LNG

Valeura Energy Inc., the upstream oil and natural gas company with assets in the Gulf of Thailand and planned appraisal activities for tight natural gas in the Thrace Basin of Turkey, has reported improved third-quarter results.

Valeura, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the over-the-counter market in the US, released earnings for the three months to the end of September.

In the third quarter, Valeura sold 1.701 million barrels of crude oil and the company recorded oil revenues of US$149.4 million, versus nil in the same quarter of 2022, which was prior to the company having active production operations.

Valeura said operating expenses increased in the quarter largely due to a planned increase in the amount of well workovers and the volume of maintenance and inspection work performed across the portfolio.

Valeura reported operating expenses of US$55.3 million in the quarter. The expenses included production operations at its Jasmine, Nong Yao, and Manora fields, as well as expenses relating to maintaining the Wassana asset during the precautionary suspension of production operations.

Jasmine field

The Jasmine offshore oilfield is located within block B5/27, at a water depth of about 60 metres. The block covers an area of around 1,931 square kilometres in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Nong Yao field is a producing conventional set of wells located in shallow water offshore Thailand while the Manora field lies in 44 metres water and about 80km from the coast of Thailand.

Valeura’s average realised price for crude oil sales was US$87.8 a barrels in the quarter, reflecting an average premium to the Brent crude oil benchmark of around US$1.3 per barrel.

Valeura, which is based in Calgary, Alberta is carrying out appraisals in the Thrace Basin of northwest Turkey.

The company said this is a potential natural gas area which has under-explored and under-exploited conventional and tight gas plays with the opportunity to deploy technology such as 3D seismic, horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking.

Thrace activities

“The company had no active operations in Turkey during the third quarter as it continued its search for a farm-in partner to pursue the next phase of work on its tight gas appraisal play in the Thrace Basin, where it holds interests ranging from 63 percent to 100 percent,” Valeura explained.

Oil production amounted to 19,961 barrels a day in the third quarter and adjusted cashflow from operations was US$33.9m.

“I am pleased to announce another stable quarter of production operations, which underscores the long-term, resilient asset base we have assembled in Thailand,” said Sean Guest, President and Chief Executive of Valeura.

“Ongoing infill drilling is replenishing produced volumes and offsetting natural declines, resulting in oil production rates staying in the 20,000 barrels per day range. As a result, we are today re-affirming our 2023 guidance estimates, unchanged,” Guest added.

“Cash flow generation remains strong, and has provided us the ability to pay down debt, cover tax payments, fund the cost of ongoing operations, and still record an increase in our net cash position, which at the end of the quarter stood at US$104 million,” stated the CEO.

Valeura said that the mergers and acquisitions market for additional field assets continued to present “appealing opportunities”.

“We feel it is prudent to ensure our balance sheet is robust, such that we can transact quickly once opportunities arise,” Guest said.

NewMed Energy, formerly Delek Drilling and owner of the largest Israeli offshore natural gas field and a likely future LNG feed-gas supplier, is continuing with the process of being listed on the London Stock Exchange through a reverse takeover of UK company Capricorn Energy.

Mubadala Petroleum, the international energy company based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and with natural gas assets in the Eastern Mediterranean and LNG feed-gas resources in Malaysia, has reported a surge in annual production.

Delek Drilling, a partner in the Leviathan natural gas field, said the joint venture was finalizing a set of agreements allowing the supply of pipeline natural gas to Egypt via Jordan, using the Israeli transmission system to Jordan and the system connecting Jordan and Egypt in the area of Aqaba-Taba.

Israeli energy company Delek Drilling has signed the final agreement for the US$1.1-billion sale of its 22 percent stake in Israel’s second-biggest natural gas resource, the Tamar field, to Mubadala Petroleum of the United Arab Emirates.

Delek Group, the Israeli company with natural gas assets in the East Mediterranean contributing to the region’s LNG and pipeline mix with supplies to Egypt and Jordan, returned to a first-quarter profit from a previous loss due to higher Leviathan gas field revenues.

The Israeli Energy Ministry said it asked US major Chevron Corp. to shut the Tamar natural gas field, which supplies Egypt and Jordan as well as Israel, because of continued rocket attacks on the city of Ashkelon, just 23 kilometres (14 miles) from the Tamar field’s offshore platform.

Israeli energy company Delek Drilling is advancing with the US$1.1-billion sale of its 22 percent stake in Israel’s second-biggest natural gas resource, the Tamar field, to Mubadala Petroleum of the United Arab Emirates by the end of May.

Naturgy Energy Group, the Spanish utility and importer of US and Russian LNG, posted an annual net profit after the previous year’s losses amid continuing challenges in its businesses in Europe and South America.

Mubadala Petroleum, the exploration and production company owned by the emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, has signed an agreement to sell Premier Oil of the UK a 20 percent stake in an Indonesian block where Mubadala Petroleum is aiming to discover more natural gas.

The accord will farm-out a 20 percent participating interest in each of Mubadala’s Andaman I and South Andaman Gross Split Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) to the UK company.

Mubadala Petroleum is the operator of both the Andaman I and adjacent South Andaman PSCs.

The value of the transaction was not given and completion was subject to customary conditions, including government approvals.

The Abu Dhabi company explained that the Andaman I and South Andaman PSCs are located in the under-explored but proven North Sumatra basin offshore Aceh in the northwest tip of Sumatra.

Mubadala Petroleum is also a partner with a 30 percent participating interest in the Andaman II PSC, which is operated by Premier with a 40 percent shareholding.

With participating interests in these three adjacent blocks, Mubadala Petroleum is the largest net acreage holder in the area, securing the core of the North Sumatra basin for future exploration growth.

The UAE company said the PSCs have “the potential to unlock a new material gas play for domestic consumption in North Sumatra and potentially long-term export” to regional markets.

“With this farm-out, Mubadala Petroleum will extend its partnership with Premier Oil for the exploration of the Andaman blocks offshore Aceh,” said Bakheet Al Katheeri, Mubadala Petroleum’s Chief Executive.

“Both partners have a strong commitment to this new high-impact growth area which supports Mubadala Petroleum’s growth strategy of finding and, if successful, developing gas for Indonesia’s growing markets,” added Al Katheeri.

Premier for its part has built a dominant position in the Natuna Sea and delivers natural gas by pipeline into Singapore under long-term gas sales agreements.

The UK company is also seeking to backfill these long-term contracts by bringing onstream more discovered but undeveloped resources on the Natuna Sea Block A.

“Demand from Singapore for Premier’s Indonesian gas continues to be robust with Premier’s Natuna Sea Block again capturing an increased market share,” said Premier in a recent operational update.