Oil and Gas Corporate News
Cairn Energy (LON:CNE) plc (CNE, 399.70P, ? 1.16%) announced that it has completed the sale of 191,920,207 Cairn India shares to Vedanta, representing 10% of the fully diluted share capital in Cairn India, for net proceeds of approximately $1,362 million in cash. The sale and purchase of a further 30 per cent of the fully diluted share capital of Cairn India remains subject to the necessary consents and approvals from the Government of India. Following yesterday's sale, Cairn remains the majority shareholder of Cairn India with a 52.2% shareholding. The Vedanta group now holds an aggregate 28.5% stake in Cairn India.
Premier Oil (LON:PMO) plc (PMO, 434.80p, ? 1.94%) provided a trading and operations update ahead of its 2011 Interim Results which will be announced on Thursday 25 August 2011. Highlights: estimated average group production for the first half of 2011 was 36.6 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd) (2010: 42.8 kboepd) and forecast full year production is now estimated at between 40 kboepd and 45 kboepd; Near term developments in Asia (Chim Sao and Gajah Baru) are progressing well and 2011 year end run rate is expected to be around 60 kboepd as these projects ramp up; The UK Huntington and Rochelle projects due on-stream next year, Premier is on target to reach a run rate of 75 kboepd in 2012; The Companys medium term target of 100 kboepd remains unchanged; Around 20 exploration and appraisal wells are planned during the next 12 months, with unrisked net prospective resource potential, on a P50 basis, of around 300 mmboe; The average oil price realised for the first half of 2011 was $112.06 per barrel (1H 2010: $77.9 per barrel) compared with an average Brent crude price of $111.1 per barrel for the period; Payments of around $57 million are anticipated in respect of the Group's hedging arrangements for the first half of the year; The group retains significant cash and undrawn facilities, as at 30 June, these are estimated at $480 million and $800 million respectively; At 30 June, net debt is estimated to be $575 million; and anticipated capital spending for the full year remains unchanged at around $250 million (exploration, pre-tax) and $500 million (development).
Frontera Resources (LON:FRR) Corporation (FRR, 3.13p, ? 3.85%)…
