Bahamas Petroleum Company to continue Perseverance #1 drilling operations
(BPC ) said it has been cleared to continue drilling operations at its Perseverance #1 exploration well in the Bahamas following a successful court hearing.
The Caribbean and Atlantic margin focused oil and gas firm noted a recent court hearing whereby Justice Petra Hanna-Weekes refused to grant any orders that would affect the Company’s current operations meaning that operations at the site can proceed as normal.
Simon Potter, Chief Executive Officer of Bahamas Petroleum Company described the decision as “a very positive outcome for the completion of the Perseverance #1 well."
Drilling operations, which have been underway since 20 December 2020, have the well on track to provide results within the 45 - 60 days period BPC has ‘consistently advised.’
He added, “It is thus clear now that the applicants have failed in their last-minute attempt to interrupt the drilling of Perseverance #1 and the Government's legitimate assessment of hydrocarbon resource potential in its southern seas.”
On 22 January 2021, the Company highlighted that there will be a further hearing to determine the Government's request for security for costs against the applicants.
In mid-February 2021 or March, there will be a hearing in relation to the substantive judicial review with a ruling on the substantive application to follow at some point thereafter.
Whilst it is not unusual for exploration permits to undergo judicial reviews, BPC has remained confident that the case brought against the Government of The Bahamas, in respect of the Environmental Authorisation to BPC, would not be upheld. Hence, Shares in Bahamas Petroleum Company have increased by 64% since the beginning of April 2020 to open 6.82% higher this morning at 2.35p following confirmation the drilling will continue.
Reasons to Follow BPC
BPC is becoming a multi-asset ‘full cycle’ oil and gas company, with a range of exploration, appraisal, development and production assets and licences, located offshore in the waters of The Bahamas and Uruguay, and onshore in Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname.
Perseverance #1 drilling is expected to take between 45-60 days to complete and is targeting recoverable P50 prospective oil resources of 0.77bn barrels, with an upside of 1.44bn barrels.
Acquisitive Growth
As a result of its merger with Columbus, BPC has been granted access to high-impact exploration wells in The Bahamas, five producing fields, two appraisal / development projects Trinidad, and an expansive frontier exploration acreage offshore Uruguay and Suriname.
BPC believes the merger will allow both groups to provide something different from within that business cycle to the combined entity and that together the asset base is ‘more robust, has broader interests and is, as a consequence, more financeable and thus more valuable.’
“With the completion of the merger of BPC and Columbus, we today become a single company, in pursuit of a single-minded vision: the creation of a revenue generating, full-cycle, Atlantic margin exploration and production business,” said Potter in August.
He added, “Going forward, BPC is an exploration and production business, intent on generating reliable, growing production cash flows capable of supporting exploration activities, and which together will create significant value for all stakeholders.”
Follow News & Updates from here:
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest
The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.