WTI (May) $85.66 +64c, Brent (June) $90.45 +71c, Diff -$4.79 +7c
USNG (May) $1.77 +1c, UKNG (May) 79.0p +5.0p, TTF (May) €30.565 -€5.24

Oil price

As I suggested at the end of last week the oil price ran out of steam and with indifferent inventory stats it has drifted on some profit taking. If the response to last night’s attacks by Iran can be measured by Israel then C.$90 would appear to be about right given the current market.

The IEA went back to form with another flagrant misreading of the oil and gas market. Having lowered its demand numbers to +1.2m b/d for this year the organisation added that ‘global demand growth is currently in the midst of a slowdown, bringing a peak in consumption into view this current decade’…

Corcel

Corcel has announced an update to Tobias Field reactivation activities in Block KON-11 in the Kwanza Basin, onshore Angola, where the Company has a 20% working interest (18% net).  The Operator is Sonangol, one of the largest hydrocarbon producers in Angola.    

Block KON-11 Update:

The Operator has now reported the conclusion of initial well test efforts at the TO-14 well in Block KON-11 with ongoing engineering work set to continue.  Well clean-up operations using nitrogen resulted in significant water production with oil shows and nominal oil saturation levels. 

Together with the Block Partners, and given shortages of nitrogen in Luanda, the Operator has made the decision to move to testing the TO-13 well, which has been drilled in what is considered the least drained section of the reservoir and historic field. 

The equipment move is expected to take approximately 7 days after which formal testing will begin.  Subject to a successful well test at TO-13 and related engineering studies, the Operator intends to return to TO-14 and continue well clean-up and testing operations.    

Additional updates on the Tobais field reactivation and testing program will be provided in due course. 

Corcel Executive Chairman, Antoine Karam, commented: 
“With TO-13 testing shortly to commence, we will soon have an additional data set to aid in our efforts to both produce commercial oil in the short term and to reactivate and build out the Tobias field over the longer term.  The Company and its technical team remain buoyant regarding the ongoing potential of our Angolan interests in the Kwanza Basin.”

The early stages of results from the TO-14 well have been a bit mixed and the company has moved on to the TO-13 well which still has significant potential and the testing programme will start soon. It should be remembered that this a long term play, and the company is in Angola for long haul, they believe in the country.

Also the company has raised a significant amount today and shareholders should be heartened by the fact that two major investors, including directors as well as ‘several institutional  investors’ participated in the raise. The money will be used to invest in Angola and the reactivation of the historic Tobias field therein, worth keeping an eye on…

Corcel has also announced the completion of an equity placing including a significant further investment from the Company’s current majority shareholder, Extraction Srl. 

Highlights:

• Completion of a fundraising of £1,299,750 at a price of £0.005 per share, reflecting approximately a 37% premium to the most recent closing price, with one for one warrants at £0.01 per share
• Placing includes follow-on investment of £500,000 by current Cornerstone Investor Extraction Srl as well a Corcel Director and several additional institutional investors

Corcel Executive Chairman, Antoine Karam, commented: 
“Ongoing operations in Angola necessitate additional funding into the business somewhat earlier than originally expected, due in part to delays and costs arising from severe weather conditions.  While equity markets clearly remain skittish, Extraction Srl and Corcel Director, Geraldine Geraldo, have chosen to cornerstone this placing at a premium, ensuring the Company receives the best possible terms available, and illustrating our ongoing optimism regarding the reactivation of the historic Tobias field in Angola.” 

Equity Raise:

The Company has executed a placing agreement to raise total proceeds of £1,299,750 from the issue of 259,950,000 new ordinary shares of £0.0001  at £0.005 per share, cornerstoned by £500,000 invested by the Company’s current major shareholder, Extraction Srl and supported by Geraldine Geraldo, a director of the Company, to the amount of £199,875.

Investors will receive a total of 259,950,000 warrants enabling the owner to purchase new ordinary shares at a price of £0.01 per share for a period of twenty-four months.  

The Company intends to use the funds from the Fundraising primarily to finance its ongoing operations in Angola. 

The Company has agreed on the following staged settlement timeline with investors:

• Tranche I – £799,750 representing 159,950,000 new ordinary shares to be settled immediately
• Tranche II – £500,000 representing 100,000,000 new ordinary shares to be settled following a forthcoming General Meeting

Following Tranche I of the Fundraising, and prior to the forthcoming General Meeting and subsequent Share and Warrant issuance, the resultant Directors’ shareholdings are as follows:

General Meeting:

The Fundraising will result in the issuance of 259,950,000 new ordinary shares and 259,950,000 warrants.  Currently, the Company has 159,950,000 of remaining shareholder authority to issue new ordinary shares for cash on a non-pre-emptive basis.  Accordingly, 159,950,000 Shares will be issued under the Company’s existing share authorities, whilst 100,000,000 Shares and 259,950,000 Warrants are to be conditional upon, inter alia, the passing of resolutions to be put to shareholders of the Company at a general meeting of the Company. 

The Company will publish a circular to convene the General Meeting to propose Resolutions to enable issuance of the balance of the Shares and the Warrants and a renewal of routine equity authorities to support the ongoing operations of the business.  A further announcement covering the details of the general meeting will be made and a circular containing the notice of meeting will be published and sent to shareholders in the coming days and will be available on the Company’s website, www.corcelplc.com.  Shareholders are urged to vote by proxy in accordance with the instructions set out in the notice of general meeting.

Debt Cancellation:

Further to the announcement of 23 February 2024 and in light of the expanded Board’s preference to avoid where possible the Company using debt to finance its current activities, the Company and EXT have ceased discussions regarding further drawdowns of convertible loan notes.  Following notification by Extraction Srl, both parties have acknowledged the full repayment and termination of the outstanding loan facility, originally announced on 18 September 2023, effective immediately.

Related Party Transaction

Extraction Srl is a significant shareholder in the Company with a 25% interest after the Fundraising has completed and Extraction Srl is 45% owned by the Executive Chairman of Corcel Plc, Antoine Karam. Accordingly, Extraction’s and Geraldine Geraldo’s participation in the placing are a related party transaction, pursuant to Rule 13 of the AIM Rules. The debt cancellation discussed above is also a related party transaction. As such, Antoine Karam and Geraldine Geraldo have not been involved in the approval of the Transaction by the Company’s Board.

The Directors of the Company independent of the transaction, having consulted with the Company’s nominated advisor, WH Ireland Ltd, consider the terms of the transaction to be fair and reasonable insofar as the Company’s shareholders are concerned.

Total Voting Rights:

Application will be made for the first tranche of the Shares, consisting of 159,950,000 new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and it is expected that their admissions to AIM will take place on or around 17 April 2024. 

Following Admission of the first tranche of Shares, the Company’s total issued share capital will consist of 2,034,744,153 Ordinary Shares, with one voting right per share. The Company does not hold any shares in treasury. Therefore, the total number of Ordinary Shares and voting rights in the Company will be 2,034,744,153 from Admission. This figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company pursuant to the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Trinity Exploration & Production

Trinity has announced updated management estimates of Trinity’s technical recoverable resources as at Year-End 2023.  The technical work underpinning this management estimate was reviewed by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc.

Trinity provides the following estimates for its technical recoverable resources (2P + 2C) as at Year-End 2023:

Notes:    
mmstb – million stock tank barrels
All data rounded to two decimal places

The largest reduction in 2P Reserves at Year-End 2023 is from wells that were categorised as economic 2P Reserves at Year-End 2022 which have been reclassified to 2C Resources due to individual opportunities being considered uneconomic at the date of review.  Additional reductions are due to the impact of earlier economic limit truncations and revisions to the Trintes Infill well programme.

The reduction in 2C Resources is attributed largely to the Galeota block based on the latest interpretation and mapping of reprocessed seismic data which resulted in a view that the field structure is more steeply dipping than in previous interpretations.  The Year-End 2023 total 2C for Galeota is 27.5 mmstb (compared to 35.8 mmstb previously).  While the 2C Resource estimate for Galeota has been reduced the impact on the development plans for the field is minimal.

The Company will hold a session for investors via the Investor Meet Company platform in the week commencing 22 April 2024, following the announcement of its Q1 Operational Update that week.

Jeremy Bridglalsingh, Chief Executive Officer of Trinity, commented:
“2023 witnessed a reduction in our reported reserves and resources base. This was due to a number of factors, primarily the reclassification of uneconomic wells which were originally in 2P and have now been moved to 2C.  Whilst this is undoubtedly disappointing, all the Company’s current growth scenarios are focused on exploiting the 2P reserves of 12.91mmbls, so this revision does not limit our growth plans.”

Not a good day for Trinity as the slashing of 2P and 2C reserves and resources respectively following a downgrade on the Galeota Block means that chances of raising money or partners has lessened and therefore growth in production minimised, meaning revenue will be sparser in the short and medium term. 

In the absence of some M&A it looks like Trinidad is asset and revenue short but long of problems, tailor made for some creative deals to be done, they are few are far between but surely not neyond the wit of….

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Malcy's Blog