered, other service providers identified and dent remaining as operator of the Concession. subject to JV Partner approval, anticipates drill-
the site locations are currently being prepared. There is of course no guarantee that such discus- ing at least two exploration wells into light oil
The programme remains on budget and on sions will result in mutually agreeable definitive Cretaceous targets in 2021. Further updates on
schedule to commence drilling the first well agreements being signed, but in the event they this matter will be made as appropriate.
before the end of September. This will be one do so proceed positively, it is currently antici- The Orinduik JV partners are Eco Atlantic
of the first conventional wells to be drilled in pated that definitive agreements would be con- (15% working interest (‘WI’)), Tullow Guyana
Argentina since the start of the pandemic. cluded before the end of this current year with (Operator, 60% WI) and Total E&P Guyana
As previously announced, the first well in the commencement of drilling during 2021. The (25% WI).
drilling sequence is the Las Bases 1001 develop- current Concession term extends to Q1-2022. Outlook, Namibia: Eco continues to benefit
ment well targeting 6 bcf of recoverable attic gas In the Concession as a whole, President after from a strategically significant acreage position
in the Las Bases structure with a high chance of detailed further sub-surface work has identified in-country and is progressing its various work
success. P50 (probable) well rate is 100,000 cubic over 500mn boe of prospective resources. Refer- programmes offshore Namibia. The company is
metres day (605 boepd), target depth is 1,700 ence is once again made to the sub-surface pres- witnessing an increased interest from multiple
metres and estimated costs completed are some entation on the Concession that can be found on IOCs in Namibia. The Company continues to
$1.9mn. the Company’s web page. monitor upcoming drilling activity in the region,
The second well in the sequence is the Estan- President Energy, August 26 2020 which could potentially see up to five explora-
cia Vieja EVN-1 exploration well: This well will tion wells drilled on behalf of ExxonMobil, Total,
target a new structure with potential for both gas Eco (Atlantic) releases Maurel & Prom, Shell and ReconAfrica in the
and oil reservoirs to the north of the producing next 12 months, expected to start Q4-2020.
Estancia Vieja field, with the P50 case oil pro- unaudited financial Corporate: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic
duction of 40 cubic metres per day (252 bpd) and and lower oil price environment, Eco took deci-
60,000 cubic metres per day of gas (350 boepd) results for Q2-2020 sive action to quickly reduce costs throughout
and a target depth of 2,000 metres. The chance of the business. The Company has decreased its
success is estimated at over 50%, and estimated Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas, the oil and gas explo- total non-exploration expenses, including gen-
costs of the well completed are $2.5mn. In a suc- ration company with license interests in Guyana eral and administration expense and compen-
cess case, the whole of the Estancia Vieja north and Namibia, has announced its results for the sation costs incurred during the three months
structure is opened up with a potential follow-on three months ended June 30, 2020, alongside a ended June 30, 2020 (Q1-2021), when compared
drilling programme of an additional six wells corporate and operational update. to the three months ended March 31, 2020 (Q4-
targeting up to 14mn barrels and 26 bcf. Financials: As at June 30, 2020, the Company 2020), by 58%.
Paraguay: On June 15, 2020 the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $17.9mn with The action generated material significant sav-
announced that, prior to the COVID-19 crisis, zero debt and remains fully funded for its share ings and has ensured the business remains well
following detailed due diligence, substantive (15% WI net) of further appraisal and explora- capitalised, with no debt on the balance sheet, for
discussions had commenced with a National Oil tion drilling at Orinduik Block offshore Guyana its 2021 drilling and exploration plans.
Company regarding a farm-in to President’s Pir- of up to three wells at $120mn (gross). Gil Holzman, President and Chief Execu-
ity Concession, including the drilling of a well on As at June 30, 2020, Eco had total assets of tive Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented: “The
the Delray complex. The announcement further $19.2mn, total liabilities of $372,138 and total Company has made significant strides towards
stated that due to the crisis, those discussions equity of $18.8mn; 58% cost reduction this quar- advancing its asset portfolio in 2020. Due to the
ter in response to COVID-19 strict cost cutting actions taken, Eco remains well capitalised and
measures taken as of April 2020. fully funded for a further drilling campaign in
Operations, Guyana: The Orinduik JV part- Guyana and additional activity elsewhere.
ners are further defining the Orinduik geolog- “In Guyana, we have made excellent progress
ical modeling, previous discoveries, prospects with high grading and further defining multiple
maturation and drilling targets selection. The highly prospective drilling prospects. Alongside
Partners are also reviewing and incorporating our JV Partners, we firmly believe in the upside
the latest Kanuku Block Carapa-1 light oil dis- potential of the Block and we look forward to
covery up dip and behind Orinduik and addi- recommencing drilling activity in 2021. We look
tional regional exploration information into forward to updating the market on our plans in
the models. The intention is to provide further the coming months.
definition to the Cretaceous interpretation and “Despite the challenging macro backdrop,
target selection for drilling. Eco has a resilient business model and has
On June 30, 2020, the Company and its taken decisive action to preserve the Company’s
Partners on the license approved a budget in liquidity. We continue to benefit from strategi-
the amount of approximately $5mn through to cally important acreage positions in two explo-
December 31, 2020, for 3D reprocessing based ration hotspots and from a strong partnership
on new regional results and target selection. The and cooperation with our biggest shareholder
Company’s share of this budget is $750,000. Africa Oil Corp., and I look forward to updating
Outlook, Guyana: Alongside its JV Partners, the market on developments over the coming
multiple drilling prospects on the license are cur- months.”
rently being reviewed. High-graded candidates Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas, August 20 2020

Week 34 27•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P19