plumo
9 months ago
Block 3B/4B Farm In - TotalEnergies & QatarEnergy
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM: ECO, TSX ? V: EOG), ("Eco") the oil and gas exploration company focused on the offshore Atlantic Margins in South Africa, Namibia, and Guyana, is pleased to announce it has signed a Farmout Agreement ("FOA") pursuant to which Azinam Limited ("Azinam"), its wholly owned subsidiary, will farm out a 13.75% Participating Interest in Block 3B/4B, offshore the Republic of South Africa as part of an aggregate 57% farm down transaction along with its Joint Venture ("JV") Partners Africa Oil SA Corp. ("Africa Oil") and Ricocure (Proprietary) Limited ("Ricocure") to TotalEnergies EP South Africa B.V., who will become Operator ("TotalEnergies") and QatarEnergy International E&P LLC ("QatarEnergy") (the "Transaction").
Upon completion of the Transaction, Eco will retain a 6.25% interest in Block 3B/4B.
Transactions Highlights:
Maximum transaction value, including carry, of up to US$32.1m to Eco, which includes payments due to Eco from Africa Oil and Ricocure under previously announced agreements as detailed below:
· As a result of the 6.25% farm out transaction with Africa Oil, announced on 11 July 2023, Eco will receive up to US$5.5m in two payments, US$4m on Completion of the Transaction, as defined below, and a further US$1.5m on spudding of the first exploration well, and US$1.2m due from Ricocure pursuant to the original Azinam - Ricocure 2019 farm out agreement due on Completion.
· TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy transaction will deliver, subject to achieving certain milestones, staged cash payments, comprising a total cash payment of US$11.92m of which US$1.92m is payable at Completion and the remaining balance in two equal successive payments, conditional upon receipt of customary regulatory approvals and the balance on spudding of a first exploration well.
· Eco will also receive a full carry of its 6.25% retained share of all JV costs, up to a cap, repayable to TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy from production, which is expected to be adequate to fund the Company's share of drilling for up to two wells on the licence.
Gil Holzman, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented:
"We are delighted to have signed this agreement with TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy. Block 3B/4B sits in one of the most prolific and exciting areas in the world for offshore oil and gas exploration and development. The decision by two of the largest energy companies globally to farm into this licence is strengthened by their significant understanding of the Orange basin, having made the Venus large light oil discovery just recently north of the basin in Namibia.
"I would like to thank our partners at Africa Oil and Ricocure for their cooperation and jointly negotiating this farm out agreement. We now look forward to working closely with the government of South Africa and our new partners on the exploration licence to prepare first drilling."
Pursuant to the terms of the FOA, completion of the Transaction ("Completion") is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions precedent including, but not limited to, the receipt of requisite regulatory approvals (Section 11) from the government of South Africa. On Completion, the Block 3B/4B interests of the JV partners will be as follows: TotalEnergies EP South Africa B.V. will become the Operator of the Block, holding a 33% Participating Interest; QatarEnergy International E&P LLC, will hold a 24% Participating Interest; Africa Oil SA Corp, a wholly owned subsidiary of Africa Oil Corp. will retain a 17% Participating Interest; Azinam Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eco Atlantic, will retain a Participating Interest of 6.25%; and Ricocure (Proprietary) Limited, will retain a 19.75% Participating Interest.
**ENDS**
plumo
2 years ago
Update on Gazania-1 well, offshore South Africa
Commencing detailed analysis and plans to drill at Block 3B/4B
Eco Atlantic (AIM: ECO, TSX- V: EOG), the oil and gas exploration company focused on the offshore Atlantic Margins, announces that the Gazania-1 well on Block 2B, offshore South Africa, which spudded on October 10, 2022, reached target depth of 2,360m but did not show evidence of commercial hydrocarbons. The well will now be plugged and abandoned as planned.
The well logging is currently on-going and the JV Partners will undertake a detailed analysis of the results, which will inform our future plans. The JV Partners submitted a Production Right Application to the Petroleum Agency of South Africa ("PASA") on November 15, 2022, for Block 2B, based on the existing oil discovery of AJ-1 and potential future operations. Therefore, the JV Partners have time to conduct further analysis and integration of the Gazania-1 well data to allow them to determine the next steps on the Block.
The Company, alongside its respective JV Partners, will now move on to executing our plans for more exploration wells, including a two-well campaign on Block 3B/4B offshore South Africa planned to begin in 2023, and at least one well into Cretaceous targets on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana. As announced by the Operator of Block 3B/4B, a collaborative farm-out process, up to 55% gross WI, has been ongoing and we look forward to updating the market on this in due course.
Colin Kinley, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented:
"We very much appreciate the stakeholder and shareholder support on this well that was safely drilled with no environmental issues. Early challenges with weather and service logistics on this well cost us a bit of time to get started, however we are happy with the overall technical operation of the well.
Gases normally associated with light oil were encountered throughout the drilling of the Gazania-1 well. This, in our view, confirms the active hydrocarbon system, proven by the A-J1 discovery well in 1988, extends to the part of the basin where the Gazania-1 well is located. Further seismic interpretation will likely lead to the definition of viable areas for trapping downdip of Gazania-1 closer to the 1988 oil discovery A-J1.
"While the well results are obviously disappointing at this location, we remain optimistic for this basin and look forward to continuing our exploration efforts".
Gil Holzman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, added:
"While it is naturally disappointing not having made a commercial discovery, the Gazania-1 well was only the first of four wells we have planned for the next 18-24 months across our wider portfolio. We now move on to executing our plans for more exploration wells; a two well campaign on Block 3B/4B offshore South Africa planned to begin in 2023, and at least one well into Cretaceous targets on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana. A collaborative farm-out process on 3B/4B has been ongoing with the Operator and JV partners and we look forward to updating the market on this in due course.
"I want to thank our internal operations team and NRG Well Management for their excellent performance executing and operating the Gazania-1 well, the Government of South Africa and PASA for their professional support throughout, and all our JV Partners at Africa Energy, Panoro, and Crown Energy. We have established ourselves as a qualified and reliable Offshore Operator. This experience will be extremely useful for our future exploration campaigns, particularly upcoming on Block 3B/4B."
The JV partnership in respect of Block 2B comprises Eco Atlantic (50% WI and Operator), Africa Energy Corp (27.5% WI), Panoro 2B Limited, a subsidiary of Panoro Energy ASA (12.5% WI), and Crown Energy AB (10% WI).
**ENDS**
plumo
3 years ago
TSXV Approval for final Closing of the Azinam Acquisition
11 May 2022
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM: ECO, TSX - V: EOG), the oil and gas exploration company focused on the offshore Atlantic Margins, is pleased to announced, further to its announcement of 28 March 2022 regarding the acquisition by of Azinam Group Limited ("Azinam"), that it has now received clearance from the TSX Venture Exchange in respect of the Personal Information Forms of the directors of Azinam Group Holdings Limited ("Azinam Group Holdings"), the vendor of Azinam. Accordingly, the Company will now issue the remaining 17,874,174 common shares in the capital of Eco ("Common Shares") to Azinam Group Holdings (the "Second Tranche").
Further to the Company's announcement of 8 February 2022, in addition to the Second Tranche, Azinam Group Holdings have now also been issued 40,000,000 warrants over Common Shares, exercisable only in the case of a producible commercial discovery on Block 2B or Block 3B/4B, as follows: 20,000,000 warrants exercisable at a price of CAD$1.00 per Common Shares for a period of two years , and 20,000,000 warrants exercisable at a price of CAD$1.50 per Common Share for a period of three years (such exercise periods to be extended in the event a well is not drilled on Block 2B or Block 3B/4B until such time as a well is drilled on either block and a producible commercial discovery declared).
Following the issuance of the Second Tranche, Azinam Group Holdings will hold 40,170,474 Common Shares representing approximately 13.05 per cent of the Company's issued share capital as enlarged by the Second Tranche. The Vendor has entered into a lock-in agreement to restrict the sale of the consideration shares (being the first tranche, announced on 28 March 2022, and the Second Tranche) until the earlier of: the spudding of a well on Block 2B; or, 6 months following closing of the acquisition, being 28 March 2022 (the "Closing Date"), in respect of a third of the consideration shares, with two equal further tranches being released from the lock-in 12 and 18 months following the Closing Date.
It is noted that 8,034,094 of the Second Tranche shares issued to Azinam and 4,000,000 warrants (having an exercise price of CDN1.00 and an expiry date of 10 May 2024) have been placed in escrow in accordance with the Azinam share purchase agreement, with such securities to be released to the vendors on 31 July 2023 subject to there being no excess debt above US$1.5m within Azinam as confirmed by a final balance sheet as at the Closing Date (to be prepared by Eco within 75 days of the Closing Date) ("Excess Debt"). In the event that there is determined to be Excess Debt, such number of escrowed securities as is equal to the Excess Debt amount divided by US$0.44 will be returned to Eco's treasury account.
Admission of the Common Shares
Application has been made for admission of the Second Tranche, which will rank pari passu with existing Common Shares, to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective and trading will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 16 May 2022.
The Second Tranche Common Shares are subject to a restrictive hold period of four months and one day in Canada, expiring on September 10, 2022 (the "Hold Period"), which will prevent them from being resold in Canada, through a Canadian exchange (including the TSX Venture Exchange), or otherwise in Canada or to a Canadian during the Hold Period without an exemption from the Canadian prospectus requirement.
Following Admission of the Second Tranche, the enlarged issued share capital of the Company will be 307,749,605 Common Shares. The above figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
plumo
3 years ago
Launch of Equity Fundraise of up to US$25 million
through an accelerated bookbuild process
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM: ECO, TSX-V:EOG) is pleased to announce its intention to raise aggregate gross proceeds of up to approximately US$25million through the issue of new Common Shares in the capital of the Company consisting of:
· a placing in the United Kingdom, Norway and certain other jurisdictions outside Canada, and a brokered private placement in Canada up to approximately US$21 million before expenses through the issue of new Common Shares to new and existing institutional investors (the "Placing Shares") at a price of £0.30 per Placing Share (or CAN$0.50 (the "Issue Price") (the "Placing")); and
· a proposed subscription by way of a private placement for new Common Shares (the "Subscription Shares") at the Issue Price by Africa Oil Corp to raise up to US$4 million (the "Subscription").
If all of the Placing Shares, Subscription Shares and Retail Offer Shares (as hereinafter defined) are issued, they will represent approximately 28 per cent. of the existing issued share capital of the Company (on a non-diluted basis) and 22 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital as enlarged by the Equity Fundraise (as defined below) (on a non-diluted basis).
In addition (and separately) to the Placing and the Subscription, non-Canadian retail investors will be given an opportunity to subscribe for new Common Shares (the "Retail Offer Shares") at the Issue Price (the "Retail Offer") on the PrimaryBid platform. A separate announcement will be made shortly regarding the Retail Offer and its terms. The Placing and Subscription are not conditional upon the Retail Offer. The Retail Offer will close on completion of the Bookbuild process in connection with the Placing. The capital raised via the Placing and Subscription and by the Retail Offer comprises the "Equity Fundraise".
It is intended that the Equity Fundraise will result in the Company raising total gross proceeds of up to approximately US$25 million (approximately GBP19.05 million, CAN$31.10 million ). The net proceeds of the Equity Fundraise are intended to be used primarily to fund Eco's share of the drilling of the Gazania-1 well on Block 2B offshore South Africa, estimated to be approximately US$23 million, to cover G&G expenses across the Group's portfolio and license fees in Namibia and on Block 3B/4B in South Africa as well as for general working capital purposes. It is expected that drilling of the Gazania 1 well will commence in September 2022 ahead of a relevant deadline under the licence for the Azinam Blocks. Should the drilling campaign result in a producible commercial discovery, the South African government and a HDSA (Historically Disadvantaged South Africans) investment entity would be entitled to exercise certain customary rights to equity participation in the production.
Capitalised terms used in this announcement have the meanings set out within it or in the Appendix to it.
Details of the Placing
In connection with the Placing, Berenberg, SpareBank 1 Markets and Echelon are acting as Joint Bookrunners.
The Placing will be conducted through an accelerated bookbuild process which will be launched immediately following the release of this Announcement.
The Placing will be conducted in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the Appendix (which forms part of this Announcement).
The Joint Bookrunners will commence the Bookbuild immediately following the release of this Announcement. The number of Placing Shares will be determined at the end of the Bookbuild.
The timing of the closing of the book and allocations are to be determined by the Company in consultation with the Joint Bookrunners. The number of Placing Shares will be announced as soon as practicable after the close of the Bookbuild.
The Common Shares issued in connection with the Equity Fundraise (the "Equity Fundraise Shares") will, when issued, rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Common Shares, including, without limitation, the right to receive dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after the date of issue.
General Information
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for admission of the Equity Fundraise Shares to trading on AIM. Application will be made to the TSX-V for the Equity Fundraise Shares to be admitted to trading on the TSX-V, with listing subject to the approval of the TSX-V and the Company satisfying all of the requirements of the TSX-V. It is expected that AIM Admission will take place on or before 8.00 a.m. (London time) on 11 April 2022 and that dealings in the Equity Fundraise Shares on AIM will commence at the same time.
The Equity Fundraise is conditional upon, inter alia, AIM Admission becoming effective and upon the Placing Agreement not being terminated in accordance with its terms. The Appendix to this Announcement sets out further information relating to the terms and conditions of the Placing.
The Placing Shares will be freely transferable outside of Canada, however these shares are subject to a restrictive hold period of four months and one day in Canada (beginning on the date of issuance) which will prevent the Placing Shares from being resold in Canada, through a Canadian exchange or otherwise in Canada or to a Canadian, during the restrictive period without an exemption from the Canadian prospectus requirement.
This Announcement (including its Appendix) should be read in its entirety. In particular, you should read and understand the information provided in the "Important Notices" section and the detailed terms and conditions described in the Appendix. Capitalised terms used in this Announcement shall have the meaning given to them in the Appendix.
Details of the Subscription
Africa Oil Corp, a substantial shareholder in the Company, intends to enter into a subscription agreement to subscribe for such number of Subscription Shares at the Issue Price as equates to an aggregate subscription amount of US$4 million, subject to Africa Oil Corp's resulting interest in Eco's share capital as enlarged by the Equity Fundraise remaining below 20% (with the number of Subscription Shares being reduced accordingly, if required, to ensure that this is the case).
As insiders of the Company are expected to participate in the Subscription, it is deemed by TSX-V regulations to be a "Related Party Transaction" pursuant to Canadian Securities Administrators Multilateral Instrument 61-101 "Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions" ("MI 61-101"), which applies to TSX-V companies. The Subscription is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the securities distributed to, and the consideration received from, interested parties does not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalisation. The Company did not file a material change report at least 21 days prior to the closing of the Subscription as participation of the insiders had not been confirmed at that time and the Company wished to close on an expedited basis for business reasons.
plumo
3 years ago
Strategic Acquisition of JHI and its Interest in Canje Block Offshore Guyana
Further consolidating Eco's position as an exploration business of scale
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM: ECO, TSX - V: EOG), the oil and gas exploration company focused on the offshore Atlantic Margins, announces today that it has signed a Commercially Binding Term Sheet to acquire 100% of JHI Associates Inc. ("JHI"), including JHI's 17.5% Working Interest ("WI") in the Canje Block offshore Guyana (the "Acquisition").
Highlights
· A proposed cashless acquisition, with a value of approximately US$52 million at the Company's current share price, which would make Eco the sole owner of JHI's cash balance and its 17.5% WI in the Canje Block
· The Canje Block, offshore Guyana, is directly adjacent to the prolific Stabroek Block where ExxonMobil has discovered in excess of 10 Billion Barrels of Oil
· Eco will acquire JHI's capital balance, which is expected to be a minimum of US$15 million upon completion of the Acquisition
· Consideration in the form of new common shares issued to JHI's shareholders based on an exchange ratio of 1.1994 new Eco common shares and convertible securities leading to JHI shareholders holding approximately 34% of Eco post Acquisition at current share count
· The Acquisition adds to Eco's strategic acreage position in Guyana and paves the way for further drilling activity on the Company's blocks over the coming years
· The Acquisition is currently expected to close in Q2 2022 subject, inter alia, to the signing of an Arrangement Agreement and satisfactory completion of due diligence by Eco and any requisite Government of Guyana, Canje Block partners, and stock exchange approvals
· On closing, JHI has the right to appoint two non-executive Directors to Eco's eight-member Board of the enlarged Group, bringing further exploration expertise to the Company
Information on the Acquisitio
JHI is a private company incorporated in Ontario and headquartered in Toronto, Canada. If and once completed the Acquisition provides the enlarged Eco Group with ownership of 17.5% PI in the Canje Block offshore Guyana. The Canje Block is Operated by Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Limited (35%), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corporation, with the remaining partners including TotalEnergies E&P Guyana B.V. (35%), JHI Associates (BVI) Inc. (17.5%) and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc. (12.5%). On closing of the Acquisition, JHI is to have a minimum cash balance of $USD 15 million, acquired as part of the transaction with Eco. The Canje Block is approximately 4,800km2, located approximately 180 to 300 kilometers offshore Guyana in water depths ranging between 1700 and 3000 meters.
The Canje Block is a large and significant license which captures the lower slope and base of slope play fairways, channels and fans outboard of multiple ExxonMobil discoveries in the adjacent Stabroek Block which is immediately up-dip of Canje. Canje is covered with 6,100km2 of 3D seismic and holds over three dozen prospects in four proven plays in the Lower Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous confined channels, Lower Cretaceous Carbonate structures and, with recent drilling of Sapote-1 well and Stabroek discoveries, now offers the opportunity of yet deeper horizons.
Pursuant to the Term Sheet and subject, inter alia, to the signing of a binding Arrangement Agreement and completion of the Acquisition, Eco Atlantic will issue to JHI's shareholders, along with the holders of any JHI options and warrants, such number of new common shares in Eco that at the above-stated exchange ratio and current share count (post the issue of the Azinam Group Limited acquisition consideration shares) will provide JHI's shareholders with 34.1% of Eco's issued share capital as enlarged by such issue ("Enlarged Share Capital"), or approximately 127 million new common shares of Eco, providing for a cashless acquisition, with a value of approximately US$52 million at the Company's current share price, to become the sole owner of JHI's cash balance and its 17.5% PI in the Canje Block. The Term Sheet provides Eco with a 90-day exclusivity period and terminates, or may be terminated, upon the occurrence of certain events.
Completion of the Acquisition ("Completion") is subject, inter alia, to the signing of an Arrangement Agreement and satisfactory completion of due diligence by Eco and any requisite approvals from the Government of Guyana, the Canje Block partners, and the TSX Venture and AIM exchanges. In addition, certain shareholders of JHI will enter into a lock-up agreements to restrict the sale of the consideration shares.
As of 31 December 2021, JHI's audited financial statements provides that it had total gross assets of approximately US$30.7 million, of which approximately US$19.7 million is cash and cash equivalents and US$3.5 million is the book value of its interest in the Canje Block. These financial statements also provide that JHI had total liabilities to third parties of approximately US$500,000.
A further announcement will be issued on the execution of the binding Arrangement Agreement.
John Cullen, Founder and CEO of JHI commented:
"This transaction provides JHI's shareholders access to Eco's exciting portfolio of exploration opportunities in the emerging oil basins of Namibia and South Africa, and in Guyana with their Orinduik block, while maintaining their exposure to the Canje Block, where we have been working steadily with our partners to identify the next prospect to drill. It also represents the culmination of a tremendous amount of work from JHI's technical team which, over the last six years, saw two supermajors join the Canje Block, and three wells drilled providing valuable information towards unlocking the potential of the deeper water portions of the Guyana-Suriname Basin.
"JHI's team has come to work well with Eco's team since they became shareholders last year, and we know that they will continue to be good stewards of the Canje Block as they add it into their impressive and expanding exploration portfolio."
Gil Holzman, Co-Founder and CEO of Eco Atlantic commented:
"Being a shareholder of JHI since last year has given us a deep understanding of the Canje Block and its prospectivity. It has also given us the opportunity to get to know the great management team at JHI and their technical and business achievements to date. Because of these facts, we believe that there is considerable strategic rationale in acquiring JHI. Eco's ambition is to become the "go-to" small-cap exploration vehicle for investors seeking exposure to high-impact drilling programs in three of the world's most exciting hydrocarbon provinces in Guyana, Namibia and South Africa. This acquisition gets us another step closer to that goal and builds on the Azinam acquisition we announced earlier this year.
"This transaction adds to Eco's strategic acreage position in Guyana and ensures that there will be a number of drilling catalysts over the next couple of years on Eco's eight offshore blocks. In addition, the enlarged Group will benefit from JHI's current cash position, adding US$15million to Eco's balance sheet, further strengthening the Company's liquidity position.
Given Eco's strategic investor base and proven access to the public capital markets, the anticipated addition of JHI's interest in the Canje Block and its working capital, will further augment the enlarged Group cash position for its share of all near term exploration programs on its current blocks including: 2B in South Africa where drilling preparations for a late Q3 spud are underway and the Eco Orinduik Block offshore Guyana to follow, Block 3B/4B in Orange basin South Africa and elsewhere in the current and future portfolio of the enlarged entity.
"Ahead of our planned drilling campaign on Block 2B offshore South Africa in late Q3 2022, we are also looking to finalise drilling targets in Eco's Orinduik Block, offshore Guyana. Demonstrating that, as ever, the Eco team are head down and focused on delivering value for shareholders. We look forward to providing further corporate updates as appropriate."
plumo
3 years ago
Completion of Azinam Acquisition
Further to the Company's announcement of 8 February 2022, Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM: ECO, TSX - V: EOG), the oil and gas exploration company focused on the offshore Atlantic Margins, is pleased to confirm that it and Azinam Group Holdings ("Azinam") have completed all conditions required to be completed in order to close Eco's acquisition of Azinam (the "Acquisition") save and accept for receipt of the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") (the "Approval").
As disclosed in the Company's announcement of February 8, 2022, the Acquisition will result in the issuance to Azinam of 40,170,474 common shares (the "New Issue") in the capital of Eco ("Common Shares"), providing Azinam with 16.5% of Eco's share capital as enlarged by such issue ("Enlarged Share Capital"), providing for a cashless acquisition to become the sole owner of Azinam's entire African portfolio.
In addition to the New Issue, Azinam will be issued warrants to acquire additional Common Shares, exercisable only in the case of a producible commercial discovery on Block 2B or Block 3B/4B, as follows: 20,000,000 warrants exercisable at a price of CAD$1.00 per Common Shares during the twenty-four month period immediately following the date of receipt of the Approval, and 20,000,000 warrants exercisable at a price of CAD$1.50 per Common Share during the thirty-six month period immediately following the Approval, such exercise dates to be extended in the event a well is not drilled on Block 2B or Block 3B4B, until such time as a well is drilled on either block and a producible commercial discovery declared. At no time will Azinam be entitled to subscribe for and purchase such amount of Common Shares which, when aggregated with its already exiting ownership of Common Shares, would result in Azinam being the registered or beneficial holder of more than 19.9% of the then issued and outstanding Common Shares, without the prior written consent of the Exchange and Eco and in accordance with the policies of the Exchange. Eco has agreed that, for as long as Azinam holds at least a 12.5% interest in Eco's share capital, it shall be entitled to nominate one director for election to Eco's board of directors.
In connection with the Acquisition, a fee of 350,000 Common Shares and US$50,000 will be payable to an arms length third party in connection with their advisory services to Eco.
Eco will disseminate a further press release confirming final approval by the Exchange and the issue of the New shares.
Gil Holzman Co-Founder and CEO of Eco Atlantic commented:
"We are pleased to have completed this acquisition, subject to final Approval to issue the shares. we now own and operate a number of highly prospective licences in three of the most exciting regions for exploration in the world: Guyana, Namibia and South Africa. We continue to make strong progress towards the upcoming drilling of the Gazania-1 well, offshore South Africa, and following the signing of the rig contract earlier in the month we anticipate drilling to commence in late Q3 2022. We look forward to making further updates on our strategic acreage in due course."
**END
plumo
3 years ago
Operational Update and Notice of AGM
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, provides an operational update on the Group's activities and announces notice of its annual and special meeting ("AGM").
Highlights
· JHI well drilled by ExxonMobil establishes oil presence at Sapote-1, Guyana
· Progress to define multi-million barrel targets on Orinduik, Guyana
· Eco elected as Operator on PEL 99, Blocks 2111B & 2211A, Namibia
· Eco negotiates new Joint Operating Agreements on all offshore Namibia licenses
· Eco advances development of solar business in Europe
Guyana
Eco received, on Saturday 30 October, a detailed update from JHI Associates Inc. that ExxonMobil has successfully and safely drilled the Sapote-1 well on the Canje Block, to a depth of 6,759 meters (22,172 ft), in 2,549 meters (8,362 ft) of water. 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.
As previously announced in June of this year, Eco acquired a 6.4% interest in JHI Associates Inc. ("JHI"), a private Canadian company, which holds a 17.5% working interest ("WI") in the Guyana Canje Block. JHI, with a current very strong cash balance, has already paid for its 17.5% of the Sapote-1 well from treasury. No costs are attributable to Eco.
On its primary asset in Guyana, the Orinduik Block, the JV partners; (Eco Atlantic: 15% WI; Tullow Guyana B.V. 60% WI (Operator); and TOQAP Guyana B.V. 25% WI), are currently advancing toward target selection on the Block. The partnership has used state-of-the-art processing technology to merge its seismic data sets and to incorporate regional well results into target selections. The teams are using conservative and proven sciences to define sweet light oil drilling targets, likely within the proven Cretaceous section. The partnership hopes to establish firm targets in the near term and advance towards drilling. Eco and the JV Partners have already delivered two substantial oil discoveries on the Orinduik Block on the northernmost quadrant of the Block and have worked diligently to define the parameters and identifiers related to this heavy oil field discovery.
Orinduik continues to offer significant upside. The eastern section of the Block is closer to the established Liza oil trend than any other Block. ExxonMobil will next drill in 2021 the Fangtooth-1 well just north and down dip of Orinduik on the Stabroek Block. This well is very close to Orinduik and will test some of the deeper sections. The partnership is focused on the careful selection of locations able to drill a number of stacked or multiple target sections with the opportunity to yield several hundred million barrels. The eastern border of the Orinduik Block is adjacent to and up dip from multiple ExxonMobil discoveries and down dip from the proven light oil discovered in the Kanuku Block, South of Orinduik and towards the continent.
Guyana continues to be one of the most prolific exploration regions in the world. Formal estimates, following ExxonMobil's latest discovery at Cataback-1, updated the current total discovered resources in the Guyana portion of the Guyana-Suriname Basin to over ten billion barrels of oil, discovered in the last five years. Work continues regionally with the definition of the trend. ExxonMobil is actively drilling with six drill ships, and multiple wildcats are planned in the basin for the upcoming year in the Basin by ExxonMobil and others. The Liza Destiny FPSO, pumping 120,000 bbls/day, is located a few kilometers from the Orinduik Block, and within the past week a second FPSO, the Liza Unity has arrived in Guyana and will be deployed east of Orinduik. This will pump an additional 220,000 bbls/day. An additional eight production facilities are being contemplated.
Colin Kinley, Co-Founder and COO of Eco Atlantic, commented:
"We are very focused on careful selection of the next target to drill on Orinduik. The process has taken longer than we would have liked with prolongation through reprocessing and Covid-19 constraints. However, each additional well drilled in the Basin, both commercially developed or drilled and abandoned, adds to our understanding of the area. We, and our partners, remain committed to good practice in the well location selection. We are fully funded for our share of the next well and are pushing the Operator, towards a committed location, defined drilling date and rig contract."
Namibia
Eco Atlantic has completed drafting the four new Joint Operating Agreements ("JOA's") for its new Petroleum Licenses offshore Namibia. We have received all paying partner approvals on the JOA's and they are out for review with the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia ("NAMCOR"), and local partners. 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) in the Walvis Basin.
Eco negotiated the reissuance and establishment of a new 10-year life cycle for each of the four PEL's ("Petroleum Exploration Licenses") in December 2020 and Licenses were issued in February 2021. Eco also negotiated doubling the size of PEL 99 with the new Petroleum Agreement, in order to access the potential for new prospective targets in the deeper horizons to the west of the block.
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 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.
Colin Kinley added:
"In the near term, we look forward to the drilling campaigns planned in Q4 at Venus-1 and Graff-1. TotalEnergies, Shell and ExxonMobil rank amongst the leading oil finders in the world, and their activity in the area is indicative of how the understanding of prospects in Namibia is gaining maturity. Eco is a long time player in Namibia and continues to work to define opportunities in increasing shareholder value through exploration and strategic corporate activities."
Solear Ltd.
Solear, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eco, is an independent renewable energy company focused on solar development projects in southern Europe.
In January 2021, Solear completed its first acquisition of a fully contracted, permitted, and build ready project in Greece, known as the Kozani Project. Throughout the year, Solear has continued to build at low cost, assessing projects, developing in-country relationships and seeking high turnover, early-stage opportunities.
Solear has signed in 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.
Gil Holzman, President and CEO commented:
"We are very proud of our accomplishments in 2021. We have managed to grow and progress our assets portfolio in both Guyana and Namibia and, importantly, have also managed to maintain and strengthen the Company's financial position through strict cost controls. The Company has also negotiated a capital investment into treasury from Africa Oil Corp. and Charlestown Energy Partners from New York.
"The Company has remained active as always and we managed to create a flow of catalysts to our shareholders through both drilling campaigns and other corporate activities. With all the activities offshore Guyana and Namibia and with additional corporate initiatives we are busy with, the stream of catalysts is expected to continue throughout the end of 2021 and into 2022 and onwards.
"Eco has also seeded a renewable energy arm that is being managed and driven by a team of industry experts and through strategic partnerships.
"We are very encouraged by the latest well results in Sapote-1. The results, once defined, should warrant additional exploration wells to test the deeper sections where the Sapote oil was present. We remain confident that our past investment in JHI will generate additional value for our shareholders over the longer term in the exciting Canje Block. As a shareholder in JHI and given their strong financial situation, we have no obligation to commit any capital towards future drilling plans at Canje.
"Eco continues to be active in the market from a technical and corporate perspective. While our technical teams look to define targets and push for drilling in Orinduik, and further our exploration in Namibia with our new licenses, we are still very active corporately and look to increase shareholder value through corporate and portfolio additions as well as through the drill bit."
Notice of AGM
Eco Atlantic also announces that its AGM will be held at 10:00 a.m. (EST) on 29 December, 2021 at the offices of the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, at 559 Briar Hill Avenue, Toronto, Canada ON M5N 1N1.
A copy of the notice of AGM, proxy form and accompanying management information circular are available on the Company's website and on Sedar at www.sedar.com.
**ENDS**
plumo
3 years ago
Audited Results Year ended 31 March 2021 & Update
Results Highlights:
Financials:
· As at 31 March 2021, the Company had working capital of US$13 million and no debt.
· In June 2021, the Company raised an additional US$4.9m in the form of a private placement.
· As at 31 March 2021, the Company had total assets of US$17.0 million, total liabilities of $1 million and total equity of US$16.0 million.
· The Company has materially decreased its total non-exploration expenses for the year ended 31 March 2021, including general and administration expenses and compensation costs by 33%.
Operations;
Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas
· Orinduik Block offshore Guyana - all seismic data reprocessing has now been completed and multiple light sweet oil drilling prospects are currently being reviewed by the Company and its licence partners (the "JV Partners"), with high-graded candidates being considered for the next drilling programme which Eco intends to drill in 2022. The intention is to provide further definition to the upper and lower Cretaceous interpretation and target selection for drilling. Target selection is expected in Q3 2021.
· The Company, together with its strategic partner and substantial shareholder Africa Oil Corp., continues to evaluate additional asset opportunities in both West Africa and South America with a focus on near-term high-impact exploration opportunities.
· On 30 November 2020, the Company successfully negotiated the reissuance of its four licences in Namibia's Walvis Basin for 10 years, which received final Government confirmation on 5 February 2021.
· On June 28, 2021, the Company announced that it had closed a transaction with JHI Associates Inc. ("JHI"), a private company and holder of 17.5% WI in the Canje block offshore Guyana, to acquire up to a 10% interest in JHI on a fully diluted basis (the "JHI Transaction") and to appoint Keith Hill, a non-executive Director of the Company, to the board of directors of JHI.
· The JHI Transaction increases Eco Atlantic's presence in the Guyana-Suriname basin, providing exposure to near-term drilling programme including at least three wells, with the first two firm wells on the Canje Block drilling in 2021 and at least one on the Orinduik Block in 2022, subject to partner approval.
· On July 5, 2021, the Company announced that it received a detailed update from JHI regarding the Jabillo-1 well in the Canje Block, offshore Guyana, which reached its planned target depth and was evaluated, but did not show evidence of commercial hydrocarbons. JHI also updated that spudding of the committed Sapote 1 well on the Canje block is scheduled for mid-August 2021, with a drilling time of up to 60 days.
Solear Ltd. (formerly Eco Atlantic Renewables post period end)
· On January 26, 2021, the Company announced the formation of a new joint venture company, to source, acquire and develop an exclusive pipeline of potential high yield solar projects. At the time of launch, the new entity was to be called Eco Atlantic Renewables, however, in order to further reflect the standalone nature of the business the company has been re-named Solear Ltd. ("Solear").
· Eco agreed to provide a secured loan of up to US$6 million to Solear (the "Loan"). The Loan, which carries a 2% annual interest, is expected to be repayable from the proceeds of either a public or private financing, through operating cash flow, and/or a project monetization event.
· In January 2021, Solear completed its first acquisition of a fully contracted, permitted, and build ready 11MW solar project in Greece, known as the Kozani Project.
· Solear's near-term objective is to develop its pipeline of solar assets with competitive rates of return through acquisition, development and construction of solar assets, led by an experienced renewable energy team.
Outlook:
Guyana
· Guyana continues to be one of the most prolific exploration regions in the world, with over nine billion barrels of oil discovered in the last five years. Eco and its JV Partners have already delivered two substantial oil discoveries on the Orinduik Block and the Block continues to offer significant upside potential. With the recent increase in oil prices, the JV partners will revisit the Jethro discovery commercialisation potential.
· As previously reported, Eco is fully funded for further drilling on the Orinduik Block and, with its JV Partners, is assessing all opportunities available to drill at least one exploration well into the light oil cretaceous stacked targets as soon as practical. The Company is fully aligned with its JV partners on careful target selection, based on the reprocessed 3D seismic data on the block and nearby oil discoveries, for the next drilling campaign and Eco expects to be able to update the market on further drilling plans in Q3 2021.
· The JHI Transaction provides the Company with immediate exposure to a current active drilling program in the Canje Block offshore Guyana. JHI has announced that the Block Operator ExxonMobil confirmed its plan to spud a second exploration well, Sapote 1, by mid-August 2021.
The Orinduik Block JV partners are Eco Atlantic (15% working interest ("WI")), Tullow Guyana B.V. ("Tullow") (Operator, 60% WI) and TOQAP Guyana B.V. ("TOQAP") (25% WI) a company jointly owned by TotalEnergies E&P Guyana B.V. (60%) and Qatar Petroleum (40%).
Namibia
· The Company's successful negotiation of the reissuance of its four licences in the Walvis Basin, Offshore Namibia, lead to the expansion of its acreage position. As announced on 30 November 2020, the Company's updated 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 upcoming drilling activity in the region, which could potentially see up to four exploration wells drilled on behalf of ExxonMobil, Total, Maurel & Prom, and Shell in the next 12 months.
Corporate:
· Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Eco has prioritised the welfare of its staff and partners.
· The Company continues to keep a strict control over costs throughout the business, which continues to generate material savings as reflected in the 54% decrease in G&A for the year and has ensured that Eco remains well capitalised with a strong balance sheet.
Gil Holzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented:
"The past year has seen Eco make significant strides across a number of different aspects of its business. In terms of oil and gas exploration, we have made material progress in Namibia, through the successful negotiation and reissuance of our four licences in the Walvis Basin, and in Guyana we have completed a landmark transaction with JHI, ensuring near-term exposure to low risk, high impact drilling activity. We see the JHI Transaction as an important step for us, as we look to broaden our presence in Guyana, with the potential for increased future collaboration with the region's existing players. We also remain very upbeat about recommencing drilling activity on the Orinduik Block and we look forward to updating our investors on the timing of this during Q3 2021. We were also very encouraged to learn about the Whiptail discovery made by ExxonMobil and partners on the Stabroek block yesterday adding to the estimated discovered recoverable resource of 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent and further highlighting the basin's prospectivity.
"We remain strongly committed to achieving exploration success at our high value assets in Namibia and Guyana, and we are very pleased to be able to demonstrate strong progress with regard to both over the past year.
"Our strategic investment into Solear Ltd. has added another attractive asset to the Company's portfolio and shows our determination to deliver value for shareholders through prudent, selective use of our cash reserves. We are excited to update the market in the coming months on Solear's progress, as we believe our investment into the business presents compelling, near-term opportunities and the potential to achieve ambitious long term strategic growth targets in an evolving energy market.
"Despite the ongoing macroeconomic backdrop, we remain very positive about what the future holds for Eco Atlantic. We have a resilient business model, a strong cash position and a number of significant near-term catalysts which we believe have the potential to create considerable value for shareholders. As ever, I look forward to keeping all of our stakeholders updated on our progress over the coming months."
The Company's audited financial results for the year ended 31 March 2021, together with Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form as at 31 March 2021, are available to download on the Company's website at www.ecooilandgas.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
plumo
3 years ago
5 July 2021
ECO (ATLANTIC) OIL & GAS LTD.
("Eco," "Eco Atlantic," "Company," or together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")
Jabillo-1 Well Result
Sapote-1 well to be drilled next
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, has received a detailed update from JHI Associates Inc. ("JHI"). The Jabillo-1 well in the Canje Block, offshore Guyana, reached its planned target depth and was evaluated but did not show evidence of commercial hydrocarbons. Jabillo-1 will now be plugged and abandoned. This well was drilled at no cost to JHI or Eco and was completed on a full carry basis.
The Jabillo-1 well was drilled to test Upper Cretaceous reservoirs in a stratigraphic trap. The well was positioned offshore Guyana, approximately 265 km northeast of Georgetown, in 2,903 meters of water and was safely drilled to a total depth of 6,475 meters.
The Stena DrillMax Rig is currently operating in the ExxonMobil Operated Stabroek Block and is expected to move on to drill the Sapote-1 well, in the eastern portion of the Canje Block. The Sapote-1 Well is expected to be spud in mid-August 2021 with an estimated drilling time of up to 60 days.
The Sapote-1 prospect is located in the south eastern section of Canje, and is a separate and distinct target from Jabillo. Sapote-1 lies approximately 100 km southeast of Jabillo and approximately 50 km north of the Haimara discovery in the Stabroek Block which encountered ~207 feet (63 meters) of high-quality, gas-condensate bearing sandstone reservoir and approximately 60 km northwest of the Maka Central discovery in Block 58 which encountered ~164 feet (50 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.
Eco recently acquired a 6.4% interest in JHI with the option to increase its stake to 10% on a fully diluted basis. JHI, a private company incorporated in Canada, holds a 17.5% Working Interest in the Canje Block and was carried on the Jabillo-1 well.
Eco remains well funded to progress its planned Orinduik Block drilling program, subject to partner approval, and now as a result of this recent investment in JHI, it is also fully funded for the ongoing program on Canje Block that includes the upcoming committed Sapote-1 well and any additional potential wells considered for this year.
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%).
Gil Holzman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented:
"While today's update from JHI is disappointing, this is the nature of oil exploration. Our stakeholders continue to support our exploration efforts and look for us to continue to define these near term high impact opportunities. Our next focus is the Sapote-1 prospect to be spud in the upcoming weeks which brings us another opportunity to share in what we hope to be another major ExxonMobil led discovery. JHI was carried on the Jabillo-1 well and this is just the first in a series of exploration wells that Eco expects to be involved in this year and next. Guyana has proven to be one of the most prolific hydrocarbon regions on the globe and the high discovery ratio continues and the Company continues to be excited about its near-term future prospects on both the Orinduik and the Canje Blocks.
"The next well in the program, Sapote-1, is located adjacent to existing discoveries and it is expected to be spud in mid-August 2021. The targets in the region have proven to hold some hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and oil equivalent and we look forward to similar scaled results from this upcoming well.
"I am happy that we managed to become a part of JHI and the Canje Block exploration program in time that offers our stakeholders a stream of high impact catalysts and an ongoing drilling program operated by ExxonMobil. I have a great confidence that our Canje Block exposure will yield great returns and oil discoveries as it also paves the way to a broader exposure and collaboration in the Guyana-Suriname Basin."
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