Executive Summary
Sterling Energy (LON:SEY) is an oil and gas exploration company which operates licenses focusing on projects in Africa and the Middle East. Sterling Energy has high potential near-term opportunities in Kurdistan, Cameroon and Madagascar as well as production, appraisal and exploration in the USA and production in Mauritania. SEY has 69 employees (including directors): 15 are employed in Africa and the Middle East, 35 in the USA and 19 are Corporate. The HQ of the company is in Chancery Lane in London. Sterling Energy suffered badly in 2008 and had to restructure its finances, and its management. The company is currently drillling the Sangaw North #1 well on Sterling’s Sangaw North production sharing contract in Northern Kurdistan, where it has a 53% working interest [1]
Company History
The company was formed in 2002 by the reversal of Sterling Energy Limited into Lepco plc.
Significant events since listing have been:
- December 2003 - £40 million acquisition of Fusion Oil & Gas plc
- February 2004 - $40 million Osprey production acquisition
- November 2004 - £97 million share placing and Chinguetti Funding Agreement
- May 2005 - Farmout of Ambilobe and Ampasindava blocks in Madagascar to Exxon Mobil
- July 2005 - Listing of Forum Energy on AIM in which Sterling holds approximately 14%
- February 2006 - First production from the Chinguetti oil field in Mauritania
- February 2006 - MOU signed with Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq for an onshore exploration block
- March 2007 – $145m acquisition of Whittier Energy Corporation, a US listed company with assets onshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and in the Permian Basin
Sterling now has interests in a number of producing gas fields in the United States, operating 21 offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and 16 onshore fields. The Fusion acquisition added a broad exploration portfolio in West Africa, stretching from Mauritania to Gabon. This includes a production royalty interest in PSCs A and B, offshore Mauritania. The royalty includes the Chinguetti, Tiof, Banda and Tevet fields, together with all future discoveries in these PSCs.
Current Events
- Due to various factors including the fluctuation of oil and gas prices, interest rates and the impact of two hurricanes average production decreased 17% in 2008 to 4809 barrels of oil per day compared to 5760 in 2007. The major financial banking crisis in the United States along with aforementioned drop in energy prices meant that the proposed sale…
