UK: Ophir Reports Successful H1

Ophir Energy plc announced its Half Year Results for the six months ended 30 June 2012.

Ophir has had a successful first half of 2012. The Group’s track record of frontier exploration discovery continued with two discoveries in the first half of 2012, followed by two further successes in July and August. The Group has opened up a new offshore gas province in Tanzania, is continuing with exploration efforts in Kenya and Gabon, and has advanced its position in Equatorial Guinea closer to commerciality. With the acquisition of Dominion Petroleum Limited, the Group now has the largest deep-water acreage position offshore East Africa. Ophir’s assets in both West and East Africa continue to provide significant frontier exploration running room, creating multiple opportunities to increase the Group’s resource base. A successful equity placing in 2012 Q1 raised US$242 million and has provided Ophir with the capital to further explore the resource potential within the BG Joint Venture Tanzanian Blocks (1, 3 and 4) and elsewhere.

Key highlights:

• Continued success in the offshore gas province in Tanzania: discoveries to date in excess of 7 TCF recoverable resources (1.2 BBOE)
• Strengthened balance sheet by raising US$242 million through an equity placing of 30.5 million new ordinary shares at 495p; closed June 2012 with a cash balance US$454 million
• Completed the acquisition of Dominion on 2nd February 2012 becoming the largest acreage holder offshore East Africa and securing acreage within the emerging offshore Kenya play
• Continued drilling success in Equatorial Guinea with the first two wells of the 2012 campaign and drilling of the 3rd well currently underway
• Completion of a 3D seismic acquisition programme to explore a potential continuation of Tertiary basin floor fan prospectivity from Mozambique into the eastern portion of Block 1, Tanzania. Preliminary processing, mapping and interpretation is expected by Q3 2012
• Processing of the pre-salt 3D seismic survey obtained in Gabon is approximately 50% complete. Ophir and Petrobras expect to receive the final processed dataset in Q4 2012

Ophir’s Chairman, Nicholas Smith commented:

“In the first half of 2012 we maintained our successful exploration track record and delivered our largest discovery to date (Jodari-1: 3.4 TCF Recoverable). We have so far had 100% drilling success with the first six frontier exploration wells in Tanzania and also with the first two wells in our 2012 drilling programme in Equatorial Guinea. Ophir cemented its leading position in East Africa with the successful acquisition of Dominion Petroleum, and is now actively exploring the new acreage in Tanzania and Kenya. Our equity placing in April 2012 provided the Group with the necessary funding to further explore the resource potential within Blocks 1, 3 and 4 and also to progress the rest of our portfolio. We look forward to continuing our active exploration programmes through the second half of 2012 in the key plays of both East and West Africa.”

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LNG World News Staff, August 29, 2012; Image: Ophir