President Energy PLC Salta Exploration Assets, Argentina Update (4648V)

TIDMPPC

RNS Number : 4648V

President Energy PLC

03 November 2017

3 November 2017

PRESIDENT ENERGY PLC

("President", "the Company" or "the Group")

Salta Exploration Assets, North West Basin, Argentina

Significant upgrade to Prospective Resources

President Energy Plc (AIM: PPC), the upstream oil and gas company is pleased to announce the results of a new integrated basin study and geochemical survey over the exploration assets of the Company centred on its Puesto Guardian Concession, Matorras and Ocultar Licenses, which have resulted in significant upgrades to the Company's Prospective Resources.

Highlights

-- New extensive studies and surveys validate the significant prospectivity of President's Argentine exploration areas

-- Aggregate Paleozoic gas/condensate prospects net to President with mean unrisked Prospective Resources ("MUPR") of over 7Tcf with an upside case of over 20 Tcf and 185 MMbbls Condensate

   --      New previously unreported Cretaceous oil prospects of over 40MMbbls MUPR identified 

-- President is preparing to launch a farm-out of Matorras and Ocultar, with engagement of advisors and plans to launch in Q1 2018

Detailed new research has been carried out on an integrated basin study and geochemical survey, focussed on President's exploration areas in the Salta Province, Argentina where President's Puesto Guardian producing Concession and its Matorras and Ocultar licenses, all 100% owned and operated, are located.

The study was led by Andres Boll, a recognised exploration expert in the relevant Northwest Basin, who has 35 years of experience with YPF and Tecpetrol; latterly as Tecpetrol's Exploration Manager.

The exploration interests of President extend to 2,825 square kilometres, and benefit from extensive 2D and 3D seismic data re-processed by President, valuable exploration wells drilled by YPF in the 1970-80s as well as outcrop surveys commissioned by President together with the latest studies and geochemical surveys.

During the last six months, after detailed research, relevant data was, for the first time, fully integrated and re-interpreted including a complete reconstruction of the basin to determine "paleo structures" at the Cretaceous and Paleozoic levels, during the periods of peak charge and migration, as well as the impact on structures during the more recent Andean compression. The study benefitted from the presence of significant remote sensing geochemical anomalies over the exploration acreage that have been through an unequivocal and accurate ground truth study over President's neighbouring producing Argentinian fields.

The results of the study and surveys are summarised below:

-- The three previously reported Paleozoic prospects in Matorras and beneath the proven Martinez del Tineo ("MDT") oil field, one of five Cretaceous producing fields in President's Puesto Guardian Concession, have been rigorously reviewed and updated, with a total MUPR of over 7Tcf and 185MMbbls Condensate and upside case of over 20Tcf whereby all three prospects lie within the same regional closure at a depth of 3000-4000m subsea.

-- Five new Cretaceous oil prospects in Mattoras on the same trend as the producing MDT with total MUPR of 39MMbbls

-- Two new Cretaceous oil prospects in fault blocks representing a northerly extension of the MDT oil field, with total MUPR of 8MMbbls

-- Four new Cretaceous oil leads of sizes 2.5-10 km(2) in Ocultar that are 2-10km from the Puesto Climaco oil field, which has produced 2MMbbls from a 1 km(2) structure

-- The study included a review of the Cretaceous oil reserves in MDT and confirmed President's existing 5MMbbls 2P Proven plus Probable Reserves in that field

President is preparing to launch a farm-out of Matorras and Ocultar, with engagement of advisors and plans to launch in Q1 2018. Given the strong geological basis for including the MDT field and near-field prospects together with the Matorras and Ocultar License offerings, the Company is planning to include the MDT producing field within the package for farm-out if it is expedient to do so and results in accelerated activity.

Commenting on today's announcement, Peter Levine, Chairman said:

"President, as a profitable producing company, remains clearly focused on positive cash flow, profit margins and materially expanding our production base both organically and by way of acquisition.

"The significance and large scale of our on-shore, readily accessible and monetisable Argentine exploration assets combined with the increasing interest of industry and institutional investors in Argentina has led us to the conclusion that a fast track way of exploring the major potential of these prospects by way of farm-out is an appropriate way to materially and expeditiously increase shareholder value in relation to these assets.

"In the meantime the farm-out process of our equally significant Paraguay exploration assets continues in an encouraging manner with parties already in the data room."

Miles Biggins, BSc Joint Honours University College London, with 25 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, is a Petroleum Engineer and member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers who meets the criteria of qualified persons under the AIM guidance note for mining and oil and gas companies, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.

GLOSSARY

   MMbbls             Millions of barrels of oil 
   MMboe             Millions of barrels of oil equivalent 
   Tcf                    Trillion cubic feet of gas 

Contact:

 
 President Energy PLC 
  Peter Levine, Chairman, Chief 
  Executive 
  Bruce Martin, Chief Financial 
  Officer                            [phone] 
 finnCap (Nominated Advisor 
  & Joint Broker) 
  Christopher Raggett, Scott 
  Mathieson, Emily Morris            [phone] 
 BMO Capital Markets (Joint 
  Broker) 
  Jeremy Low, Neil Haycock, 
  Tom Rider                          [phone] 
 Camarco Financial PR 
  Billy Clegg, Georgia Edmonds, 
  Mercedes Valenzuela-Goldman        [phone] 
 

Notes to Editors

President Energy is an oil and gas company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (PPC.L) primarily focused in Argentina, with a diverse portfolio of operated onshore producing and exploration assets. The Company currently has independently assessed 1P reserves in excess of 16 MMboe and 2P reserves of more than 25 MMboe.

The Company has operated interests in the Puesto Flores and Estancia Vieja Concession, Rio Negro Province, in the Neuquén Basin of Argentina and in the Puesto Guardian Concession, in the Noroeste Basin in NW Argentina. The Company is focused on growing production in the near term in Argentina. Alongside this, President Energy has cash generative production assets in Louisiana, USA and further significant exploration and development opportunities through its acreage in Paraguay and Argentina.

President Energy's second largest shareholder is the IFC, part of the World Bank Group and is actively pursuing value accretive acquisitions of high quality production and development assets in Argentina capable of delivering positive cash flows and shareholder returns. With a strong institutional base of support and an in-country management team, President Energy gives UK investors reputable access to the Argentinian growth story combined with world class standards of corporate governance, environmental and social responsibility.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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November 03, 2017 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)