Jersey Oil and Gas plc (JOG) said it had exciting prospects with a strong cash position of £8.9 million for the first half the year and increased assets, despite trebling losses.
RESOURCES
Losses for H1 2020 before and after tax totalled £1.2m (H1 2019: £400,000) with expenditure related to the company’s flagship Greater Buchan Area development project in the central North Sea.
The company has been issued with two invoices for uplift payments of $1m, in respect of certain licence awards/acquisitions made by Jersey Petroleum Ltd, which are subject of dispute and litigation.
JOG said that it had made “significant progress” in the concept select work for the GBA and has a new production facility planned.
The proposed platform will be designed to accommodate fluids from neighbouring field developments via subsea tie-backs.
Exports of oil and gas production will be via subsea pipeline to existing neighbouring infrastructure.
JOG’s enhanced subsurface understanding shows P50 technically recoverable 2C resources of more than 138 million stock tank barrels (MMstb), and P50 prospective resources of more than 200 MMstb.
The figures for Buchan oil field are against a backdrop of 36 years of production data.
The company now has a “significant” exploration portfolio with four drill-ready exploration prospects with combined P50 prospective resources of 196 MMstb, close to the planned Buchan hub.
ACQUISITIONS
Earlier in the year, JOG acquired Equinor’s 70% working interest in licence P2170 (Blocks 20/5b and 21/1d) containing the Verbier discovery, and is now the licence operator with a total working interest of 88%.
In early September 2020, JOG was awarded a 100% working interest in and operatorship of part-block 20/5e, within its existing GBA acreage, containing an extension of the J2 oil discovery.
The company also hopes to progress collaboration with regional operators for regional and power solutions, and expects to begin funding or farm-out sales during Q1 2021.
JOG non-executive chairman Marcus Stanton added that the company’s timing would be based on market conditions, including industry responses to Covid-19 oil prices.
“This is an exciting prospect for the company, with significant and de-risked discovered oil volumes that form the core of this development, together with exploration upside and a working plan on how to progress to first oil almost completed.
“These are potentially transformational times for the company as we progress the planned GBA development.”
JOG has also appointed Dr Chris Haynes OBE as an adviser to the board.