Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) has laid out an exploration programme for 2018 that is set to deliver several potential value-adding catalysts.
A phased seismic programme is partially complete, and a new drill programme will start in July to test three big targets. At the same time, Sound is working on development funding to take its recent successes into production.
"We are now moving forward with our exploration drilling programme with a view to unlock three of our largest plays," said James Parsons, Sound Energy chief executive. "Success at any one of these wells, together with the emerging seismic results, will likely be a step change in this new hydrocarbon province, and build significant new value for shareholders".
Sound plans a three-well exploration drilling programme which will address three independent and 'high potential' targets.
In Trinidad, meanwhile, Touchstone Exploration Inc (LON:TXP, CVE:TXP) has kicked off a new ten-well drill programme in Trinidad.
The first well, PS-602, is located in the Grand Ravine WD-4 Block. It was spudded on February 3 and is being drilled down to around 5,500 feet, targeting two zones (the upper and lower Forest formations). These are the main producing formations at Grand Ravine, and the well is positioned in what's seen as an 'undrained' portion of the property. Touchstone expects to reach the target depth within the next ten days, and it could be online for production in fourteen after that.
A second rig is expected to join the campaign during February, and it will subsequently start drilling a well at the Forest Reserve WD-8 before the end of the month.
On Wednesday, Highlands Natural Resources Plc (LON:HNR) told investors that the latest well to use its patented DT Ultravert well services solution has, as expected, protected against 'bashing'.
The process involves the injection of nitrogen gas into an existing well at the same time as a new nearby well is fracked. It is designed to prevent the older well from being damaged (known as bashing) by the new one.
In the latest application DT Ultravert was deployed into a one-mile horizontal well and HNR highlighted that it confirmed that the process is capable of restoring and maintaining protective reservoir pressures in a horizontal wellbore.
HNR noted that, previously, other nearby 'parent' wells had been 'bashed' by newer 'child' wells which resulted in a significant destruction of proved reserves in parent wells and underperformance in the child wells. Consequently, it said the pair of wells involved in the DT Ultravert deployment now demonstrate an outperformance of the previously drilled neighbouring wells.
UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG) investors now anticipate the completion of well testing operations at the explorer's wholly-owned Broadford Bridge well in southern England. In a brief stock market statement the company said it expects the completion of testing during February.
In the most recent Broadford Bridge operational update, back during the Christmas period, UKOG had guided that the well testing operations would resume early in the New Year.
Monday brought good news for Tanzania focussed explorers Aminex plc (LON:AEX) and Solo Oil PLC (LON:SOLO).
Both shares advanced thanks to a major upgrade to the gas resources at the Ntorya project in Tanzania, as part of an independent competent persons report produced by RPS Energy.
It follows the Ntorya-2 appraisal well success and an assessment of well testing. The project's gas-initially-in-place increased to 1.87 trillion cubic feet, which is 44% more than Aminex's previous in-house estimates. Compared to the prior independent assessment, the new number represents a 12-fold increase.
Ntorya's contingent gas resource has now risen to 762.8bn cubic feet of gas, comprising 80.6bn cubic feet of gas that's described as pending development - to be addressed by the planned initial three well operation. Two of the three wells have so far been drilled, and the third is due later this year. The gas would be connected to a gas plant located some 33 kilometres away.
Away from the explorers and the juniors, the focus was on financial results.
BP Plc (LON:BP), on Tuesday, boasted of "strong delivery and growth" in the fourth quarter of 2017, highlighted by improved upstream production and underlying profit, meanwhile, a further US$1.7bn charge associated with the Gulf of Mexico meant the group reported only a small profit.
There was a total of US$3.32bn of negative non-operating items, leaving the profit attributable to shareholders at US$27mln compared to the US$1.7bn in the preceding three month period.
Underlying profit was reported at US$2.1bn, up from US$1.86bn in the preceding period and from US$400mln in the comparative period of 2016. For the full twelve months, BP made a US$6.1bn underlying profit up from US$2.58bn in the year before.
Operating cashflow amounted to $6.2bn and $24.1bn for the fourth quarter and the full year respectively. BP said upstream production increased 12% helped by the delivery of seven new projects. Output tallied 3.6mln barrels oil equivalent per day, including contributions for the company's stake in Rosneft. It marked the best year for production since 2010. It discovered some 1bn barrels worth of new discoveries as the exploration division saw successes.
"2017 was one of the strongest years in BP's recent history," said chief executive Bob Dudley.
A day later, Tullow Oil plc (LON:TLW) reported "excellent progress" as he commented on the first full year results since his arrival in April. Tullow reported US$1.72bn of revenue for the twelve month period, ended 31 December 2017, up from US$1.27bn in the preceding year. The company also received US$162mln of proceeds from its insurance against lost production.
The group's West Africa production base yielded an average of 89,100 barrels of oil per day, and the outlook for the present year sees a production range between 82,000 and 90,000 bopd.
Gross profit amounted to US$815mln, up from US$547mln, while the operating profit came in at US$22mln. Tullow made a loss of US$189mln, narrowed from US$597mln in 2016. It had positive cash flow of US$543mln, versus a US$792mln outflow a year before. At the end of the year net debt had reduced to US$3.47bn, from US$4.7bn at the end of 2016.
Capital spending tallied US$225mln in 2017, and the company now anticipates a bigger outlay this year with US$460mln forecast (excluding US$110mln for the Uganda project which will be reimbursed via a farm-out agreement as it completes in the first half of this year).
New drilling is set to start this month, with incremental production growth targeted with wells at the Jubilee and TEN fields. Elsewhere, the company has multiple high impact exploration campaigns planned over next three years, with the Cormorant well offshore Namibia (scheduled for H2 2018) being a notable highlight, and in Kenya the attention is turning towards the development of discoveries that were successfully appraised last year.
"Strong production and disciplined cost management has allowed us to continue to both reduce debt and invest in our high-return production assets in Ghana," said chief executive Paul McDade.