· Gas production up year on year
· EBITDA of £6.937m
· Refinancing of existing debt with Trafigura Group PTE Ltd, providing financial stability
· Focus on organic and inorganic growth opportunities, with Brockham restart complete
Angus Energy is pleased to announce its interim accounts for the six months ended 31 March 2024 as set out below. A copy of the Interims is available on the Company's website www.angusenergy.co.uk
Chairman's Statement
Dear Shareholders,
I am pleased to share with you the interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2024. Production was up year on year with strong EBITDA being reported. Our growth strategy has also kick started with the refinancing of our existing debt with Trafigura Group PTE Ltd ("Trafigura") and the reinstatement of production at Brockham.
All operations were conducted without any harm to people or the environment. During the period we successfully restructured the Company's debt with the closing of the facility provided by Trafigura. The new debt facility provides the Company with a level of financial stability which allows us to plan for the future and to maximise the value of our assets for the benefit of all our shareholders. Trafigura has demonstrated a strong commitment to its new relationship with Angus and we intend to work together to evaluate the potential for gas storage at the Saltfleetby site, increasing gas production, developing the oil assets and other potential acquisitions in the future.
Angus is committed to creating value for shareholders through organic and inorganic growth. We have already restarted production at Brockham which has exceeded expectations. We are now focussing on increasing production at Saltfleetby through activating additional wells and installing a booster compressor. Further opportunities for crude production are being developed. Angus is proceeding with a strategy of acquisitions that will increase production, reduce unit costs and decrease overall risk. We have identified three geographic regions of interest and are actively pursuing acquisition and commercial tie up opportunities. We hope to be announcing details during the next six months.
Revenue from oil and gas production during the period was £12.131m on production of a gross 24,274 bbls of gas condensate and 14.161 mm therms of natural gas. This was the result of production from the Saltfleetby Gas Field. Average sales prices achieved during the period were £35.45/bbls for gas condensate and £0.80/therm for natural gas.
The Group recorded a profit of £5.775m, which included an operating profit of £2.151m. EBITDA for the period was £6.937m. The derivative profit is based on future production and calculated using forward gas prices as at 31 March 2024. The derivative will be realised to a profit or loss when the payments under the derivative instruments become due.
As mentioned above, another milestone was achieved post period-end, with the restarting of production at Angus's Brockham Oil Field in Surrey. The workover of the Brockham 2Y well to reinstate production from the field was successfully concluded in late May. A new pump was installed in the well and repairs and upgrades made to the surface equipment. After a period of flow to clean-up the well, it is back online producing c. 120 bbls/day of total fluid, of which 40% is currently oil.
Operational Highlights
Saltfleetby
Gas volumes produced and sold from the Saltfleetby Field equalled 14.161 mm therms in aggregate for the period as against hedged volumes of 9 mm therms for the period. Operational efficiency was 90% for the period. Gas condensate (liquid) production was 24,274 bbls for the period.
In October 2023 Angus announced the publication of an updated independent Competent Persons Report ("CPR") for its Saltfleetby Gas Field ("SGF") conducted by Oilfields International Limited.
The new CPR has taken account of production performance from three wells currently on production and the addition of two further development wells in the Main Westphalian reservoir, SF9 and SF10, which are scheduled to enter production in January 2025 and January 2026 respectively.
The CPR also gives the net present value of the cash flows from SGF, including the impact from the revised capex from additional drilling, projected impact of the Energy Profits Levy, the senior loan facility debt service costs, the associated royalties and the mandatory hedging. Oilfield International Limited has used a discount rate of 10%.
During the period, the SF7 permanent flowline construction was completed, and the flowline tied into the main process plant. The Company also completed a bottom-up assessment of the geological interpretation of the Saltfleetby field. This included:
· Reprocessing and reinterpreting the 3D seismic across the field generating a revised top structure map
· New stratigraphic correlation of the reservoir units and other key horizons
· Revised petrophysics of key well logs
· A probabilistic evaluation of the volumetrics
This exercise has helped to constrain the structure of the reservoir and will be critical in the planning of future development wells. Additionally, the work has indicated the potential for underdeveloped (or undeveloped) horizons within the reservoir. It has also reconfirmed the previously identified production acceleration potential within the main producing reservoir unit.
Detailed Design has progressed with the Booster Compressor. Selection of the compressor and engine, for the pressures and flowrates established by the reservoir modelling and CPR report, have now been finalised.
Potential Future Drilling and Gas Storage
A planning application was submitted post-period end to the local planning officer. The planning application will allow for drilling, completion and testing of four new wells to be drilled from either the A or B site giving us flexibility in future development.
Upon completion of the seismic remapping exercise described above, Angus will progress with the development of a reservoir model (static and dynamic) which is anticipated to be completed Q3 2024 and will be utilised to fine tune the detailed design and anticipated results of future drilling targets and gas storage potential.
Brockham
The workover of the Brockham 2Y well to reinstate production from the field was successfully concluded post period end in late May 2024. A new pump was installed in the well and repairs and upgrades made to the surface equipment. After a period of flow to clean-up the well, it is back online producing c. 120 bbls/day of total fluid, of which 40% is currently oil. The well will be monitored over the coming weeks to determine future production potential. All produced water is reinjected at the site into the reservoir for pressure support. Further updates on oil production from Brockham in which Angus has an 80% interest and other potential developments will be shared over the coming months.
Balcombe
Despite the West Sussex County Council Planning Officer's decision to recommend approval of the Company's application for a one year extended well test at the Company's oilfield site at Balcombe the West Sussex County Council's Planning Committee rejected the Company's planning application for an Extended Well Test. Angus strongly disagrees with their opinion and an application to appeal was submitted in October 2021.
On 14 February 2023, our appeal against the decision by West Sussex County Council to refuse permission for an extended well test at the Balcombe oil site was upheld. The Planning Inspectorates decision was subsequently challenged in the High Court by a local residence group. In October 2023 the High Court upheld the Planning Inspectorates decision to grant the Company the right to test the existing well, which has now also been successfully appealed. The Company now waits to hear whether their appeal will be successful and should know by January 2025.
Lidsey
The Lidsey Field has been shut in during the period, waiting on the resumption of Brockham production in order to evaluate options for combined operations.
Financial Highlights
On 30 October 2023, and previously announced on 28 September 2023, Kemexon Ltd agreed to convert its £3m Junior Bridge Facility, together with interest and fees, into equity in the Company at a price of 0.66 pence per share. Accordingly, the Company issued 516,033,308 ordinary shares at 0.66 pence per share.
On 22 February 2024, the Company announced that terms had been agreed with a subsidiary of Trafigura Group PTE Ltd ("Trafigura ") for a refinancing of its existing debt. The Company signed definitive loan documentation which allowed it to draw down in full on the £20 million loan facility (the "Facility") with Trafigura. The existing senior debt of £4.56 million was transferred to Trafigura and the proceeds of the Facility were applied to repay the second bridge facility of £6 million, and £1.75 million of Forum Energy's deferred consideration from the sale of Saltfleetby Energy Limited's 49% interest in the Saltfleetby Field to Angus in 2022. The balance of funds from the Facility would be used to pay legacy creditors and invest in wells and equipment to increase gas production from Saltfleetby and restart oil production from the Brockham Field in Southern England. The existing security package encompassing first fixed and floating charges over all the Group's leases, licences and equipment has been novated to Trafigura as has the Gas Sales Agreement with Shell Trading Europe Limited. The existing hedge contract was replaced with a gas offtake, with embedded price protection.
On 6 March 2024, the Company issued 25,000,000 Ordinary Shares at 0.4 pence per share in relation to a £750,000 fee for structuring and assistance in securing the Trafigura £20 million Loan Facility. The total number of fee shares is 187,500,000. The balance was issued on 19 March 2024, after receiving additional authorities at the General Meeting on 14th March 2024.
As at 31 March 2024 the Group had cash of £5.438m.
Outlook
With the successful restructuring of the Company's debt and stable production at Saltfleetby the management team can now turn attention to both organic and inorganic growth opportunities and we look forward to updating shareholders as our plans progress.
With kind regards,