Oil & Gas Corporate News
Max Petroleum (LON:MXP) (BUY, £0.50) (MXP, 12.25p, ? (2.00%)) announced that the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan has reversed the rulings of the lower courts that had upheld a tax claim brought against the Company and remanded the case to the Specialized Economic Court of Almaty for reconsideration. The details of the tax claim were previously announced by the Company on 2 June 2010. As a result of the Supreme Court decision, payments towards the Tax Claim are suspended while the case is pending, including any further appeals, if necessary, through the Court of Cassation, the last court of appeal below the Supreme Court. As of this date, the Company has paid US$3.1m towards the Tax Claim and will apply to the local tax authorities to offset this amount against the Company's other tax liabilities due in the fourth quarter of 2010. The Company continues to believe the Tax Claim is without merit and will continue to dispute it through the appropriate channels until final resolution, up to the Supreme Court, if necessary. This process is expected to take six months or longer. The Company has not yet received the written ruling from the Supreme Court and will update the market on additional details as appropriate.
Comment: A positive step towards a favourable ruling providing much needed breathing space for the Company to carry on with the exploration drilling campaign.
Rockhopper Exploration (LON:RKH) (BUY, £5.00) (RKH, 501.5p, ? (1.28%)) provided an update from the recent flow test on well 14/10-2: "Sea Lion 1". The test was carried out over four perforated intervals totalling 77m between 2,403m and 2,566m (below drill floor). Upon retrieving the perforating guns, a gun misfire was apparent and only the top two intervals were found to have been perforated, meaning the lower two intervals did not contribute to the flow. After perforation, a small amount of oil was produced into the tubing to clean the perforations and enable downhole oil sampling. The well was then shut in for approximately 2 hours to determine the initial reservoir pressure. The final recorded pressure was 3,385psia at gauge depth (2,344.6m below drill-floor) and was still building. The well was then opened to flow through the three and a half inch test string, initially…
