Bahamas Petroleum Company (AIM:BPC ) confirms Perseverance #1, its obligation exploration well in The Bahamas, remains on track to spud before the end of 2020.
The oil and gas exploration firm focused on the Caribbean and Atlantic said the drilling of this potential basin-opening well is anticipated to take between 45 and 60 days, with 'tight-hole' procedures in place.
BPC said Stena IceMAX, one of the most technically capable drill ships in the world, has now completed all necessary vessel and equipment inspections, and is scheduled to leave dock in The Canary Islands before the end of the month in preparation to drill Perseverance #1.
Perseverance #1 is targeting recoverable prospective resources of 0.7 billion barrels of oil, with an upside of 1.44 billion barrels, solely for the northern portion of the B structure and BPC will receive 100% equity from the well operations.
If successful, Perseverance #1 would ‘substantially de-risk’ the total B structure, which extends for between 70 and 80 kms, has a mapped area closure of over 400 km2, and has a 'best estimate' aggregate recoverable resource potential in excess of 2.0 billion barrels.
In order to mitigate the risk of any COVID-19 disruption, specific transport procedures, isolation mandates and quarantine protocols have been put in place while the Bahamas Defence Force and US Coastguard have been briefed on operating and safety preparations.
CEO, Simon Potter, has described Perseverance #1 as “a potentially basin-opening well, with the kind of scale and associated value uplift exposure rarely offered outside of oil majors.”
It was designed as an exploration well, with the sole objective of establishing the presence of hydrocarbons through a range of tests that will be conducted as the well is drilled.
He explained that the group’s activities, in the event of success, have the capacity to be “economically transformative” for The Bahamas to contribute billions of royalty revenues.
Potter acknowledged that this would be delivered “at a time when the dual impact of recent hurricanes and the Covid-19 pandemic has been especially hard-felt by most Bahamians.”
Results will be kept confidential until the conclusion of drilling and testing procedures, and until any appropriate notifications to Government representatives have been made.
BPC received formal confirmation from the Government of The Bahamas that the Second exploration period of BPC's licences will now extend beyond mid-April 2021, to expire at the end of June 2021, given the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic force majeure.
Due to the proposed drilling program anticipated to be between 45-60 days, BPC expects to complete well activities considerably prior to even the previous mid-April 2021 date, it said.
Shares in Bahamas Petroleum Company have increased by over 70% since the beginning of September 2020 to open 5.39% higher this morning following the announcement.
3 Reasons to Follow Bahamas Petroleum Company
MultiAsset Company
BPC is becoming a multi-asset ‘full cycle’ oil and gas company, with a range of exploration, appraisal, development and production assets and licences, located offshore in the waters of The Bahamas and Uruguay, and onshore in Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname.
Positive Newsflow Imminent
The company is currently on-track for drilling an initial exploration well in The Bahamas, Perseverance #1, in late 2020 / early 2021, with the well targeting recoverable P50 prospective oil resources of 0.77 billion barrels, with an upside of 1.44 billion barrels.
Successful Acquisitive Growth
As a result of its merger with Columbus, BPC has been granted access to high-impact exploration wells in The Bahamas, five producing fields, two appraisal / development projects Trinidad, and an expansive frontier exploration acreage offshore Uruguay and Suriname.
BPC believes the merger will allow both groups to provide something different from within that business cycle to the combined entity and that together the asset base is ‘more robust, has broader interests and is, as a consequence, more financeable and thus more valuable.’
“With the completion of the merger of BPC and Columbus, we today become a single company, in pursuit of a single-minded vision: the creation of a revenue generating, full-cycle, Atlantic margin exploration and production business,” said Potter in August.
He added, “Going forward, BPC is an exploration and production business, intent on generating reliable, growing production cash flows capable of supporting exploration activities, and which together will create significant value for all stakeholders.”
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