Faroe Islands: Atlantic Petroleum Announces First Q Results (2010)

Atlantic Petroleum today announced its results for the first three months 2010. This company announcement should be read in conjunction with Atlantic Petroleum’s Interim Consolidated Financial Statement attached to this announcement.

Sigurð í Jákupsstovu, Atlantic Petroleum’s CEO, stated:

“We are pleased to announce the result for 1Q 2010. With two fields now in production and a quarterly operating profit of DKK 22MM Atlantic Petroleum’s position as a North Sea oil and gas exploration and production company has been underpinned. The strong positive cash flow is being used to reduce our debt and to position the Company for further growth through participation in exploration and appraisal programmes and by seeking suitable acquisition opportunities. We are looking forward to results from the Blackbird appraisal well being drilled this summer, which will dictate further development decisions.”

Highlights

Operational

• Total production in first quarter of 2010 amounted to 178,000 barrels of oil equivalents (boe) corresponding to an average of 1,977 boepd net to Atlantic Petroleum. Production from the Ettrick field amounted to some 60,000 boe and from Chestnut to about 118,000 boe

• Drilling operations on two additional production wells on the Ettrick field have been completed. One involved sidetracking the 20/2a-E3 well, drilled in 2007, to a more favourable location in the reservoir. The second well

was drilled in the northern part of the Ettrick field. The results of both wells are within or better than pre-drill expectations. It is planned that the wells will be tied back and ready for production in July 2010

• The Chestnut field is producing at steady rates and up to now production performance for 2010 has exceeded expectations

• The Marten license has been extended 2 years to a July 2012 expiry

• Ben Arabo has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer from 1st August 2010. Sigurð í Jákupsstovu will resume the position as Chief Operating Officer

Financial

• Revenues in 1Q 2010 of DKK 76.9MM (1Q 2009: DKK 26.6MM)

• Operating profit (EBIT) in 1Q 2010 of DKK 22.3MM (1Q 2009: DKK -15.4MM)

• Profit before tax in 1Q 2010 of DKK 28.4MM (1Q 2009: DKK 8.7MM)

• Profit after tax in 1Q 2010 of DKK 20.5MM (1Q 2009: DKK 15.3MM)

• Net cash from operating activities in 1Q 2010 of DKK 47.6MM (1Q 2009: DKK2.7MM)

• Average realised oil price was 77 USD/bbl in 1Q 2010 compared to 76 USD/bblin 4Q 2009

• Total assets at end 1Q 2010 of DKK 659.0MM (At year end 2009: DKK 646.8MM)

• Total shareholder’s equity of DKK 298.4MM (At year end 2009: DKK 279.0MM)

• Administration costs reduced to DKK 3.6MM from DKK 5.3MM in 1Q 2009

• The Company has in 1Q 2010 paid down debt of DKK 25.0MM. In 2010 a total ofDKK 46.7MM debt has been repaid

2010 Outlook

Operational

• Production is expected to stabilise within the range of 2,500-3,000 boepd as the Ettrick field performance is expected to improve over the year

• Unchanged estimated total production in the range of 725,000 to 850,000 barrels net

• The Blackbird appraisal well will be drilled over the summer and the results will decide whether the proven volumes are sufficient to warrant the field to be developed as a satellite to the Ettrick field 6 km to the north

• Complete evaluation of Perth feasibility study

• Company is actively pursuing opportunities to increase license portfolio

• Further evaluation of the commercial potential of the Helvick, Ardmore and Hook Head discoveries in the Irish Standard Exploration License 2/07 will be undertaken

Financial

• Maintain expectation of EBIT to be in the range DKK 70-90MM for 2010 (2009 DKK -75.6MM realised). This is based on the initially estimated average oil price of 75 USD/bbl in 2010 and an average currency exchange rate of DKK/USD of 5.21, compared to the realised average oil price of 77 USD/bbl and DKK/USD exchange rate of 5.43. Production volumes for the year are expected to be in the range of 725,000 and 850,000 barrels net to Atlantic Petroleum

• The Company’s debt is expected to be reduced by DKK 120MM in 2010

• Investments in exploration and appraisal activities are estimated to be

around DKK 36MM for the whole year 2010

• Investments in field developments are estimated to be around DKK 47MM for the whole year 2010

• The majority of the short term bridge loan facilities have been rolled into a five year senior loan facility

• The Company has engaged in oil price hedging to secure a more stable revenue stream. Approximately 6 percent of current production has been hedged 12 months ahead. Average oil price hedged is 88 USD/bbl

Atlantic Petroleum is a Faroese independent exploration and production (E&P) company with oil and gas interests in the North Sea, East Irish Sea and Celtic Sea and on the Faroese Continental Shelf. The Company has interests in 13 licences containing over 30 fields, discoveries, prospects or leads. Furthermore, Atlantic Petroleum has partnerships with 16 international oil companies operating in North West Europe. The objective of Atlantic Petroleum is to develop offshore oil and gas potential in North West Europe on a commercial basis, and presently the Company engages in activities ranging from exploration, through appraisal, to development and production.

Atlantic Petroleum’s key benefits and competencies include an efficient and low-cost organisation with a team of six full-time employees and three retainers, which enables the Company to maintain certain core competencies in-house, e.g. geological, geophysical and reservoir engineering expertise as well as commercial insight, which are considered key success factors in the oil and gas industry. In addition, Atlantic Petroleum uses external advisers and has collaborations and long standing relationships with trusted technical consultants. This expertise, associated with access to seismic and geological data which are critical for the Company’s understanding of the petroleum systems, is fundamental to the business and also substantiates any evaluation of new opportunities. The Company has a strong aptitude for reducing overall project risk and associated capital expenditures through entering into strategic partnerships on licences, enabling a significant sharing of geological, geophysical and operational knowledge as well as costs. Finally, Atlantic Petroleum’s increasing oil production is expected to provide a growing cash flow, thus supporting the Company’s financial stability in coming years.

Atlantic Petroleum invests in smaller prospects or discoveries that do not typically lie within the focus of larger E&P companies, as these companies usually do not prioritise smaller fields. Consequently, the Company is not directly engaged in head-to-head competition with larger E&P companies.

The current financial climate and low oil price is likely to force a number of small E&P companies with insufficient or no producing assets to reduce ownership stakes in assets or farm-out whole projects. Atlantic Petroleum’s increased cash generation is expected to enable the Company to take advantage of investment opportunities in this consolidation process, thereby providing opportunities for the Company to expand its portfolio. Simultaneously, Atlantic Petroleum seeks to add new licences close to existing production, effectively lowering potential operating expenditures as new production can be added without significant costs.

[mappress]

Source: Petroleum, May 21, 2010;