Interim Results

Egdon Resources PLC 30 April 2007 For immediate release 30 April 2007 Egdon Resources Plc ('Egdon' or ' the Company') Interim Results Egdon Resources Plc, the UK-based energy company primarily focused on the hydrocarbon-producing basins of the onshore UK, today announces its Interim Results for the six months ended 31 January 2007. The Company is listed on AIM under the code EDR. Operational Highlights Gas Storage • Planning applications and pipeline construction authorisation application submitted for Isle of Portland Gas Storage Project on 29 March 2007 • Project parameters confirmed as 1,000 million cubic metres capacity facility with injection/ withdrawal rates of 20 million cubic metres per day • Appointment of Penspen Limited as project managers for Front End Engineering Design and tendering of construction contracts • Planned demerger of gas storage business Oil & Gas Exploration • Acquisition of PEDL005 (Remainder) containing the shut-in Keddington Oil Field with work over and resumption of production planned for May 2007 • Anticipated production and/or testing of Kirkleatham, Avington and Waddock Cross during 2007 • Planning approval received for Burton Agnes-1 exploration well, anticipated summer 2007 spud • Further drilling activity anticipated at Avington, Grenade, Holmwood and Tees during 2007 • Currently hold 20 licences in UK and France Financial Highlights • Loss for period of £356,000 (2006: £238,000) • Loss per share for period of 0.58p (2006: 0.45p) • Completion of an institutional placing and exercise of Directors' options during October 2006 raising £11.85 million net of expenses • Debt free with strong cash position (Net funds as at 31 January 2007 £11.8 million; 31 January 2006: £6.3 million) Commenting on the results, Philip Stephens, Chairman of Egdon said: 'I am pleased to report further progress in all areas of the business. A key project milestone has been achieved for the Isle of Portland gas storage project with the submission of the planning applications. With the recent acquisition of the Keddington Oil Field and plans for production at a number of our other discoveries the Company is on track to see first production and revenues during 2007. The planned demerger of the two underlying businesses of the Group will enable shareholders to benefit from the value creation of the oil and gas exploration planned for the coming months, in addition to allowing the storage business to be financially independent, as its requirements for capital increases.' 'We look forward to another exciting period ahead.' For further information please contact: Egdon Resources 01256 702292 Andrew Hindle, Managing Director Mark Abbott, Managing Director Seymour Pierce 020 7107 8000 Jeremy Porter Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000 Ben Willey Alastair Watson Chairman's Statement Overview The Company recorded a consolidated loss of £356,000 for the six months ended 31 January 2007 (2006: £238,000). This equates to a loss per share for the period of 0.58p compared to 0.45p for the six months ended 31 January 2006. The Company had net cash of £11.8 million as at 31 January 2007 (31 January 2006: £6.3 million). During October 2006, your Company raised £11.85 million after expenses through a share placing of 6,315,790 new ordinary shares of 1p each at 190p and exercise of Directors' options, in order to fund the continuing costs of our gas storage project and drilling and development activity within the oil and gas business. Proposed Demerger During the period your Company has continued to develop two distinct businesses: an oil and gas exploration and production business, focused on the UK onshore, and a gas storage business, initially focused on developing a salt cavern gas storage facility in Dorset through the wholly-owned subsidiary Portland Gas Limited. As previously reported your Board proposes to demerge these two distinctive businesses into two separate publicly-traded companies. The demerged companies will provide a focused use of capital and management resources to maximise shareholder value. I am able provide an update on progress with the demerger which will be undertaken via a scheme of arrangement under section 425 of the Companies Act 1985. HMRC has given clearance under section 707 of the Income & Corporation Taxes Act 1988, and sections 138 and 139 of the Taxation of Capital Gains Act 1992. Whilst the taxation aspects of the demerger mechanism meet with approval, HMRC have confirmed a 'return of value' would arise in relation to investors who subscribed under the terms of the Enterprise Investment Scheme in December 2004. To avoid adverse tax consequences for this body of shareholders, it will not be practicable to complete the demerger before 21 December 2007, being the date falling three years after the Company's admission to AIM. The Directors currently intend to complete the demerger as soon as practicable on or after that date. Gas Storage I am pleased to report that a key project milestone has been achieved for the Isle of Portland gas storage project with the submission on 29 March 2007 of a series of planning applications to Dorset County Council for the facilities and a pipeline construction authorisation application to the Department of Trade and Industry. These submissions are the culmination of two years of effort by a dedicated group of advisors and consultants. I am also pleased to report that a new Portland Gas website has been developed to provide further details of the project for shareholders and other interested parties and to support the planning consultation process. The website can be found at www.portland-gas.com. To ensure continued momentum with the project Portland Gas entered into a project management contract with Penspen Limited ('Penspen') during December 2006 to manage the Front End Engineering Design ('FEED') and tendering for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction ('EPC') of the proposed project. The management team also includes representatives from other organisations who have been instrumental in developing the project design over the past 2 year, such as DEEP. Underground Engineering GmbH of Germany. N M Rothschild & Sons, the financial advisors to Portland Gas Limited, have continued to make progress in respect to securing the project financing for the project. This ongoing activity and expenditure is being undertaken so that, assuming planning consent is granted during the second half of 2007, construction could commence in the fourth quarter of 2007, first gas delivered from storage to the UK market in the winter of 2010 with full capacity being achieved during 2013. Oil and Gas Exploration I am also pleased to report continued progress in development of our oil and gas exploration and production business. The acquisition of the Keddington Oil Field in East Midlands will see your Company's first oil production this May following a planned work over of the Keddington-1z well. Further enhancements to the field are planned to maximise revenues from the field over the coming years. The acquisition of Keddington is an indication of our current focus for the oil and gas business which is to develop a sustainable revenue stream. Progress has been made on the development of the exploration successes made by the Company during recent drilling campaigns. Evaluation and feasibility studies have been completed on the Kirkleatham gas discovery with a view to producing first gas during the winter of 2007. New seismic data has been acquired over the Avington oil discovery to define the path of the Avington-3 sidetrack which is anticipated to be drilled during 2007. Studies have also been completed on the Waddock Cross oil accumulation with a view to further production testing. At our French operations a rig has been secured to drill the Grenade-3 well in SW France towards the end of 2007. Grenade-3 and a subsequent contingent horizontal sidetrack will appraise the Grenade heavy oil accumulation. I can also report that planning consent has been granted for the Burton Agnes-1 exploration well in North Yorkshire. This well which will target a prospect with potential for up to 56 billion cubic feet of gas ('Bcf') in place is now expected to be drilled during the summer of 2007. Egdon has a 25% carried interest in this well having farmed-out part of its interest during 2006. We await the outcome of the planning application for the Holmwood-1 exploration well in licence PEDL143 located in Surrey, where Egdon holds a 38.4% interest in a well defined prospect located between known gas and oil accumulations. We also anticipate the drilling of our first offshore well on the Tees Prospect in RWE Dea operated block 42/27. Outlook The outcome of the Isle of Portland planning applications during the second half of 2007 will be a pivotal point in the development of the Company. Meanwhile we are continuing to progress the project in the coming months in anticipation that full planning permission will be granted, so that when that point is reached we can start the construction phase of the project immediately. Our key focus in our oil and gas business is to move into production and revenue as soon as possible. This milestone will be achieved at Keddington shortly, and is expected to be followed by production at Kirkleatham towards the end of the year. The coming year may also see the relinquishment of a number of non-prospective licences or part-licences in the UK as part of the normal exploration cycle. As such your Company will further look to strengthen its licence position through a significant new-ventures focus designed to increase the exploration opportunity base of the Company. By the end of 2007, we hope to have achieved the demerger into the two separate AIM listed companies with two viable businesses independent of each other. We remain optimistic that our goals will be met and we thank you, our shareholders for your continuing support Philip Stephens Chairman 30 April 2007 Operations Review - Gas Storage Portland Gas Limited ('Portland Gas'), a wholly owned subsidiary of Egdon Resources Plc, has reached a key project milestone with submission of planning for the Isle of Portland gas storage project during March 2007. The project is on track, subject to a successful outcome to the planning applications, to become a significant part of the UK's gas infrastructure in the coming years. Portland Gas The distinctive nature of the gas storage business has been recognised and it is proposed to demerge Portland Gas in late 2007. The demerged gas storage business, to be called Portland Gas Plc, will exploit opportunities for UK and international growth in addition to the construction of the Portland gas storage facility. In advance of the demerger, a new board is currently being constructed for Portland Gas Limited ('Portland Gas') with the skills to develop business opportunities currently identified by the team in the gas storage and infrastructure arena. The Isle of Portland Gas Storage Project Portland Gas Storage Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary within the Portland Gas group of companies, is seeking permission to build a natural gas storage facility on Portland. The application also includes the infrastructure necessary to take gas in and out of the National Grid. The project will comprise 14 caverns created within Triassic salt capable of storing 1,000 million cubic metres (35 billion cubic feet) of natural gas. The facility is being designed to enable the injection or withdrawal of gas at a rate of 20 million cubic metres per day (0.7 billion cubic feet per day). At these rates the entire storage volume could be filled or emptied in 50 days and have the capability when fully developed to provide up to 5% of the UK national gas demand on a winter's day. Portland Gas will be constructing a 37 kilometre, 36 inches in diameter, pipeline connecting the Isle of Portland to the National Grid. The caverns will be operated under a constant pressure with gas in the caverns being replaced by brine (saltwater) when it is withdrawn. The brine will be stored east of Dorchester, at Stafford Farm within a deep sandstone saltwater aquifer. An 18 kilometere plastic brine pipeline, 30 inches in diameter, will be laid within the gas pipeline trench for the southerly section of the route to transport the brine to and from the brine storage site. There will be a 9 kilometre section across Weymouth Bay and the remainder of the pipeline route will be trenched below farmland. Directional drilling will be used to place the pipeline deep below the ground under the most environmentally sensitive sites (for example below the Heritage Coast on the north side of Weymouth Bay). There are very few areas in the UK with suitable geology to develop a gas storage facility. The site at Upper Osprey within Portland Port is well positioned to reach a thick salt layer shown to be suitable for the creation of caverns following the drilling of a borehole from the site in 2006. The site is brownfield and not overlooked by any residential property on the Isle of Portland. N M Rothschild & Sons as financial advisors to Portland are advising Portland Gas with the financing of the project. This will include securing storage off-take agreements with customers (such as the major utilities, gas producers, financial institutions and traders). Portland Gas has secured a gas shipper licence from Ofgem, the gas regulator, and is developing the in-house structures and building the skills necessary to operate a gas storage facility safely and efficiently. Operations Review - Oil and Gas Egdon holds interests in twenty licences (ten operated) in the UK and France, located within proven oil and gas producing areas, containing a balance of oil and gas prospectivity. The Company has an active exploration, appraisal and field development programme planned for the coming year. A key focus will be the development of a revenue stream via production from our recently acquired oil field at Keddington and existing discoveries at Kirkleatham and elsewhere. Acquisition of the Keddington Oil Field The Company has completed the acquisition from Roc Oil (GB) Limited of Licence PEDL005 (Remainder), which incorporates the currently shut-in Keddington Oil Field, for consideration of £250,000 in cash. Production at Keddington is from a sandstone reservoir of Westphalian (Carboniferous) age at a depth of around 2,180 metres. The field has two production wells, Keddington-1z, which is a pumped well which was producing around 20 to 35 barrels of oil per day ('bopd') with 50- 60% water cut, and Keddington-2y which was free-flowing oil at 10-15 bopd along with up to 110,000 cubic feet of gas per day. The field has produced a total of 173,000 barrels of oil to date which represents only a small percentage of the mapped oil in place. A workover of the Keddington-1z well is due to commence in May 2007 to install new tubing, rods and a deeper set pump to optimise pumped production from this well. At the same time Egdon will restore free-flowing production from the Keddington-2y well. Planned Drilling Activity during 2007 Burton Agnes-1 The Company has received planning consent for the drilling of the Burton Agnes-1 well in its operated North Yorkshire Licence PEDL071. The well will target the Fraisthorpe Prospect, a Permian Leman Sandstone prospect at a depth of around 1800 metres located some 7 kilometres to the south of the Caythorpe gas field. The prospect is mapped as having potential for up to 56 billion cubic feet ('Bcf') of gas in place. Egdon holds a 25% carried interest in the well which is anticipated to be drilled during the summer of 2007. Grenade-3 The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Egdon Resources (New Ventures) Ltd., has a 33.423% interest and operatorship of the St Laurent Permit in SW France. Here, a rig has been secured and detailed permitting is ongoing for the drilling of the Grenade-3 well. This will comprise a pilot hole and a subsequent horizontal sidetrack for production testing. This drilling activity, which is planned for the fourth quarter of 2007, will appraise a heavy oil accumulation, discovered by Elf in 1975 when the Grenade-sur-Adour-1 well found a 97 metre column of 10o API oil. Between 1976 and 1985 around 8,000 barrels of oil were recovered from intermittent tests, the well being finally plugged and abandoned during a period of low oil prices in 1985 Integration of proprietary 2D and 3D seismic data, acquired during 2005, with the results of a study of core data, has enabled the definition of a large three-way up-dip pinch-out of the reservoir on a low energy carbonate platform. Significant in place oil resources (independently reported at between 68 and 485 millions of barrels) have been mapped for Grenade. Avington-3z Egdon has a 20% interest in licence PEDL070 which contains the Avington oil discovery. It is anticipated that the Avington-3 well, drilled during 2006, will be side-tracked as a potential production well during the summer of 2007. The final well location will be defined by interpretation of a 2D seismic survey acquired over parts of the Avington prospect during 2006. Holmwood-1 Egdon holds a 38.4% interest in licence PEDL143 in the county of Surrey, which holds the Holmwood Prospect. Holmwood is a robust anticlinal structure located between known gas and oil accumulations. Egdon Best Estimate Contingent Resources of 16.6 Bcf have been independently reported. A planning application for the well supported by an Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Statement has now been submitted. Subject to a successful outcome to planning it is hoped that the Holmwood-1 well will be drilled during late 2007. Tees Prospect Egdon has a 10% non-operated interest in offshore block 42/27 which contains the Tees Prospect. The Tees Prospect is a robust Leman Sandstone structural prospect identified on proprietary 3D seismic data and mapped to contain Net Egdon Best Estimate Prospective Resources of 6 Bcf. A rig slot has been secured and the well is planned to be drilled during the autumn of 2007. CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT For the six months ended 31 January 2007 Six Six months months Year ended ended ended 31-Jan-07 31-Jan-06 31-Jul-06 £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover 0 0 14 Cost of sales 0 (2) (14) Gross profit 0 (2) 0 Administrative expenses (456) (418) (932) Other operating income 26 118 248 Operating loss (430) (302) (684) Interest receivable 74 64 165 Interest payable 0 0 0 Loss on ordinary activities before taxation (356) (238) (519) Taxation on profit on ordinary activities 0 0 0 Loss on ordinary activities after taxation (356) (238) (519) Loss for the period retained (356) (238) (519) Earnings per share (p) (0.58) (0.45) (0.94) CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET As at 31 January 2007 31-Jan-07 31-Jan-06 31-Jul-06 £'000 £'000 £'000 Fixed assets Intangible assets 9,973 3,660 8,284 Tangible assets 8 2 3 9,981 3,662 8,287 Current assets Debtors - amount falling due within one 253 1,137 1,038 year Investments 10,812 5,082 1,506 Cash at bank 962 1,257 387 12,027 7,476 2,931 Creditors - amount falling due within one (641) (716) (928) year Net current assets 11,386 6,760 2,003 Total assets less current liabilities 21,367 10,422 10,290 Creditors - amounts falling due after more 0 0 0 than one year Provision for liabilities 0 (263) (412) 21,367 10,159 9,878 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 655 571 571 Share premium account 20,387 8,626 8,626 Profit and loss account 325 962 681 Equity shareholders' funds 21,367 10,159 9,878 CONSOLIDATED CASHFLOW STATEMENT for the six months ended 31 January 2007 Six Six Year months months ended ended ended 31-Jan-07 31-Jan-06 31-Jul-06 £'000 £'000 £'000 Net cash flow from operating activities (342) (425) (706) Return on investment and servicing of finance Interest received 74 64 165 Interest paid 0 0 0 Net cash flow from returns on investments and 74 64 165 servicing of finance Tax paid 0 0 0 Capital expenditure and financial investment Payments for intangible fixed assets (1,689) (1,061) (5,326) Purchase of tangible fixed assets (6) 0 (2) Disposal of tangible fixed assets 0 0 0 Net cash flow from capital expenditure and financial (1,695) (1,061) (5,328) investment Net cash flow before use of liquid resources and (1,963) (1,422) (5,869) financing Management of liquid resources (increase)/decrease in short term deposits (9,306) (3,037) 539 Financing Repayment of debentures 0 0 0 Issue of shares 12,325 4,999 4,999 Costs associated with issue of shares (480) (186) (186) Net cash flow from financing 11,845 4,813 4,813 Increase/(decrease) in cash 576 354 (517) RECONCILIATION OF OPERATING LOSS TO NET CASHFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES for the six months ended 31 January 2007 Six months Six months Year ended ended ended 31-Jan-07 31-Jan-06 31-Jul-06 £'000 £'000 £'000 Loss for period (430) (302) (684) depreciation 1 1 2 amortisation 0 0 41 movement in debtors 785 (904) (805) movement in creditors (286) 610 422 movement in provisions (412) 170 318 Operational cash flow (342) (425) (706) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS 1. Interim accounts have been approved by the Directors' and have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies set out in the 2006 Annual Report and Accounts. The 31 July 2006 figures have been extracted from audited accounts and the audit report was unqualified. The profit and loss account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations. There are no recognised gains or losses other than those passing through the profit and loss account. New accounting standards introduced since the last annual report was published have had no impact on the accounting treatment adopted in the preparation of the interim accounts. 2. The results for the interim periods have not been subject to independent review as defined in the Auditing Practices Board Bulletin 1999/4 and do not constitute full accounts within the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. 3. Administrative expenses include movements in the provision for National Insurance costs on the potential exercise of share options in existence at each period end. Following the exercise of options in October 2006 there were no options outstanding at 31 January 2007. The provision at 31 July 2006 and 31 January 2006 was £412,000 and £263,000 respectively. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
UK 100

Latest directors dealings