Petroleum Africa
Find us on: 
Friday, February 13, 2015
Chariot Oil & Gas is one company who is sure of where it stands in relation to the impact of the recent crash in oil prices. The company has positioned itself well and believes it can withstand the current market conditions, a significant feat for a company of its size when companies with larger budgets are struggling.
What keeps it so positive on its position? According to Chariot it is its diverse portfolio with long-term, low-cost operated assets, with good commercial terms, which it has de-risked through partner participation and detailed technical work. The company also has the bonus of being debt free, with a strong cash position, and is fully funded to carry out all of its commitments at the same time as continuing to deliver on its strategy of zero cost exploration in the pursuit of transformational growth.
Furthermore, with its fast follower positioning, Chariot continues to benefit from further de-risking its assets through its own technical analysis as well as evaluating information from third party activities, at no cost to Chariot and ahead of committing to drilling its own prospects. Chariot believes that this position of strength is a result of its diligent portfolio management, focus on risk mitigation and capital discipline – all of which it will continue to carry out throughout 2015 and beyond.
Chariot’s technical team continues to work hard to mature its assets towards drilling and has now completed its interpretation of its proprietary 3D data offshore Mauritania, with four drill-ready prospects identified, each with over 400 mmbbls of gross mean prospective resources (internal estimates). A dataroom has opened and an independently audited prospective resources report will be issued shortly.
In Morocco, following finalized interpretation of its 3D data in H1 2015, a partnering process will commence and an independent audit on the prospectivity of the Loukos and Mohammedia licenses will be carried out. An audit will also be carried out on the Rabat Deep licenses, where Chariot has prepared its JP-1 prospect for a dataroom, should Woodside choose not to elect to carry the company through a well, a decision on which is due by the end of Q2 2015.
In addition, seismic acquisition programs are scheduled in 2015 offshore Brazil and Namibia with the aim of de-risking the company’s portfolio through the maturation of previously mapped prospectivity on legacy datasets, as well as to identify follow-on potential in a success case. Ongoing partner discussions regarding the opportunities in Brazil and Namibia will continue, with any material updates to be provided to the market accordingly.
Within the context of the current climate, Chariot is aware of widely publicized cuts in capital expenditure budgets, which may result in a lower number of dataroom attendees. While this would mean a smaller pool of possible partners, Chariot has high potential and high margin assets, and is confident in its capability to describe the prospectivity within them – as has been demonstrated by the success in securing partners over the last two years. Furthermore, Chariot’s deep water, high impact portfolio retains significant upside potential for investors, with the possibility for transformational growth even at current oil prices. Chariot’s positioning enables it to take advantage of the oil price cycle and its low cost, long-term commitments are a key factor, allowing Chariot to retain its competitive stance in partnering discussions and ensure the best possible terms for the Company.
" alt="Africa’s $824 Billion Debt Burden and Opaque Resource-Backed Loans Hinder its Potential">
" alt="African Refiners Ponder Threats to Energy Security for Africa as Transition Takes Center Stage">
" alt="Invictus Inks Gas Sales MOU to Deliver Power to Eureka Gold Mine">
" alt="Globeleq Acquires the 25 MWp Winnergy Solar PV Plant in Egypt">
" alt="Sintana Completes Well Testing at Mopane 1-X in Namibia">
" alt="Infill Drilling to Resume at the Ceiba Field in Equatorial Guinea">
" alt="Uganda National Oil Company Appoints New Executive">
" alt="World’s First Ammonia Dual-Fuel Aframaxes to be Developed by MISC">
