AGM Statement

RNS Number : 4661O

Nostra Terra Oil & Gas Company PLC

30 June 2010

 



Nostra Terra Oil and Gas Company plc

("Nostra Terra" or the "Company")

AGM statement

30 June 2010

At the Annual General Meeting of Nostra Terra, which is being held today at 11:00am, Sir Adrian Blennerhassett, Non-Executive Chairman of the Company, will make the following statement:

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

"I am pleased to welcome you to the 2010 Annual General Meeting of Nostra Terra Oil and Gas Company plc.

"As I stated in our annual report last month, the year to 31 December 2009 was a transformational one for Nostra Terra. It began with little or no prospect of achieving viable production from our one major asset, the Oktyabrskoe field in Ukraine, following disappointing well results and the Ukrainian financial crisis which left the Company facing higher royalty payments and a much lower selling price for any oil it was able to produce.

"However, the year ended with a new CEO, a new strategic direction for our company and a new asset base from which we aim to grow significantly in both scale and profitability in the future.

"And as you know, the transformation has continued into the new financial year. After some delay caused by the exceptionally severe winter weather, Nostra Terra has established modest but sustainable oil production from our redeveloped assets in Kansas, and we expect the volume of production from those properties to grow steadily as more of the existing wells are reworked.

"Meanwhile, in February this year, we transferred our Ukrainian assets to Crimea Nadra Invest, with Nostra Terra retaining rights to 25% of any future net profits without further costs exposure, leaving us free to focus our resources on developing our US asset base.

"We also participated in the drilling of an exploratory well in the Utah Overthrust. The Liberty #1 drilling results are still being evaluated, and the well has been classified as "tight" or confidential for commercial reasons, but we shall of course provide a further update to the market on this project when appropriate.

"You are also aware that our company took its first small step into Texas earlier this month by acquiring a 2 per cent interest in the redevelopment of a well within the Austin Chalk formation. The results from the newly drilled horizontal section exceeded our best expectations, with initial daily production of close to a thousand barrels of oil plus significant natural gas.

"As we explained in our announcement of these results, and at the Oilbarrel conference last week, the Board sees great potential for rapid and profitable growth in the Austin Chalk and other established carbonate and sandstone reservoirs within the US, where horizontal drilling technology can be used to enhance initial production rates and achieve rapid payback. Most importantly, there is an abundance of existing wells with redevelopment potential in these areas, and we believe the company is well positioned to identify, screen and participate successfully in such opportunities.

"So we are certainly very pleased with the turnaround in our company's fortunes and are excited by its future prospects. I would like briefly to pay tribute to our CEO, Matt Lofgran, who joined us almost exactly one year ago. It is thanks to his vision, careful cost management and sheer hard work that Nostra Terra is now debt-free, cash flow positive, and has funds available for further selective acquisitions.

"And finally I would like to welcome Alden McCall to his first general meeting of the company. Alden, as I'm sure you know, is a geologist with extensive experience and excellent contacts within the US upstream oil and gas industry. As our new Chief Operating Officer, his immediate focus is on accelerating our growth through horizontal drilling, and we look forward to keeping our shareholders informed of our progress.

"The slides from last week's Oilbarrel conference are of course on the Company's website, but we thought it would be of interest for Matt and Alden to run through the presentation with you after we have completed the formal business of this general meeting. Following the presentation, we will welcome any questions or comments you may have about the Company's performance and current activities."

For further information, visit www.ntog.co.uk or contact:

Nostra Terra Oil and Gas Company plc                                Telephone: [phone]

Matt Lofgran, CEO

[e-mail]

Religare Capital Markets                                                        Telephone: [phone]

Peter Trevelyan-Clark/Ben Jeynes

Alexander David Securities Ltd                                              Telephone: [phone]

David Scott/Bill Sharp/Nick Bealer

Announcements made by the Company are available automatically by email to those who register at www.ntog.co.uk.

 

END

 

 

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