AEX – Financial Report
Current assets
31 December 2009
US$14.3 million,
comprising cash balances of US$11.7 million (2008: US$4.1 million)
trade and other receivables of US$2.6 million (2008: US$3.9 million).
The increase in the cash balance reflects funds of US$15.3 million (after transaction expenses) raised by Aminex in July and August through two share placings and an open offer.
Current liabilities
of US$2.7 million( - 50% 2008).
Non-current liabilities
+ US$269,000 to US$1.64 million
due to an increase in the decommissioning provision.
OPERATIONS REPORT
TANZANIA - Ruvuma PSA
Finished drilling and encountered thick sands with hydrocarbon. the well has intersected two sandstone intervals of over 250 metres (820 feet) combined thickness with evidence of residual oil and gas. The well, which will now be plugged and abandoned, is the first of a 2-well programme within the prospective Ruvuma Delta. The encouraging results will be followed up with detailed technical work prior to selecting the next drilling location. The timing of future programme will be disclosed to shareholders when available.
Likonde is only one of several prospects and leads located along a prominent hinge中樞 line in the Ruvuma Basin.
Solo has an option during the next 6 months to become a full party to the Ruvuma PSA and, in this case, the Aminex interest will reduce to 37.5%.
Operator Tullow Oil was granted a one year extension to the Initial Exploration Period under the PSA by the Tanzanian Government. The Likonde-1 well is the first of two commitment wells to be drilled in the Initial Period and the second well is likely to be spudded within 12 months.
TANZANIA - Nyuni PSA and Kiliwani North Appraisal Licence
Following successful testing of the Kiliwani North-1 gas discovery in 2008 (40 MMcfd from Lower Cretaceous sandstones), Analysis confirmed the excellent production characteristics of the Neocomian reservoir.
Acquisition of 48 line KM seismic over Kiliwani North in July 2009. made a strong contribution to our understanding of the Kiliwani North structure.
Songas Plant which is only 3kms from the Kiliwani North-1 wellhead (for deliver production) , this remains the obvious choice. However, in order to be able to access the Songas pipeline system which delivers gas from the Songo-Songo gas field to market in Dar es Salaam, the gas handling plant at Songo-Songo needs to be expanded and there has been a planning consent deadlock for some time between the plant operator and the government authorities. Aminex now believes that a positive outcome will soon be achieved in near time and that the expansion of both plant and pipeline will be more than adequate for Nyuni's needs. Aminex also believes that the expanding gas market in Dar es Salaam will be more than capable of accepting the additional production.
The Nyuni Licence is held as an exploration area under the second extension of the PSA with a further work programme commitment. Previously acquired seismic has now been reprocessed and reinterpreted, then integrated with the new seismic acquired over Songo-Songo Island. The new mapping, which has been independently assessed, has considerably upgraded the sizes of the main prospects
Contingent 視條件而定的 resources at Kiliwani North and prospective resources on the exploration prospects have been evaluated by Isis Petroleum Consultants Pty. Ltd. ("Isis") and their conclusions are tabulated below. It should be noted that Isis is attributing some "contingent" as well as "prospective" resources to the Nyuni prospects which lie close to Nyuni Island. This results from their review of the Nyuni-1 well drilled by Aminex and partners at Nyuni Island in 2003/4. Nyuni-1 recorded several gas-bearing intervals in Aptian/Albian sands but operational difficulties at the time meant that these were never tested and the well was subsequently suspended, although not plugged and abandoned in case re-entry was ever required. Isis therefore attributes the same resource category to these Nyuni-1 reservoirs as to the successfully-tested discovery at Kiliwani North.
Unexplored prospects at Fanjove Island, Songo-Songo South and elsewhere on the licence have not yet been fully evaluated. However Aminex initially concludes that the prospect in and around Nyuni Island offer the best potential for further exploration drilling.
In September 2009, Aminex reached an agreement with East Africa Exploration Limited (EAX) under which EAX assigned its 10% interest in the Nyuni PSA,
TANZANIA - West Songo-Songo
The PSA area is located between the Songo-Songo Gas Field, eastern boundaries is contiguous 鄰接 with the Nyuni PSA. In terms of the petroleum system, lies within the Rufiji Basin, a proven producing trend containing the Songo-Songo Gas Field, and the Kiliwani North discovery. The operator Key Petroleum Ltd. ("Key") has completed an interpretation of all existing seismic on the block and identified a number of structural prospects and leads at Lower Cretaceous Neocomian level where the reservoir target would be the Neocomian sandstones, the main producing reservoir at the Songo-Songo Field and Kiliwani North. Additional potential involving stratigraphic trapping has been identified at higher levels in the Cretaceous and Tertiary.
In order to evaluate further the structural and stratigraphic definition of the existing prospects and leads, Key plans to reprocess the existing seismic over these areas. Within the Initial Exploration Period of the PSA there is an obligation to drill one firm well in the first three years.
Aminex holds a 50% interest in the licence.
EGYPT
Gulf of Suez - West Esh el Mellaha-2 PSC
The West Esh el Mellaha-2 (WEEM-2) Licence is a large onshore block in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, geologically positioned on the southwest margins of the Gulf of Suez Basin, a prolific oil producing basin with multiple reservoirs, including several giant fields.
In 2009, the third obligation well for the Initial Exploration Period was drilled on the South Malak Prospect. South Malak-1 was spudded in August 2009 and was drilled to a total depth of 11,200 feet, terminating in Basement rocks. Strong gas shows were recorded while drilling over a 900 foot interval from 10,300ft to target depth. Oil shows were also recorded in an Eocene Dolomite sequence and in sandstones of the Upper Cretaceous Matulla Formation. An open-hole test in the section of granite 花崗岩 wash overlying basement and the fractured basement was not successful, most probably due to contamination from the casing cementing operation. High quality oil (38°API gravity) was recovered from the Matulla Sandstone after hydraulic fracturing and placing the well on artificial lift with a submersible pump. Minor amounts of similar quality oil were also recovered from the Eocene Dolomite interval, although hydraulic 水壓的 fracturing 斷裂 was not successful. At year end the testing operation continued on the Matulla interval and the well is currently producing limited quantities of oil.
WEEM-2 lies in an oil-prone but highly faulted 缺陷 area. The very encouraging shows from South Malak-1, which did not even intersect the Nubian sandstones, being the best producing formation in the area, has provided the joint venture with sufficient encouragement to extend the licence into a second period ending September 2012 and commit to drill two further exploration wells.
In the case of establishing commercial production, WEEM-2 is located within a few kilometres of the Esh el Mellaha oil production facilities with an export pipeline to the coast.
Aminex has a 10% interest in the PSC with a free carry continuing until first production under a Development Lease.
USA
Shoats Creek Field, Louisiana
a drilling programme is now under way with one successful well (Olympia Minerals-1 or "OM-1") which has been drilled to a total vertical depth of 9,508 feet and encountered multiple zones in the Cockfield sands, very closely matching the targets identified from interpretation of the 3D seismic. The drilling rig has now been demobilised and a testing unit has been brought in to test several Cockfield sands in the shallower area (less than 10,000 feet).
At the end of March 2010, Aminex formally granted an option, in return for a non-refundable fee of $100,000, to Ninox Pty. Petroleum Ltd., a privately-owned company, giving it a 90 day option to enter into a farm-in agreement which would involve Ninox funding the cost of either 2 deep wells and 1 shallow or alternatively 1 deep well and 4 shallow wells in order to earn a 50% interest in the property. Discussions are also in progress to unitise part of Aminex's deep rights at Shoats Creek with the deep rights held by a neighbouring company. This would entail drilling a joint exploration well to test the deep (below 10,000 feet) Wilcox sands recognised on 3D seismic and actually encountered in a well drilled on the property more than 20 years ago by a previous operator. The precise timing and location of the next well in the drilling programme may depend on the results of these negotiations.
Aminex has a 100% working interest in this property which covers approximately 1,500 acres. Existing production is light crude oil which sells at a premium to market due its high quality and proximity to market. Oil and gas pipelines cross this property.
Alta Loma Field, Texas
Producing from Upper Andrau sands since 2008, production from which has now declined 墮落. Above the Upper Andrau lies a thick section of gas logged when the well was drilled in a formation known as the "S" Sand. This formation offers the possibility of much more significant production than is yielded by the Upper Andrau but commingling 混合 or dual completion is considered risky. However, no firm timetable has yet been fixed for plugging off the Upper Andrau and to carry out a completion in the "S" Sand. Sunny Ernst-3 is now likely to be drilled in the second half of 2010, probably during the summer.
Sunny Ernst-1 has been plugged and abandoned.
Aminex has a 37.5% working interest and El Paso is operator.
Somerset Field, Texas
Production continues from several hundred stripper wells and total production averages 95 bbls/oil per day. Somerset produces oil of a lower quality than WTI and suffers a discount. Annual production decline is negligible.
Aminex has a 100% working interest and is field operator.
South Weslaco, Texas
South Weslaco produces gas and Aminex has participated in several wells. Continuous drilling is required in order to hold additional prospects but the net result has been that revenues have tended to be ploughed back into relatively short life wells. Given a weaker overall market for gas, Aminex is not currently planning to participate in any further drilling on South Weslaco but will continue to enjoy production from the existing wells it has drilled.
Aminex has a 25% interest in this property which is operated by Kaler Energy.
US Reserves summary
NORTH KOREA
the Korea Oil Industry Ministry together with a state oil company, Korea Oil Exploration Company, now has the authority to negotiate.
Aminex is currently negotiating a new and updated PSC with both these bodies for an offshore area of approximately 58,000 square kilometres and known as The East Korea Bay Basin (EKBB), covering both shallow and deep water. If negotiations are successfully completed, it is anticipated that this PSC will be signed in the first half of 2010. Aminex believes that the EKBB is very prospective for oil and gas.
To assist with this project Aminex has introduced a new foreign partner, Singapore-based Chosun Energy Pte Ltd (“Chosun”), which will provide finance for the initial stages and a regional base in Singapore. Chosun is acquiring 50% of our special purpose vehicle Korex Ltd. in return for a consideration of $500,000 and in addition will cover the first $500,000 of licence costs. We are pleased to welcome Chosun and believe its experienced management team will make a strong contribution to this project going forward.
STRATEGY AND PROSPECTS
Although not a commercial discovery, we are very encouraged by the results of the Likonde-1 well in the Ruvuma Basin and the new oil play which it potentially could open up in southern Tanzania.
At Nyuni in Tanzania we are now making progress with the Kiliwani North discovery as well as identifying much more clearly the potential of the larger, outlying prospects which we intend to drill within a year from now.
After much groundwork we have finally commenced drilling at Shoats Creek in the USA and expect this project, based on new 3D seismic, will continue to gather momentum. On the Korean peninsula we are now looking to move ahead and expect progress in the current year.
We have several wells to drill in 2010 and have a busy year ahead. The current year promises to be very active with potential upside for the Aminex group.
