Geo announces its financial results for the half year ended 31 December 2024.
Highlights:
Corporate:
- Corporate name change to Geo Exploration Limited (AIM:GEO) formerly Global Petroleum Limited.
- Acquisition of an 80% interest in the Juno Project, marking a transformational period for the Company.
- Leadership restructuring: Omar Ahmad appointed as CEO, Hamza Choudhry as CFO, and Azib Khan transitioning to Chief Commercial Officer.
- Board changes: Brian Chu joined as Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary; Andrew Draffin retired, and Cecilia Yu ceased.
Operational:
- Advanced discussions with a potential farmee for the PEL0094 licence continued and currently continue, with additional talks initiated with other interested parties to secure the best outcome for shareholders. These negotiations are part of the Company's ongoing efforts to maximise the value of its asset in the Walvis Basin.
- Industry activity in the Walvis Basin has intensified, bolstered by Chevron's farm-in for PEL0082 and Tower Resources' farm-out agreement for PEL0096. This increasing interest underscores the growing potential of the region, positioning the Company's PEL0094 licence as a highly attractive opportunity in Namibia's oil exploration landscape.
- The geological conditions in the Walvis Basin continue to highlight its commercial viability compared to the Orange Basin. The prospects within PEL0094 benefit from lower gas risks and shallower reservoirs, which are less diagenetically altered, enhancing their potential for successful oil exploration. These factors support the Company's belief in the significant value of its Namibian assets.
- In August 2024, the Company acquired a 70% stake in a joint venture with world class geologist Callum Baxter for mineral exploration in Western Australia, later increasing its interest to 80% in September 2024. Extensive exploration activities, including aeromagnetic and gravity surveys, have been undertaken to refine high-potential drill targets.
- The geophysical surveys conducted in H2 2024 revealed promising indicators of Intrusion-Related Gold Systems (IRGS) deposits, similar to that of Havieron in the Paterson Province of Western Australia, particularly in the northern project area. LiDAR data received in January 2025 has further enhanced drill planning and subsurface modelling.
- Key exploration plans for H2 2025 include electromagnetic and polarisation surveys, securing permits, and initiating drilling operations. The Company is well-capitalised to proceed with these H2 2025 plans, following the capital raise in January 2025.
Financial:
- Losses after tax: USD $543,290 (31 December 2023: USD $3,164)
- Cash and cash equivalents: USD $184,363 (30 June 2024: USD $193,070)
- Successful capital raise with institutional, high net worth individuals and retail investors totalling £850,000 in the half year to 31 December 2024.
- CEO Omar Ahmad extended his USD $270,000 interest free loan to the Company to September 2025.
Strategy and Outlook:
- The Company will continue with advanced discussions with the potential farmee for the PEL0094 licence and other interested parties to secure the best outcome for shareholders.
- Geo will also continue to expedite the work programme for Juno Project.
The Company confirms that a full copy of its latest Financial Report - Half Year Ended 31 December 2024 will be available shortly on the Company's website: www.geoexplorationlimited.com
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information under the UK Market Abuse Regulations ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW
Corporate
The half-year ending 31 December 2024 has been transformational for Geo Exploration Limited (formerly known as Global Petroleum Limited) ("the Company") or ("Geo Exploration"), with initiatives being led by the acquisition of an 80% interest in the Juno Project. The Company changed its management structure to align with the transformational agenda and strategic objectives. In September 2024, the Company appointed Omar Ahmad as Chief Executive Officer and Hamza Choudhry as Chief Financial Officer to execute on the Company's transformation agenda
In December 2024, Azib Khan transitioned from Non-Executive Director to Executive Director, assuming the role of Chief Commercial Officer to advance the Company's strategic initiatives. Brian Chu joined the Board in December 2024 as Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary, bringing extensive experience in finance, investment analysis, and risk management.
Andrew Draffin retired from the Board in December 2024 to focus on his financial services business. Andrew's tenure as Co-Company Secretary ended on 3 March 2025 following a transition to Brian Chu. Additionally, Cecilia Yu resigned from the Board in October 2024 as per the announcement dated 21 October 2024.
GEO Exploration is enthusiastic about the future, with its leadership team well-positioned to deliver value for shareholders. The change of company name to Geo Exploration is reflective of the transformation that the Company has embarked upon.
Namibian Project
The Namibian Project consists of an operated 78 per cent participating interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence ("PEL") 0094 (acquired in 2018) which covers Block 2011A.
Since the Company was awarded PEL0094, it has purchased and interpreted historic 2D and 3D seismic data over Block 2011A and across the Walvis Basin to enable a better understanding of the petroleum system and the resource potential of PEL0094. Various studies have been undertaken which have confirmed the view that PEL 0094 is very prospective.
The Company purchased additional 2D seismic data in 2022 and carried out further technical interpretation both on the principal prospects (Marula and Welwitschia Deep) and on the leads in the eastern part of PEL0094.
The Company announced updated estimates of Prospective Resources for PEL0094 in March 2023. The Prospective Resources in the east of PEL0094 consist of 7 leads defined on 2D seismic data with a total unrisked gross Prospective Resources (Mean Estimate) of 2,230 million barrels of oil. The two principal prospects, Marula and Welwitschia Deep, are already imaged on pre-existing 3D seismic data, making them drill-ready targets.
Welwitschia Deep has a mean prospective resource of 881 million barrels of oil with a risk factor of 14%. Marula has a mean prospective resource of 411 million barrels of oil with a risk factor of 29%.
Further interpretation is ongoing over the eastern part of the licence where acquisition of new 3D seismic data would be justified. This has highlighted a substantial Albian sandstone lead, akin to the Albian sandstone play in the Orange Basin.
On 14 August 2023, the Company announced that the Namibian authorities had given approval for the Company and its partners to proceed to the First Renewal Exploration Period ("FREP"), with a duration of two years from September 2023 to September 2025. Importantly, the usual requirement at the end of the Initial Exploration Period ("IEP") to relinquish 50 per cent of PEL 0094 area was waived. The work commitment for the FREP is to acquire, process and interpret 2,000 kms of 3D seismic data (the "3D Seismic") - carried over from the IEP and to drill a well contingent upon the results of the 3D Seismic.
Since early 2022, Namibia's oil and gas exploration sector has transformed due to significant oil discoveries in the Orange Basin. Shell, with Qatar Energy and NAMCOR, made the first discovery at Graff, followed by discoveries at La Rona, Jonker, and Lesedi. TotalEnergies and its partners made the Venus discovery and later drilled Mangetti-1X. Galp also made a significant discovery at Mopane-1X.
The Orange Basin has seen increased activity with Woodside, Chevron, and Azule entering the region, planning to drill in 2025. This source provides reason to believe Namibia is on the path to becoming a major petroleum-producing province.
In January 2025, Shell announced an approximately US$400m write-down in Namibia due to the high gas-to-oil ratio and gas condensate in its PEL0039 discoveries. This, combined with low rock permeability and high extraction costs, has meant that PEL0039 discoveries are yet to be confirmed for commercial viability.
Chevron in the Orange basin for Block 2813B within PEL 90 also did not discover any commercial hydrocarbons in January 2025. Despite these setbacks, Namibia's oil potential remains strong, with other companies advancing more promising offshore projects and attention has shifted to the Walvis Basin, where PEL0094 is located. Public comments made by operators working in the Orange Basin have indicated that some of the reservoirs have low permeabilities and that there is a substantial volume of gas in the discoveries to date. The shallower reservoirs in PEL94 are less buried than their counterparts in the Orange Basin discoveries so, all other things being equal, should be less diagenetically altered and have higher permeabilities. Petroleum systems modelling carried out in conjunction with Geo's team by world-renowned geochemical consultancy IGI Ltd indicates that the source rock in the migration segments for the prospects and leads in PEL94 is in the main to early oil windows, and, although from a source rock of this type some gas would be expelled with the oil, the predominant hydrocarbon phase is modelled to be oil.
Chevron's farm-in announcement in 2024 for PEL0082 close to PEL0094 has increased industry interest in the Walvis Basin, with more recent activity in January 2025 with Tower Resources announcing a farm-out agreement with Prime Global Energies Limited in the adjacent PEL0096 licence.
In 2024, the Company entered and advanced negotiations with a potential farmee for the PEL0094 licence. These discussions are ongoing. Additionally, given increased interest in the Walvis Basin as discussed above and the Company's PEL0094 licence, the Company is engaging in talks with other potential farmees with an aim to securing the best outcome for shareholders.
Juno Project - Western Australia
As part of the Company's transformation agenda, in August 2024, the Company announced the acquisition of a 70% interest in a joint venture ("the JV") with Callum Baxter. The JV is focused on the advancement of mineral exploration licence 08/3497 ("the Licence") located in Western Australia, in a region recognised for its rich mineral deposits.
Callum Baxter was Chief Technical Officer of Greatland Gold plc and was Chairman and CEO of Starvest plc. Callum was the key geologist in the advancement and exploration of the Havieron Gold discovery in Western Australia, one of the largest high-grade gold discoveries in Australia in the last two decades. Callum Baxter is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Under the terms of the Joint Venture, Geo:
- acquired an initial 70% of the licence for consideration of £200,000.
- exercised a 3 month option to purchase an additional 10% of the licence for £50,000 thus increasing Geo's interest to 80% of the licence, with Callum Baxter retaining 20%.
- is committed to a minimum expenditure of £750,000 (capital commitment) under the JV over the 12 months following completion.
- is to fund 100% of the JV expenditure up to the "Decision to Mine", after which both parties will contribute according to their JV interests.
- is the JV Manager and responsible for all exploration activities and must furnish technical reports to Callum Baxter.
- will pay up to a 5% royalty on any future production from the Licence. This royalty structure ensures that both parties benefit proportionally from the success of the project.
Following the acquisition of the additional 10% of the licence on 16 September 2024, Geo Exploration now holds 80% of the licence. The Company has subsequently applied for two further Exploration Licences, 52/4391 and 08/3744, adjacent to the licence, via its wholly owned subsidiary Juno Gold Pty Ltd. Upon approval of the applications, the total area of the Juno Project will increase from 106 square kilometres to 450 square kilometres covering multiple magnetic features.
The Project, targeting Intrusion-Related Gold Systems (IRGS), has seen significant advancements through a series of geophysical surveys, including aeromagnetic, gravity, and LiDAR data collection. These activities have been aimed at identifying and refining high-potential drill targets, with the ultimate goal of discovering large-scale gold and copper mineralisation similar to the Havieron deposit in the Paterson Province.
Italian Applications
In August 2013, the Company submitted applications for four offshore exploration areas in the Southern Adriatic, which are contiguous with the Italian median lines with Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania. Following a series of appeals against the environmental decrees related to these applications, the European Court confirmed in January 2022 that the applications did not violate EU law.
In February 2019, the Italian Parliament suspended all hydrocarbon exploration activities for 18 months to evaluate their suitability under a new Plan, which came into effect in February 2022. This Plan mandates that only gas exploration is permitted, leading to a re-perimeterisation of the Company's application areas. The Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition later confirmed that the amended applications complied with the Plan.
In September 2023, the Company announced that appeals against the environmental decrees granted in its favour had been dismissed by the Council of State. These appeals were related to all four of the Company's exploration permit applications in the Southern Adriatic. There have been no updates since June 2024. The Company will now assess its options regarding the applications and make further announcements as needed
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
In January 2025, the Company undertook significant capital initiatives to bolster its project advancement and operational capabilities. On 7 January 2025, the Company announced a successful capital raise of £1,500,000 through the placement of 666,666,666 Ordinary Shares at a price of 0.225 pence per share. This funding has been designated to fully fund the announced work program for the Juno Project as per the RNS dated 14 August 2024, support ongoing farm-out discussions for PEL0094 in Namibia, maintain license commitments, and general working capital.
In addition to the institutional placement, the Company launched a retail offer which raised £51,050 through the issuance of 22,688,888 million new shares at 0.225 pence each.
The capital raisings reflect the Company's commitment to provide opportunities for both family office, high net worth individuals and retail investors to participate in its anticipated growth trajectory.
In February 2025, the Company announced it has applied for a new Exploration Licence, 08/3792, north of the current Exploration Licence 08/3497 in Western Australia, via its wholly owned subsidiary Juno Gold Pty Ltd. Callum Baxter, exploration geologist consulting to the Company, has identified potential exploration targets within the Licence which share geophysical similarities to the target within Exploration Licence 08/3497. The Company is confident that this addition will not only significantly enhance its presence in the region but also strengthen its vision of uncovering a world-class deposit.
In March 2025, Geo Exploration Limited received correspondence regarding potential misappropriation of funds committed by an external service provider which we understand has impacted multiple companies, including ASX-listed companies and Geo Exploration Limited. The facts of this matter are still under investigation, but initial findings suggest the period over which Geo Exploration Limited was impacted spans June 2023 to October 2023, with no impact identified post October 2023. Based on the initial findings, and the Company's legal advice Geo Exploration believes that the future possibility of a net outflow of resources embodying economic benefits in relation to this matter is low, the net impact on Geo's cash position over the affected period was immaterial. However, to be very prudent the Company discloses this as a contingent liability. Since their appointment, the current management team have prioritised strengthening corporate governance and controls, including the safeguarding of all company assets.
On 31 December 2024, the Company announced that a warrant holder had exercised 10,000,000 warrants at 0.10 pence per warrant raising £10,000. As a result, 10,000,000 Fully Paid Ordinary Shares were issued with trading of the underlying Depository Interest commencing trading on 3 January 2025.
On 12 February 2025, the Company announced that it has issued the second tranche of 2,777,778 shares to the Company's media and marketing consultant for compensation of services rendered.