REG - Orcadian Energy PLC - Pilot Farm-out Update

Orcadian EnergyAnnouncement

01/12/2023 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20231201:nRSA3671Va&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3671V  Orcadian Energy PLC  01 December 2023

 

 

 

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY THE COMPANY TO
CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION
(EU) NO. 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN
UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS
CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

 

1 December 2023

Orcadian Energy plc

("Orcadian Energy", "Orcadian" or the "Company")

 

Pilot Farm-out Update

 

Further to the announcements of 18 September 2023 and 25 October 2023 the
Company provides the following update on its potential farm-out of its
flagship asset the Pilot development project (Licence P2244):

·    The Company has today agreed with the potential operator (the
"Operator") a seven day extension, from 30 November 2023 until 7 December 2023
(the "New Deadline") for the Operator to execute definitive documentation for
an overall farm out deal.

 

·    Notwithstanding this, the Company has yesterday submitted to the
North Sea Transition Authority ("NSTA") a request to:

 

a.    consent to an assignment under, and in accordance with, clause 40(1)
of the Licence to the Operator; and

 

b.    approval of appointment of the Operator as operator under, and in
accordance with, clause 24 of the P2244 Licence.

 

The Company has attached to this application the currently agreed Sale and
Purchase Agreement ("SPA"), on the understanding that a fully executed SPA
will be filed before 7 December 2023. The Company is in conversations with
NSTA to confirm that this approach will satisfy the extension conditions for
P2244, set out in the announcement of 25 October 2023. However, if it does
not, and in any event if an SPA is not signed by the New Deadline, then
Orcadian will withdraw the NSTA request and, unless NSTA agree otherwise,
Orcadian's interest in P2244 will automatically cease and determine on the 30
December 2023.

There can be no guarantee that the SPA with a potential operator will be
signed by the New Deadline but the Directors have every confidence that it
will be.

Further updates will be provided in due course.

For further information on the Company please visit the Company's website:
https://orcadian.energy (https://orcadian.energy)

 

Contact:

 

 Orcadian Energy plc                                  + 44 20 7920 3150
 Steve Brown, CEO

 Alan Hume, CFO
 WH Ireland (Nomad and Broker)                        +44 20 7220 1666
 Katy Mitchell / Andrew de Andrade (Nomad)

 Harry Ansell / Fraser Marshall (Corporate Broking)

 Tavistock (PR)                                       + 44 20 7920 3150
 Nick Elwes / Simon Hudson                            orcadian@tavistock.co.uk (mailto:orcadian@tavistock.co.uk)

 

About Orcadian Energy

Orcadian is a North Sea focused, low emissions, oil and gas development
company. In planning its Pilot development, Orcadian has selected wind power
to transform oil production into a cleaner and greener process. The Pilot
project is moving towards approval and will be amongst the lowest carbon
emitting oil production facilities in the world, despite being a viscous
crude. Orcadian may be a small operator, but it is also nimble, and the
Directors believe it has grasped opportunities that have eluded some of the
much bigger companies. As we strike a balance between Net Zero and a
sustainable energy supply, Orcadian intends to play its part to minimise the
cost of Net Zero and to deliver reliable energy to the UK.

Orcadian Energy (CNS) Ltd, Orcadian's operating subsidiary, was founded in
2014 and is the sole licensee of P2244, which contains 78.0 MMbbl of 2P
Reserves in the Pilot discovery, and of P2482, which contain a further 52.2
MMbbl of 2C Contingent Resources in the Elke and Narwhal discoveries (as
audited by Sproule, with both numbers modified to take into account the TGS
royalty, see the CPR in the Company's Admission Document for more details).
Within these licences there are also 118 MMbbl of unrisked Prospective
Resources (modified for TGS royalty). These licences are in blocks 21/27a,
28/2a and 28/3a, and lie 150 kms due East of Aberdeen.

Pilot, which is the field with the largest reserves in Orcadian's portfolio,
was discovered by PetroFina in 1989 and has been well appraised. In total five
wells and two sidetracks were drilled on Pilot, including a relatively short
horizontal well which produced over 1,800 bbls/day on test. Orcadian's
proposed low emissions, field development plan for Pilot is based upon a
Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO), with over thirty
wells to be drilled by a Jack-up rig and provision of power from a floating
wind turbine.

Orcadian has entered into a non-binding heads of terms with a North Sea
Operator which details the terms under which the Operator will farm-in to the
Pilot development project. Upon conclusion of this deal Orcadian would have an
18.75% stake in the Pilot development with all pre-first oil development costs
paid by the North Sea Operator.

Emissions per barrel produced are expected to be about a tenth of the 2021
North Sea average, and less than half of the lowest emitting oil facility
currently operating on the UKCS. On a global basis this places the Pilot field
emissions at the low end of the lowest 5% of global oil production.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MSCUASNROWUURRA