Interim Report and Accounts for the six months ended 31 January 2010
Total Voting Rights
Egdon Resources notifies that the Company's issued share capital comprises 91,475,774 ordinary shares of 10p each. There are no ordinary shares held in Treasury. Therefore the total number of voting rights in Egdon Resources plc is 91,475,774.The above figure of 91,475,774 may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
Operational Update
Ahead of the Company’s interim results, which will be announced on Thursday 29 April, the Directors of Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) provide an update on drilling and testing operations at its Keddington, Dukes Wood and Kirklington operations in the East Midlands and confirm the extension of the St. Laurent Permit in France.Keddington Drilling OperationsOn 1 April 2010, operations began on the Keddington-3 sidetrack at the Keddington Oil Field site in licence PEDL005(Remainder). The Keddington-3 well was planned as a re-entry and horizontal sidetrack from the Keddington 2y “donor” well which was drilled by former licensee Roc Oil in 2000. Following plugging-back of the existing well, drilling of the sidetrack commenced at 20.00 hours on 6 April from a kick-off depth of 2250 metres. The well was drilled directionally and reached a total depth of 2728 metres on 15 April 2010. Approximately 126 metres of sandstone was encountered in the upper part of the well including 117 metres of Unit 1 sandstone which had elevated mud gas readings indicating the presence of oil. Elevated gas readings of 26% were encountered in sandstone at 2715 metres measured depth which are interpreted as the gas bearing Namurian sequence which is developed below the oil productive zones at the Keddington Field. To isolate this gas sand and to penetrate further oil productive sandstone it was decided to set a cement plug below the penetrated Unit 1 sandstone interval and to drill a further sidetrack, Keddington-3z, from a depth of 2563 metres. The Keddington-3z sidetrack was drilled to a total depth of 2854 metres and encountered a further 109 metres of Unit 1 sandstone with elevated mud gas levels.A slotted liner was run in the well which has now been completed for pumped production and will be placed on production using the existing surface facilities as soon as the site is reinstated. Production from the adjacent Keddington-1z well was suspended for safety reasons during the drilling and will also be restarted. It is anticipated that production from both wells will commence in approximately 3 weeks.The commencement of drilling operations at Keddington triggered the payment of £50,000 from Terrain as the final part of the consideration for the acquisition of its interest in the licence. Egdon holds a 75% interest in PEDL005(remainder) with partners Terrain Energy Limited (15%) and Alba Resources Limited (10%).Dukes Wood Production TestAs previously reported the Dukes Wood-1 well, drilled in licence PEDL118 during January 2010, was completed for production from a 5 metre perforated interval in the Ashover Grit Unit 5 interval. Production operations began at the Dukes Wood-1 well on 12 March 2010. Up until 9 April the well had produced a total of 537 barrels of oil at an average daily rate of approximately 20 bopd. As expected the water production was high with the associated water cut representing 85% of the average daily production of 130 barrels of fluid indicating good reservoir properties.The test of the Ashover Grit Unit 5 will be completed during May once sufficient production data has been gathered for future planning. Four other intervals of interest were identified in the well, the Sub-Alton Crawshaw, Loxley Edge Rock, Ashover Grit Unit 4 and Wingfield Flags. The total potential net oil pay across all formations is over 26 metres.Egdon has consent for an Extended Well Test of up to six months duration and it is intended to perforate and test additional intervals over the coming months to determine the commerciality of the well and to assist with planning further wells on the field.Production of the Kirklington-3z wellDrilling operations at the Kirklington Oil Field in PEDL203 were completed on 10 February 2010. The Kirklington-3 well encountered the target Chatsworth Grit sandstone deeper than predicted and below the interpreted field oil-water contact. As such the well was cemented back to allow the drilling of a sub-vertical sidetrack (Kirklington-3z) close to the original Kirklington-2 producer. Kirklington-3z was drilled to a total depth of 698 metres and encountered the Chatsworth Grit interval some 3.5 metres deeper and 4 metres thinner compared to Kirklington-2. An open-hole completion was run in Kirklington-3z and the well was completed for pumped production of the Chatsworth Grit.Since restoring the well to production on 13 March 2010 it has produced a total of 681 barrels of oil at an average daily rate of 24 bopd. Water cut during this period from the field was around 85%. This is nearly double the rate that was being achieved from the Kirklington-2 well just prior to drilling of the sidetrack. It is intended to continue to produce the well and to look to optimise production operations over the coming months.Egdon holds a 65% interest in PEDL203 and PEDL118 with partners Terrain Energy Limited (25%) and Angus Energy Limited (10%).Award of St. Laurent Permit ExtensionEgdon has also been advised that its request for a five year extension to the St. Laurent Permit in SW France has now been formally granted by the French authorities. The licence will now expire on 21st August 2013. Egdon’s wholly owned subsidiary Egdon Resources (New Ventures) Limited is the operator and holds a 33.434% interest in the permit. St. Laurent contains the Grenade heavy oil discovery and the Audignon Prospect; a multi-TCF potential Triassic sandstone sub-salt gas prospect which Egdon are looking to farm-out. The other permit holders are Sterling Resources UK Limited (33.434%), Nautical Petroleum plc (22%) and Malta Oil and Gas Pty Ltd (11.14%).Commenting on these developments Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon said;
“We are very encouraged by the results of the Keddington drilling operations, where we have encountered a significant section of sandstone in an un-drained area of the field. We look forward to the start of production from this new horizontal section over the next few weeks which has the potential to significantly increase field production and revenues. The presence of gas in the underlying Namurian sequence is something Egdon will need to evaluate further to determine if there is potential for commercial development of this resource in the future.We are also encouraged by the production performance of the Kirklington-3z well given the initial disappointment of the drilling results from this well. We will look to optimise production over the coming months to realise a return on our investment in the Kirklington Oil Field.Although it is early days in the testing of Dukes Wood-1 we have confirmed the presence of moveable oil, and the reservoir deliverability has exceeded our expectations from the Ashover Grit Unit 5. We will now look to perforate and test some of the additional pay zones identified to determine the commerciality of Dukes Wood-1 and to assist with planning further wells on the field. A key to developing Eakring-Dukes Wood will be to find a cost-effective way of handling the associated water production.The formal award of the five year extension to St Laurent provides us with the time required to secure a farminee for the high potential Audignon gas prospect and to progress our plans for the Grenade heavy oil discovery.“
Commencement of Keddington-3 Drilling Operations
The Directors of Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) are pleased to report the start of drilling operations at the Keddington oil field in Lincolnshire Licence PEDL005(Remainder).Egdon holds a 75% interest in and is operator of the PEDL005(Remainder) licence. The joint venture partners are Terrain Energy Limited (“Terrain”), which holds a 15% interest and Alba Resources Limited (“Alba”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nautical Petroleum plc (AIM: NPE), which holds a 10% interest.The Keddington-3 well will be drilled as a re-entry and horizontal sidetrack from the Keddington-2y “donor” well which was drilled by Roc Oil in 2000. The well has been contributing 25-30 bopd to field production since being recompleted for pumped production by Egdon in early 2009. However, well productivity has been restricted since the well was drilled, by the presence of a drilling assembly stuck in the open hole just below the existing casing and perforations. It is intended to significantly increase field production and hence profitability by drilling the Keddington-3 sidetrack which is planned to penetrate approximately 500 metres of new horizontal section largely in the oil productive Unit 1 Sandstone.The British Drilling and Freezing Limited BDF28 drilling unit began mobilising to site on 29th March and operations began on Thursday 1st April. The plugging-back of the existing well has now been completed and the drilling of the sidetrack commenced at 20.00 hours on 6th April from a kick-off depth of 2250 metres. The well is intended to be drilled directionally to a total measured depth of 2850 metres. Drilling and completion operations are expected to last a total of around three weeks.The well is expected to be completed for pumped production using the existing surface production facilities shortly after the rig is released from site.Production from the adjacent Keddington-1z well has been suspended for safety reasons during the drilling operations and will resume once the rig has been demobilised from site.The commencement of drilling operations at Keddington also triggers a payment of £50,000 from Terrain as the final part of the consideration for the acquisition of its interest in the licence.Further announcements will be made as operations progress.
Results of General Meeting
The Company is pleased to report that at the Company's General Meeting held earlier today, all resolutions were duly passed.
Extraordinary General Meeting Voting Results and Proxy Appointments
At the Egdon Resources plc extraordinary general meeting held on Tuesday 6th April 2010 the following resolutions were proposed by the Chairman and passed by shareholders on a show of hands. Proxies were received by the Company from shareholders prior to the meeting as set out against the resolutions.ORDINARY RESOLUTIONSProxies For (of votes cast)Proxies Against (of votes cast)Total proxy votes cast as % of shares in issue1. To authorise and approve the Placing and the Acquisition.99.86%0.14%27.21%2. To approve the allotment of the Consideration Shares and the Placing Shares.100.00%nil%27.21%3. To approve the allotment of shares otherwise than pursuant to the Acquisition and the Placing.100.00%nil%27.21%SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS4. To approve the dis-application of pre-emption rights in relation to the allotment of the Placing Shares.100.00%nil%27.20%5. To approve the dis-application of pre-emption rights in relation to the allotment of shares otherwise than pursuant to the Placing.100.00%nil%27.20%Note to the disclosureAny proxy appointments which gave discretion to the proxy have been included in the “For” total.
Holdings in Company
The Company has been advised that following the addition of a new discretionary mandate over a portfolio which contains Egdon Resources plc shares, on 31 March 2010, that Hargreave Hale Limited now has interests in 11,389,871 shares in Egdon Resources plc representing 15.0908% of the issued share capital.
Holdings in Company
The Company was notified on 25 March 2010 that, following a disposal on 24 March 2010, Hargreave Hale Limited now holds 11,239,871 Ordinary Shares (with an equivalent amount of voting rights) which represents approximately 14.8920 per cent. of the issued Ordinary Share voting capital of the Company.7,885,000 of the Ordinary Shares held by Hargreave Hale Ltd. are held for unit trusts operated by Malborough Fund Managers Ltd. for whom Hargreave Hale Ltd. manages the portfolio of investments on a discretionary basis.
Agreement to acquire UK and French assets from EnCore Oil plc, Conditional Placing of Ordinary Shares and Notice of General Meeting
The Directors of Egdon Resources plc are pleased to announce that further to the announcement of 23 September 2009, Egdon and EnCore Oil plc (“EnCore”) have executed a series of agreements in relation to the acquisition of certain of EnCore’s UK and French assets by Egdon (“the Acquisition”). In addition, Egdon has conditionally raised £2 million (before expenses) through a placing of ordinary shares.The AcquisitionThe package of assets to be acquired comprise EnCore’s entire interest in nine onshore UK licences, two onshore French licences and an interest in the Ceres gas field in the Southern North Sea (“the Assets”).The Assets will provide Egdon with near-term cash-flow from the Ceres gas field and an increased interest in the Kirkleatham gas field development later in 2010. They also significantly expand the exploration opportunity base of the Company through the acquisition of the interests in nine onshore UK licences and two onshore French licences that contain numerous oil and gas prospects.The Acquisition is in line with Egdon’s strategy of developing a significant onshore European exploration and production business.As consideration for the Acquisition, Egdon has agreed to issue 39,200,000 Ordinary Shares to EnCore (the “Consideration Shares”), which will represent 29.998 per cent. of the enlarged share capital of the Company following the completion of the Acquisition and the proposed conditional placing (the “Enlarged Share Capital”), and in addition to pay £100,000 in cash. The total consideration values the Assets at £5 million.Other terms of the transaction include:Non-Compete Arrangements — under which, other than by agreement, Egdon will restrict its offshore activities in the UK to operations in the immediate area of Ceres and EnCore will restrict its onshore operations in the UK and France to the area adjoining its Merrow prospect on the eastern margin of the Irish Sea.Lock-in Arrangements — whereby EnCore and certain of its subsidiaries have undertaken not to dispose of any Consideration Shares for a period of 12 months from the date of their admission to trading on AIM (the “Lock-in Period”). EnCore has also agreed to orderly market provisions for a further period of 12 months following the Lock-in Period.Technical Services Agreement — whereby EnCore and Egdon have agreed to provide each other with certain services in connection with each of their businesses and the development of the Assets following the Acquisition.Facility Agreement — under which EnCore has agreed to provide Egdon with access to an unsecured loan facility for the purpose of exploration and development activities of Egdon and its affiliates. The Facility Agreement provides a term loan facility for a period of two years in an aggregate amount equal to £1,500,000 which can be drawn down at the request of Egdon in tranches of £250,000 at an interest rate of 10% or LIBOR plus 5% if greater.Board Representation – whereby EnCore will have a right to appoint a non-executive director to the Egdon Board on completion of the Acquisition, and for a period of five years thereafter, provided that either it holds 15 per cent. or more of the share capital of Egdon or it is the largest shareholder of the Company. It is currently anticipated that the nominee will be Alan Booth, EnCore’s Chief Executive Officer.The transfer to Egdon of EnCore’s UK onshore licences and interest in Ceres is subject to the usual regulatory approvals from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), and approval from the joint venture partners on each licence. In addition French regulatory consent will be required for the sale of the subsidiary holding Encore’s French licences.The PlacingThe Company is pleased to announce the conditional placing of 16,000,000 Ordinary Shares at a price of 12.5 pence per Ordinary Share with institutional and other investors to raise £2 million before costs.The proceeds of the Placing will be used to fund the additional near-term commitments associated with developing the enlarged Egdon business. This will include, but not be limited to, the development of the Kirkleatham gas field, the drilling of wells at Markwells Wood and Havant, and advancing evaluation of all other new and existing opportunities.The Placing also ensures that EnCore’s shareholding in Egdon will be below 30 per cent. at completion.Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Subject to, amongst other things, the resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting being passed by the requisite majorities at the General Meeting, it is expected that admission of the Placing Shares will become effective, and that trading in the Placing Shares will commence on AIM at 8.00 a.m. on 7 April 2010.General Meeting and CircularThe Acquisition and the Placing are conditional upon, amongst other things, Resolutions being passed by the requisite majorities required at a General Meeting of the Company to be held at 10.00 a.m. on 6 April 2010 at the offices of Norton Rose LLP at 3 More London Riverside, London SE1 2AQ.Resolutions will be proposed to approve the Acquisition and the Placing and to authorise the Directors to allot and issue shares in connection with the Placing and the Acquisition.Resolutions will also be proposed to replace the general allotment and disapplication of pre-emption right authorities that were granted at the last AGM of the Company on 3 December 2009, taking into account the Enlarged Share Capital.The full text of the Resolutions is set out in the Notice of General Meeting which will be circulated to shareholders today. A full copy of the circular will also be available for download on the Egdon Resources plc website (www.egdon-resources.com).Share CapitalOn Admission of the Placing Shares, expected on 7 April 2010 the number of shares in issue will total 91,475,774. On completion of the Acquisition and issue of the Consideration Shares the number of shares in issue will total 130,675,774.Commenting on today’s announcement, Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon said:
“The acquisition of these assets from EnCore provides an excellent strategic fit with Egdon’s existing portfolio and will result in an increase in near-term cash flow from the Ceres field, a more material interest in Egdon’s operated Kirkleatham gas development and access to an expanded opportunity base in the UK and France from which to develop and grow our business over the coming years.To take advantage of the opportunities presented by this transaction it is essential that the Company is well capitalised and the additional funds available from the Placing and access to the £1.5 million loan facility provide the Company with additional short-term working capital until our revenue stream increases from the anticipated growth in production.We welcome EnCore as a significant shareholder in the Company and look forward to working with the EnCore team in developing the Assets of the enlarged Egdon.”
Commenting on the transaction, Alan Booth, EnCore’s Chief Executive Officer said:
“Our shareholding in Egdon will place a tangible and transparent valuation on parts of our overlooked asset base. Egdon is an experienced and committed onshore player, and, as a result of this transaction, we believe that Egdon now has the capacity and resources to grow into a significant onshore E&P company. As Egdon’s largest shareholder, EnCore will continue to actively support and assist in Egdon’s ambitious growth plans.”
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