Final Results

Borders & Southern Petroleum plc 15 November 2005 Borders & Southern Petroleum plc ('Borders & Southern' or 'the Company') Maiden preliminary results Borders & Southern Petroleum plc (AIM: BOR), the international oil and gas exploration and production business, announces preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2005. Highlights include: • AIM flotation and £10 million (gross) placing to fund initial work programme in Falkland Islands and screen new projects • exploration licences awarded for nearly 20,000 sq km in the South Falkland Basin • 2D seismic acquired in June 2005 to define structures and assess prospectivity - completed ahead of schedule, accelerating work programme • 2D seismic interpretation underway and full report expected in early 2006 • initial findings reveal more structures than originally anticipated • strong balance sheet and cash reserves Commenting on the results, Howard Obee, chief executive said: 'This has been an exciting period for Borders & Southern. Following an initial evaluation of the Falklands basin and the granting of our acreage, we raised £10 million pounds and floated on AIM, giving us the funds to pursue our activities in the Falklands and to screen new projects. We completed the acquisition of 2D seismic data ahead of schedule. Initial findings are very exciting and we expect to provide a further update in the coming months.' For further information: Howard Obee Simon Hudson, Richard Sunderland, Chief Executive Clemmie Carr Borders & Southern Petroleum plc Tavistock Communications Tel: 020 7661 9348 Tel: 020 7920 3150 Borders & Southern Petroleum plc Chairman's Statement Borders & Southern Petroleum has experienced an exciting 12 months. The Company has made significant advances from its incorporation in June 2004, ending the financial year with the completion of its first operated seismic campaign. During this period we have put in place a strong Board of Directors with a good blend of commercial and technical oil industry experience. In October 2004 the Company was awarded its first exploration acreage, an area of nearly 20,000 sq km in the South Falkland Basin. In particular, we wanted to test the fold belt trend located some 150 km to the south of the Falkland Islands. This east-west oriented belt contains numerous large simple structures that could form effective traps for hydrocarbons. The 2D seismic acquired in June 2005 was focused on defining these structures and assessing their prospectivity. In May 2005 the Company listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange and raised £10 million (gross). This was in order to fund its initial work programme in the Falkland Islands and the screening of new projects. Within the next couple of months we anticipate that the interpretation of the Falkland Islands 2D seismic will be completed, giving us a better understanding of the hydrocarbon potential of the basin and in particular the fold belt. An operational update will be released before the end of the year together with an outline of our future work programme. We currently have a strong balance sheet with enough cash reserves to cover further seismic acquisitions in the Falkland Islands should it be needed. Over the next 12 months we will also be looking to develop our exploration portfolio by adding new projects in countries and basins that meet our strategy and investment criteria. Borders & Southern Petroleum has made great progress over the last 12 months and we look forward to further developments in the coming year. Harry Dobson Non-Executive Chairman 14 November 2005 Borders & Southern Petroleum plc Operational Review Licence award In June 2004, having screened the legacy offshore seismic database in the Falkland Islands, we applied for exploration acreage in the South Falkland Basin, and were subsequently awarded five production licences with an effective date of 1 November 2004. The licences cover an area of 19,598 sq km and occur in water depths of between 200 to 3,000 metres. Very little seismic data had previously been acquired in this area, but the few lines that did exist showed evidence of a fold belt trend, oriented east-west, extending from Argentina in the west into international waters in the east. Globally, many fold belts form prolific hydrocarbon provinces and our aim was to investigate the potential of this one. There have been no wells drilled in the South Falkland Basin to date. The Production Licences were awarded with a work programme obligation that comprised seismic reprocessing and play fairway mapping in the first twelve months, the acquisition of 2,500 km of 2D seismic within three years, and the drilling of one well in years four to six. Optional exit points were placed after twelve months and three years, to mitigate the situation where the prospectivity could not be confirmed. Regional evaluation The evaluation of the basin commenced in November 2004 with regional play fairway mapping and petroleum system analysis, utilising all the existing seismic and well data. This regional analysis was undertaken to provide insight into our own acreage, particularly the distribution of source rocks, reservoirs and seals. The evaluation included the Magallanes and Malvinas Basins located to the west of the Falkland Islands, the Falkland Plateau Basin to the east, and the Bredasdorp Basin off the south coast of South Africa. The completed regional study demonstrated that the geology is similar across all these basins and that hydrocarbon discoveries have been made in all the basins that have been tested by exploration wells. This provides great encouragement to our efforts in the untested South Falkland Basin. Seismic acquisition To further assess the potential of our acreage Geophysical Services Incorporated (GSI) were contracted to acquire new 2D seismic data. Specifically, our objective was to define and map structural closures and assess their prospectivity. The completion of the seismic survey in June 2005 has significantly accelerated our work programme. After only seven months of the initial three year licence term, we had completed our 2D seismic obligation. A total of 2,862 km of new data was acquired, which exceeded our minimum work programme obligation of 2,500 km. The survey, acquired by the GSI Admiral vessel, was conducted without major health, safety or environmental incidents. Seismic interpretation The 2D seismic data has recently been processed by GSI in Calgary and the interpretation is underway. An operational update will be given once the interpretation has been completed. However, a preliminary review of the high quality seismic data has confirmed the presence of a major fold and thrust belt with its associated foreland basin within the Company's acreage. These seismic lines reveal considerably more structures than originally anticipated and include numerous large anticlines, tilted fault blocks and sub-thrust structures capable of trapping significant volume of hydrocarbons. The data also reveals seismic amplitude anomalies associated with many of the structures. Building the portfolio The Company's strategy is to build a portfolio of exploration acreage in different basins and countries. We are targeting large acreage positions that have the potential to contain multiple high value prospects and where the geological risks can be constrained by rigorous technical work. Industry outlook Whilst there may be some softening over the next 12 months, oil prices are anticipated to remain at relatively high levels. This is likely to cause an increase in exploration activity throughout the industry, creating increased demand for seismic vessels and drilling rigs, which will be reflected in higher prices for these services. Additionally, greater competition for acreage is likely to occur. We will take time to build the portfolio, ensuring any new project meets our stringent investment criteria, and is of similar high quality to the South Falkland Basin acreage. Howard Obee Chief Executive Borders & Southern Petroleum plc PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT FROM 8 JUNE 2004 TO 30 JUNE 2005 Notes £ Administrative expenses (204,785) ----------- Operating loss (204,785) Interest receivable 63,539 ----------- Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (141,246) Taxation - Loss retained for the period (141,246) ----------- Loss per share - basic and diluted 2 (0.26p) =========== All amounts above amounts are in respect of continuing activities. All recognised gains and losses in the current period are included in the profit and loss account. Borders & Southern Petroleum plc BALANCE SHEET AT 30 JUNE 2005 £ £ Fixed asssets Intangible Assets 1,497,668 Tangible assets 14,965 ----------- 1,512,633 ----------- Current assets Debtors 142,790 Cash at bank and demand deposits 10,416,100 ----------- 10,558,890 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (331,546) Net current assets 10,227,344 ----------- Total assets less current liabilites 11,739,977 Provision for liabilities and charges (42,955) ----------- Net assets 11,697,022 =========== Capital and reserves Called up share capital 1,276,875 Share premium account 10,561,393 Profit and loss account (deficit) (141,246) ----------- equity shareholders' funds 11,697,022 =========== Borders & Southern Petroleum plc CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE PERIOD FROM 8 JUNE 2004 TO 30 JUNE 2005 £ £ Net cash outflow from operating activities (140,147) Return on investments and servicing of finance 63,539 Interest received Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of tangible fixed assets (18,685) Exploration and evaluation expenditure (1,326,875) ----------- (1,345,560) ----------- Cash inflow before use of liquid resources and financing (1,422,168) Management of liquid resources Deposit on demand (10,000,000) Financing Share capital issued, net of issue costs 11,838,268 ----------- Increase in cash 416,100 =========== Borders & Southern Petroleum plc NOTES 1. Basis of preparation and going concern The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention and in accordance with the applicable accounting standards and the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Accounting for Oil and Gas Exploration, Development, Production and Decommissioning Activities'. The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. The Company's ability to continue as a going concern is contingent upon its ability to raise sufficient funds to cover future exploration and development commitments. 2. Earnings/(Loss) per share The calculation of the basic earnings per share is based on the loss attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the period. The loss for the financial period is £141,246 and the average number of shares in issue for the year was 55,413,437. The Company has no outstanding warrants or options at the balance sheet date and accordingly there are no potentially dilutive shares in issue at the period end. 3. Net cash outflow from operating activities £ Operating loss (204,785) Depreciation 3,720 Increase in debtors (142,790) Increase in creditors 203,708 --------- Net cash outflow from operating activities (140,147) 4. Analysis of changes in net funds At Cash At 8 June flows 30 June 2004 2005 £ £ £ Cash at bank - 416,100 416,100 ------------------------------------ - 416,100 416,100 Short term deposit - 10,000,000 10,000,000 ------------------------------------ Total - 10,416,100 10,416,100 ==================================== 5. FINANCIAL INFORMATION This preliminary statement which does not comprise statutory accounts is extracted from the audited accounts of the Company. The Company's accounts for the period ended 30 June 2005 have been reported on by the auditors. The report of the auditors was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. 6. AVAILABILITY OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The Financial Statements for the period to 30 June 2005 are being posted to shareholders and copies are available from the Company's registered office at 3 Copthall Avenue, London EC2R 7BH and are available on the Company's web site at www.bordersandsouthern.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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