WTI (June) $59.91 +$1.84, Brent (July) $62.84 +$1.72, Diff -2.93 -8c
USNG (June) $3.59 -3c, UKNG (June) 86.09p +3.77p, TTF (June) €35.815 +€61.05

Oil price

Oil has kicked on again today ahead of the US/Sino talks in Geneva tomorrow and after the US/UK deal announced yesterday. It was a very modest deal but one that the US negotiators knew that the UK Government pretty much had to do.

The USA are also grinding down on sanctions against Iran, earlier in the week it was the shipping now it’s the teapot refineries who have been thriving on Iranian oil…

Touchstone Exploration-Completing the jigsaw…

So, the Central Block deal appears to be near to closing, should this happen imminently it is very good news for Touchstone for whom this transforms their business and should mean a resultant sizing up operationally and financially. 

This deal is being financed by a combination of debt and equity, the former via Republic Bank and a six year $30m non-revolving package.  In the raise the company has raised some £15.375m at 20.5p in a significantly  oversubscribed private placement that has brought in two new institutional shareholders as well as existing backers, at an 11.8% discount with buyers over.

 It’s an eminently sensible financing which makes the deal potentially accretive via the increase in netback revenue from the 2,000 b/d backed by the increase in the company’s  portfolio of assets. Funds per share should also increase when we get updated guidance thus offsetting any dilution from the equity part of the financing. 

Operationally the benefits of the Central Block have already been made in previous blogs, but to recap, the acquisition of Shell’s production, c.94% natural gas and using the facility to sell as LNG with the pricing attractions that carriers is highly beneficial compared to existing contracts. TXP is already planning two Central Block wells this year.

Elsewhere the portfolio will now set to drilling two wells at Cascadura and I understand that these four wells will be drilled back-to-back to ensure most efficient economics. It is the fact that these are all development wells that makes me comfortable about year-end production aimed at a respectable 8-9/- boe/d+, with 2P reserves of 5.6m boe. 

Touchstone is now fully funded with an added state of the art facility enabling significant premium pricing via the LNG sales, it will have a robust balance sheet and be a much stronger beast in this particular jungle. The last few months has seen a complete turnaround for Touchstone, it has got to grips with the original portfolio with added subsurface activity promising higher production and with margins that are now rising and metrics much better. 

United Oil & Gas

United has announced that it has secured gross proceeds of £140,000 through a capital raise with an existing shareholder (the “Investor”).

Background and Funding Details

This funding has been completed through a placing of 100,000,000 new Ordinary Shares of £0.0001 each (the “Placing Shares”) at a price of 0.14 pence per share (the “Placing”), arranged by Shard Capital, representing no discount to the closing bid-offer spread on 6 May 2025.

This placing utilises the remaining share issuance authority currently available to the Company, excluding existing warrants.

Application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM, with admission expected to occur on or around 12 May 2025.  The Placing Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares of the Company.

Following Admission, the Company’s total issued share capital will comprise 2,015,877,779 Ordinary Shares. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations under the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Use of Proceeds

Proceeds from the placing will be used to strengthen the Company’s working capital position and support the ongoing farm-out process at its Walton-Morant Licence offshore Jamaica, where multiple parties remain under NDA conducting active due diligence.

Brian Larkin, CEO of United Oil & Gas, commented: 
“We are pleased to have received this support from an existing shareholder who continues to demonstrate confidence in our strategy. This investment enhances our near-term funding position and supports the momentum building around our Jamaican farm-out process.”

When the chips are down sometimes even the most modest offer of help can look like a lifebelt thrown from the river bank. Whilst this doesn’t look like a company saver I reckon that this might just be that if it keeps UOG afloat during the farm-out process.

CEO Brian Larkin states above that there is momentum building around the farm-out process and for the company and its latest investors’ sakes I hope that he is right, and those parties in the data room like what they see.

Predator Oil & Gas

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc (PRD), the Jersey-based Oil and Gas Company with near-term hydrocarbon operations and production focussed on Morocco and Trinidad provides an operational update.

Trinidad 

Acquisition of CEG Trinidad

• In February 2025 the Company entered into an agreement to acquire the entirety of the Challenger Energy (“CEG”) operations in Trinidad and Tobago (“CEG Trinidad”) as referred to in the Company’s RNS of 18 February 2025.
• The agreement for the acquisition provided for the regulatory approval necessary for closing of the sale transaction to be finalised by 30 April 2025. The Company and the seller have agreed to a 60-day extension for completion of the sale, to 30 June 2025 following administrative closing uncertainty due to the snap-elections called in Trinidad in mid-March. The resulting election held on 28 April 2025 led to a subsequent change of Government.

Bonasse field

• Well workovers are continuing into next month. The field has experienced positive increases in production ranging from between 50 to 100% in the worked over wells.
• The intention is to start infill drilling under the Field Services and Production agreement between the Company and the Company’s Operations contractor.

The Operations contractor has identified the new development wells to be drilled based upon the workover project results.

Cory Moruga Exploration and Production Licence

• Snowcap-3 appraisal well planning has commenced.

Site Preparation work and permitting has begun for the appraisal well, which is scheduled for the 4th quarter this year.

Rig Operator negotiations and Rig evaluation are currently taking place.

• Jacobin-1 well workover operations with wax treatment are progressing and a Heavy Workover remains on schedule to be completed in the 2nd quarter of this year.
• Snowcap-1 well workover with wax treatment will commence thereafter following an evaluation of the Jacobin-1 results in addition to assessing options to sidetrack the Snowcap-1 well.

Morocco

• Third-party analysis of perforating options completed for the MOU-3 “A” Sand testing.
• Programme set to start during 2nd quarter 2025 following a selection of which of the two perforating options identified to execute based on near-term availability of equipment.  
• The perforated Ma Sand in MOU-3 continues to be under consideration for an operation to increase drawdown pressure to attempt to bring the well into potential gas production, however this will be delayed until after the “A” Sand test results are known.

A removable packer will isolate the Ma Sand from the overlying “A” Sand before testing commences.

• MOU-5 drilling results are being incorporated in desktop satellite and gravity and magnetic modelling studies that are focusing on the helium potential.

A partner will be sought to join the Company in the next stage of the evaluation for helium which will focus on the major fracture zones in the MOU-5 and MOU-3 structures where helium was detected.

Ireland

• The Mag Mell FSRU desktop LNG project is being updated in preparation to present in Ireland as the preferred option to address the ongoing debate concerning the security of energy supply.
• The Company may elect to use its Mag Mell FSRU technical, regulatory, environmental and commercial project template to register by 23 July 2025 an Expression of Interest in a programme called by Morocco for a development of infrastructure to receive, store, regassify and transport natural gas.

The Guercif licence is located over the Maghreb gas pipeline to Europe.

Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer of Predator, commented:
“We remain fully-funded to progress all our operational plans with immediate priority on the MOU-3 shallow testing designed in a success case to start the process of monetisation and the execution of operations in our Trinidad assets focussed on increasing production revenues going forward.

Medium term we retain the momentum to further develop the helium potential in Guercif and to add appraisal drilling in both Morocco and Trinidad when the time is right.”

All seems to be going according to plan at Predator with the excitement of the testing in Morocco first up.

Original article   l   KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Malcy's Blog