Corcel Plc the pan Angola-Brazil focused energy company, is pleased to announce its unaudited half-year results for the six months ended 31 December 2024.
Chairman's Statement
Dear Shareholders,
I am pleased to present the interim results of Corcel Plc for the six-month period ending 31 December 2024.
Corcel entered this financial year with a clear mission - to transform into a high-growth energy platform driven by technical expertise, operational efficiency, and strategic capital allocation. We have focused on disciplined execution, strengthening our portfolio, and are making significant progress in our strategy. I am happy to report that the transformation is progressing satisfactorily.
In Angola, in our operated KON-16 block we made significant progress. The successful completion of the Enhanced Full Tensor Gradiometry (eFTG) survey post year-end was followed during this interim period by the processing and interpretation of the data. This critical work will set the next stage of our exploration programme, including seismic acquisition and eventual drilling. Our confidence in KON-16's pre-salt potential is reinforced by our increased equity position, now at 49.5%.
Meanwhile, activity continues on the non-operated blocks KON-11 and KON-12, where the operator's work to assess and resolve challenges encountered in the TO-13 and TO-14 wells remains ongoing. Corcel continues to work with the Operator to realise the future potential of these assets.
In Brazil, our entry through a strategic collaboration agreement has opened doors to low-risk, near-term production. Post interim period, in February 2025, we announced the successful result in the EI-1 well workover. Our efforts now turn to the second workover well, which will assist us in further evaluating the Irai opportunity, and Corcel's decision of potentially exercising the Option it holds to acquire 20% of the field. Additional opportunities are under active evaluation, consistent with our ambition to grow a robust production portfolio in this strategically important market.
Post interim period, in February 2025, we successfully raised £2.72m at a 6.7% premium to the previous day closing price to fund value-accretive ongoing operational activities across our assets, business development efforts to increase our interest in the Kwanza Basin, onshore Angola, and our growth strategy in Brazil. This capital injection allowed us to strengthen our balance sheet and financial position. It also demonstrates investor confidence in our assets and our team as a whole.
Our Board remains focused on governance and accountability, ensuring Corcel's growth is underpinned by strong oversight and prudent risk management as we scale operations.
Outlook
As we enter the second half of the financial year, Corcel is in a stronger, more focused position than ever before. Our near-term priorities are clear:
o Finalising the eFTG data interpretation for KON-16 and advancing toward seismic and drilling;
o Increasing our interests across the Kwanza Basin, onshore Angola;
o Potentially converting the Irai option into our first production asset and identifying follow-on acquisitions in Brazil;
o Supporting Sonangol's efforts to unlock value in KON-11 and KON-12;
o Maintaining a disciplined approach to capital deployment, aligned with strategic value creation.
In summary, we are entering a phase of execution and delivery. The foundation laid over the past year is now enabling us to transition into a business capable of generating revenues while continuing to build long-term exploration and development upside.
I would like to thank our shareholders for their continued trust and support, and our employees and partners for their commitment to this shared vision. Together, we are building a stronger, more resilient Corcel.
Corcel has entered 2025 with strength. The groundwork laid over the past 9 to 12 months - both operationally and commercially - is now beginning to convert into tangible progress. With material developments across our portfolio in Angola and Brazil, a strengthened financial position, and a clear pathway to value delivery, Corcel is moving into a phase where momentum is unmistakably building.
Angola: A Leading Position in the Kwanza Basin
In Angola's Kwanza Basin - rapidly emerging as one of the most closely watched onshore energy frontiers globally - Corcel has secured a leading position. We now hold a 49.5% interest in our operated KON-16 block, a meaningful increase achieved at no cost to the Company. This enhanced position gives us both strategic control and expanded exposure to the significant upside this basin offers.
The completion of the Enhanced Full Tensor Gradiometry (eFTG) survey over KON-16, followed by the start of data processing during this reporting period, represents a pivotal technical step. This work will directly contribute towards our 2D seismic acquisition later this year, a programme that will define the roadmap toward the first new well on KON-16. Importantly, our operator status puts us in the driver's seat, enabling us to maintain strict cost discipline while driving forward value-accretive activity.
Elsewhere in the basin, work recommenced on the Tobias wells in KON-11, as the operator seeks to unlock value in this historic oilfield.
The Kwanza Basin is attracting increasing attention from international and regional players. Corcel was the first AIM-listed independent to secure operated acreage in this prolific region - and that first-mover advantage is now becoming a competitive edge, especially as we take steps to increase our interests across the basin.
Brazil: From Entry to Execution
Our expansion into Brazil is progressing at speed. In November 2024, we secured a binding option over the producing IRAI gas field, and by February this year, the first workover was successfully completed - confirming stabilised gas production at 120 BOEPD. The well has now been tied in and has come online, demonstrating not just technical success, but the speed and discipline with which our team and partners can deliver.
Following the outcome of the second workover, we will assess the commercial case for exercising the IRAI option - an investment decision that could see Corcel step into cash-generating production in Brazil. This rapid timeline, from deal signing to well reactivation, showcases our ability to move decisively in unlocking value.
With rights of first refusal over the remaining 80% of the IRAI field and the adjacent TUC-172 block, we are well positioned to scale our presence in this highly prospective basin.
Brazil is central to our production-led strategy, and we are actively evaluating several further opportunities to build a robust, margin-accretive portfolio.
Strengthened Financial Platform
In February 2025, we successfully raised £2.72 million in a placing completed at a 6.7% premium to the previous day's closing price - an uncommon achievement for an AIM-listed growth company in the current markets, and a clear signal of confidence in our direction. This followed an earlier raise of £1.22 million in September 2024, also supported by strategic energy-focused investors.
Taken together, these transactions have bolstered our balance sheet and provided the flexibility to accelerate activity across both Angola and Brazil - funding seismic planning, workovers, and business development without compromising capital discipline or shareholder value.
Execution-Focused - Catalysts Ahead
As we look ahead to the second half of the financial year, Corcel is focused on a) finalising KON-16 eFTG interpretation and preparing for 2D seismic acquisition; b) advancing the second IRAI workover and evaluating a potential step into revenue-generating production; and c) targeting growth through further asset consolidation in Angola and acquisition-led expansion in Brazil.
Corcel is no longer a company setting the stage - it is stepping into the spotlight. We are operating in two of the most exciting onshore energy plays globally, with strong partnerships, growing investor support, and a team executing with clarity and urgency.
To our shareholders, thank you for your continued support. With solid foundations in place and a clear strategy ahead, we're confident that the most exciting chapters for Corcel are still to come.