TIDMTRP
RNS Number : 0743I
Tower Resources PLC
10 August 2021
10 August 2021
Tower Resources plc
Cameroon Farm-out Update
Tower Resources plc (the "Company" or "Tower" (TRP.L, TRP LN)),
the AIM-listed oil and gas company with its focus on Africa, is
pleased to announce that it has executed a binding Heads of
Agreement ("HoA") in respect of a farm-out to Beluga Energy Limited
("Beluga") of a 49% non-operating working interest in its Thali
Production Sharing Contract ("PSC") in Cameroon, conducted through
its wholly-owned subsidiary Tower Resources Cameroon S.A
("TRCSA").
The key economic elements of the transaction set out in the HoA
are:
-- The farm-out covers US$15 million towards the cost of the
NJOM-3 well that Tower is planning to drill on the Thali block;
-- Beluga will receive a 49% working interest in the PSC,
subject to an overriding royalty of 10% for Tower's subsidiary
TRCSA on the contractor share of production accruing to Beluga
under the PSC;
-- The well cost is currently expected to be approximately
US$16.8 million, of which approximately US$3 million has already
been spent;
-- Each party will recover costs actually funded and recoverable under the PSC, pari-passu;
-- Tower will effectively contribute its non-recoverable costs
in consideration of the 10% overriding royalty on the contractor
share of production referred to above;
-- Costs in excess of U$15 million, and future costs, will be
funded pro-rata with respect to Tower's and Beluga's working
interests.
The HoA are binding subject only to final documentation, a
financing contingency requiring Beluga's shareholders' approval,
and approval of the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological
Development ("MINMIDT"). The draft Joint Operating Agreement
("JOA") between Tower and Beluga has already been prepared, and
together with the draft farm-out agreement will shortly be
submitted to MINMIDT for approval, which is expected to occur
within 60 days of submission of the file according to the Petroleum
Code. Tower and Beluga intend to complete the transaction by 30(th)
September 2021, subject to any delays in completing the conditions
precedent.
Tower, through TRCSA, will remain Operator of the Thali PSC
under the JOA, and in the event the formal farm-in agreement and
approvals cannot be completed in good time then Beluga will instead
receive an appropriate share of the Operator's share capital and
Tower's intercompany loans to the Operator, subject to a
shareholder agreement, in order to reflect the intended farm-in
economics and JOA terms.
Tower has been advised by Envoi Limited and Powerline Consulting
during the recent farm-out process.
Tower is presently negotiating a contract for a rig to drill the
NJOM-3 well, and will announce when this and other major service
contracts in respect of the NJOM-3 well are concluded, though this
is not expected to be until after completion of the farm-out
agreement. Tower is also in discussions regarding an option
agreement over a Mobile Oil Production Unit ("MOPU") suitable for
the Thali project.
Beluga Energy Limited is a privately-held energy commodity
trading house with operations in Africa and the international oil
market. Beluga engages in proprietary trading: sourcing crude oil
and refined products including LNG, LPG, natural gas condensate,
naphtha, gasoline, jet fuel, gas oil, fuel oil and bitumen and
their transportation from lower demand to higher demand regions.
Beluga is pursuing a strategy of expanding vertically in the sector
through investment in its dedicated exploration and production
subsidiary. More information can be found on Beluga's website at
www.belugaenergy.com
Warebibo Soroh, the CEO of Beluga, commented:
"We are pleased to be associated with Tower's management team in
the development of the Thali block in Cameroon. This investment
fits perfectly with our strategy to invest in de-risked upstream
assets, and supports the integration of our services from
downstream to upstream. Our technical team has extensive experience
in developing assets in the Gulf of Guinea and will collaborate
with Tower in bringing the Thali block to first oil."
Jeremy Asher, Tower's Chairman and CEO, added:
"We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Warebibo
Soroh and his colleagues at Beluga, and to fulfil our shared
ambition to move this project forward to oil production in
Cameroon. Short-cycle oil and gas development projects such as this
have excellent economics, which reflect their importance to
Africa's overall energy balance. The Njonji structure on which we
are drilling the NJOM-3 well is one of several attractive
structures on the Thali block, and we are looking forward to a
great future developing these resources together."
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this announcement via
Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain.
Contacts
Tower Resources plc +44 20 7157 9625
Jeremy Asher
Chairman and CEO
Andrew Matharu
VP - Corporate Affairs
SP Angel Corporate Finance
LLP
Nominated Adviser and Joint
Broker
Stuart Gledhill + 44 20 3470
Caroline Rowe 0470
ETX Capital
Joint Broker + 44 20 7392
Thomas Smith 1436
Turner Pope Investments
(TPI) Limited
Joint Broker + 44 20 3657
Andy Thacker 0050
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
Joint Broker
Nick Lovering + 44 20 7886
Hugh Rich 2500
Notes:
Tower Resources Cameroon S.A, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tower
Resources plc, holds a 100% interest in the shallow water Thali
(formerly known as "Dissoni") Production Sharing Contract (PSC), in
the Rio del Rey basin, offshore Cameroon. Tower was awarded the PSC
on 15 September 2015 for an Initial Exploration Period of 3
years.
The Thali PSC covers an area of 119.2 km(2), with water depths
ranging from 8 to 48 metres, and lies in the prolific Rio del Rey
basin, in the eastern part of the Niger Delta. The Rio del Rey
basin has, to date, produced over one billion barrels of oil and
has estimated remaining reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil
equivalent ("boe"), primarily within depths of less than 2,000
metres. The Rio del Rey is a sub-basin of the Niger Delta, an area
in which over 34.5 billion barrels of oil has been discovered, with
2.5 billion boe attributed to the Cameroonian section.
An independent Reserve Report conducted by Oilfield
International Limited (OIL) has highlighted the contingent and
potential resources on the Thali licence and the associated
Expected Monetary Value (EMV) as follows:
-- Gross mean contingent resources of 18 MMbbls of oil across
the proven Njonji-1 and Njonji-2 fault blocks;
-- Gross mean prospective resources of 20 MMbbls of oil across
the Njonji South and Njonji South-West fault blocks;
-- Gross mean prospective resources of 111 MMbbls of oil across
four identified prospects located in the Dissoni South and Idenao
areas in the northern part of the Thali licence;
-- Calculated EMV10s of US$118 million for the contingent
resources, and US$82 million for the prospective resources,
respectively.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
MSCSSWFAUEFSEEA
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 10, 2021 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Grafico Azioni Tower Resources (LSE:TRP)
Storico
Da Mar 2024 a Apr 2024
Grafico Azioni Tower Resources (LSE:TRP)
Storico
Da Apr 2023 a Apr 2024