CALGARY, Aug. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - During the second
quarter of 2014, PETROMAROC CORPORATION PLC (TSXV: PMA) (the
Company or PetroMaroc) completed drilling of its second exploration
well, Kamar-1, which encountered two prospective natural gas zones
in the onshore operated Sidi Moktar licence in the Essaouira Basin,
Morocco.
"Our first two exploration wells - Koba-1,
drilled in late 2013, and Kamar-1, completed in May 2014 - captured extensive geological and
petrophysical information on the Kechoula structure. They helped
define the presence of natural gas in the targeted Lower Liassic
formation and the Lower Dogger/Upper Liassic formations. These
promising results have set the foundation for the planning and
evaluation we currently have underway to continue our appraisal
work, and we are now sharpening our focus in Morocco on the Sidi Moktar licence where we
hold a 50 percent operated interest. In order to capture the
opportunity of our Sidi Moktar exploration, we have initiated
commercial and regulatory discussions to transfer our minority
interests in the Tarfaya onshore licence and the Sidi Moussa
offshore licence to our partners. Our brightest geological
opportunities and largest economic interests are in Sidi Moktar,
and that's where we will concentrate our geological and financial
resources in Morocco," said
Thomas Feuchtwanger, PetroMaroc's
Chief Executive Officer.
"We have a vision to become the leading
hydrocarbon producer in Morocco,
which has an attractive and unfulfilled market for new domestic
energy supplies. We are applying disciplined, well-proven
technologies and risk-management practices to create long-term
value from natural gas and oil for our shareholders and the people
of Morocco," Feuchtwanger
said.
PetroMaroc ended the second quarter with cash of
US$6.6 million and is now pursuing a
series of financing initiatives with investors to raise new capital
to fund current operational commitments and to fund additional
evaluation of the Company's Sidi Moktar licence.
PetroMaroc today filed its financial statements
and management's discussion and analysis for the quarter ended
June 30, 2014. These documents are
available on the PetroMaroc website at www.petromaroc.co or under
the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Highlights
Financial:
- Cash position as at June 30,
2014, of US$6.6 million
(US$3.2 million as at March 31, 2014).
- Working capital surplus as at June 30,
2014, of US$1.3 million
(US$2.8 million working capital
deficit as at March 31, 2014).
- Intends to obtain further near-term capital before the end of
2014 in order to meet both current and future operational
commitments.
Operations Summary:
- Sidi Moktar onshore:
-
- The Kamar-1 well was drilled to a final total depth of 2,790
metres and intersected two distinct gas-bearing intervals. One is
in the targeted Lower Liassic natural gas zone and has a gross
interval of 110 metres as defined by petrophysical, wireline
logs. The other is defined by the presence of significant natural
gas volumes in the drilling mud within the Lower Dogger/Upper
Liassic zone, which occurs over a gross interval of approximately
100 metres.
- Following the Kamar-1 well, the Company outlined plans to
appraise the potential of the Sidi Moktar licence. These
initiatives, highlighted in PetroMaroc's recent corporate investor
presentation, are subject to successful financing, and may
include:
-
- Testing and evaluating the existing wells and data
- Acquiring 3D seismic over the Kechoula structure
- Drilling two or three additional delineation and appraisal
wells on the Kechoula structure
- Sidi Moussa offshore:
-
- PetroMaroc has been advised that the operator, Genel Energy plc
(Genel), spudded the Nour-1 exploration well on July 30, 2014. The well, located approximately 60
kilometres off the west coast of Morocco in approximately 990 metres of water,
is anticipated to take between 60 and 90 days to complete
operations.
- Prior to reaching the primary target Middle Jurassic platform
carbonate unit, and secondary target Upper Jurassic reefal
carbonates, the Company entered formal discussions with the
operator and partners to transfer its 1.5% working interest in the
Sidi Moussa licence.
- Tarfaya onshore:
-
- During the quarter, PetroMaroc successfully transferred its
22.5% working interest to the operator of this licence. PetroMaroc
will not be liable for the $1.5
million penalty previously accrued, which followed the
operator's decision not to drill one exploration commitment well by
April 2014. Completion of this
transaction is subject to the final approval by the Ministry of
Energy.
About PetroMaroc
PetroMaroc is an independent oil and gas company focused on its
significant land position in Morocco. The Company has a 50 percent operated
interest in the Sidi Moktar licence area covering 2,683 square
kilometres and is working closely with Morocco's National Office of Hydrocarbons and
Mines (ONHYM) as a committed long-term partner to unlock the
hydrocarbon potential of the region. Morocco offers a politically stable
environment to work within and has favourable fiscal terms to
energy producers. PetroMaroc is a public company listed on the TSX
Venture Exchange under the symbol "PMA".
Additional information about the Company can be
found at www.petromaroc.co and under the Company's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com.
Special Note Regarding Forward Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements relate to future events or the Company's
future performance. All statements other than statements of
historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of
words such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan",
"anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "project",
"potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "continue" or
the negative of these terms or other similar terms. Forward-looking
statements in this press release include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding the completion of evaluations and processing
and interpretation of data, the performance characteristics of the
Company's oil and gas properties, capital expenditure programmes,
supply and demand for oil, gas and commodities, prices for oil and
gas, drilling plans, and realization of the anticipated benefits of
acquisitions.
Forward-looking statements are only predictions.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or
events to differ materially from those anticipated in such
forward-looking statements. Some of the risks and other factors
which could cause results to differ materially from those expressed
in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release
include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in
Canada, the Kingdom of
Morocco and globally; industry
conditions, including fluctuations in the price of oil and gas,
governmental regulation of the oil and gas industry, including
environmental regulation; fluctuation in foreign exchange or
interest rates; risks inherent in oil and gas operations; political
risk, including geological, technical, drilling and processing
problems; unanticipated operating events which could cause
commencement of drilling and production to be delayed; the need to
obtain consents and approvals from industry partners, regulatory
authorities and other third-parties; stock market volatility and
market valuations; competition for, among other things, capital,
acquisitions of reserves, undeveloped land and skilled personnel;
incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions or resource
estimates; any future inability to obtain additional funding, when
required, on acceptable terms or at all; credit risk; changes in
legislation; any unanticipated disputes or deficiencies related to
title matters; dependence on management and key personnel; and
risks associated with operating in and being part of a joint
venture.
Although the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release are based upon factors and
assumptions which management of the Company believes to be
reasonable, the Company cannot assure that actual results will be
consistent with its expectations and assumptions. Undue reliance
should not be placed on the forward-looking statements contained in
this news release as there can be no assurance that the plans,
intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur.
These statements speak only as of the date of this press release,
and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements except as expressly
required by applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies
of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release does not constitute an
offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities
of PetroMaroc in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation
or sale would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein have
not been and will not be registered under the United States
Securities Act of 1933 (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state
securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as
defined in the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the
U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, or an
exemption from such registration is available.
SOURCE PetroMaroc Corporation plc