Oilman Jim's Letter - September 11, 2024

Pantheon Resources (PANR.L PTHRF P3K.F) announced that Megrez-1 is on track for drilling next quarter from a gravel pad adjacent to the Dalton highway, some three months earlier than an ice pad location and with the advantage of year-round operational activities. Per the company, it is a low cost, high impact exploration well with management estimating a high chance of success of 69% and targeting a P50 best estimate of 609 million barrels of recoverable liquids and 3.3 trillion cubic feet of gas. The well is targeting high quality conventional reservoirs analogous to the current discoveries and developments on the Alaska North slope and will be designed to maximise the data to be gathered. Depending on results, Pantheon will undertake an extended production testing operation. Success at Megrez-1 would represent a substantial increase to the independently certified gas resource of 6.7 trillion cubic feet within the Aphun project area which will improve the overall merits of Phase 1 of the proposed Alaska LNG project with the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation…more

Hartshead Resources (HHR.ASX PGNYF) announced an update on the results of their 33rd Licensing Round applications. The company has received from the North Sea Transition Authority letters of offer and license documentation covering six new oil and gas licenses which cover 10 offshore blocks. Three of these licenses have now been fully executed and formally awarded to Hartshead. All contain discovered hydrocarbons and present a range of re-development, development and appraisal opportunities. Per Chris Lewis, CEO, Hartshead is now a significant acreage holder in the Southern North Sea and additionally has a single license and acreage in a new area of interest, the East Irish Sea. Total additional contingent and prospective resources are 1,187 billion cubic feet (2C + 2U) net to Hartshead and, in aggregate, the new licence awards, combined with the existing P2607 Licence, see Hartshead with a net interest of 1.5 trillion cubic feet of reserves and resources, contingent and prospective…more

Petro Matad (MATD.L PRTDF HA3.F) announced that on 8 September it spudded the Heron-2 development well in the Tamsag basin of eastern Mongolia. This is the first development well to be drilled on the Petro Matad operated Heron field, which has total oil in place potential of around 190 million barrels and was discovered when the Heron-1 well was drilled and tested in 2019. Heron-2 is located around 800 metres south of the original Heron discovery well and is targeting the same reservoir units of the Cretaceous Lower Tsagaantsav formation that were proven productive in Heron-1, which flowed at a maximum rate of 821 barrels of oil per day on test from a 12 metre interval in an overall oil column of some 70 metres. Heron-2 has been located to investigate the extension of the productive reservoir zone seen in the discovery well and will be drilled to a total depth of around 2,900 metres. Drilling to total depth is expected to take about 30 days following which wireline logging will be conducted to evaluate the productive potential of the reservoir. A well test and stimulation programme are planned to be executed during the 2024 operational season and, if successful, Heron-2 will be put on stream in either late 2024, if time permits, or in Q2 2025 after the winter operational shut down. Meanwhile, mobilisation activities for the Gobi Bear-1 exploration well are underway with anticipated spud by mid-September…more

Trillion Energy (TCF.CSE TRLEF Z62.F) announced that the Akcakoca-3 well at the SASB gas field has now been put into production. On July 17, 2024, 11 meters of gas pay was perforated in the well, however, due to delayed pressure build up, was not initially produced. By September 6, 2024, the well head pressure for Akcakoca-3 had increased to 616 pounds per square inch and the well was put into production. Initial production flow rates were 4.28 million cubic feet per day which increased to 4.66 million cubic feet per day with well head pressure increasing to 645 pounds per square inch. At the same time, Alapli-2 was opened to test pressure resulting in gas flow to surface and production is pending installation of velocity strings…more

80 Mile (80M.L BLLYF S5WA.F) announced that it has successfully identified high concentrations of helium at surface in select historical drill holes, with values of up to 10.7% helium in the Perttilahti area. This marks the first published occurrence of helium detected flowing to the surface in Finland. Previously, helium was identified in solution within groundwater at depth and these new results position the company to fast-track further exploration efforts providing a foundation for the continued evaluation of the Outokumpu Belt's potential as a major source of industrial gases. Gas samples from a 2,480 metre deep drill hole have additionally revealed up to 46% geological hydrogen, highlighting the belt's potential for industrial gas reserves. 80M will undertake further detailed sampling and analysis, focusing on areas with the highest helium concentrations, including additional surface sampling, re-entering select drill holes for deeper testing, and integrating the findings with historical seismic data to pinpoint the most prospective zones. The company has additionally begun planning a proof of concept study aimed at assessing the commercial recovery of helium and hydrogen from existing deep drill holes. This study will focus on evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of extracting these gases using modern recovery techniques. Per the company, the success of this study could represent a significant step towards generating cash flow from the project…more

Corcel (CRCL.CN CRCL.L RM4B.F) announced that its contractor, Metatek Group, has completed the acquisition of the data phase of the eFTG survey on block KON-16, which is 35% owned and operated by the company. Focus now moves to processing and interpretation, which is expected to extend through Q4 2024, enabling Corcel to high grade prospective areas in the 1,000 square kilometre block and design a focused 2D seismic acquisition program in 2025 which the company intends will ultimately lead to the drilling of the first new well on the block since the 1960s. Prospectivity is said to range from shallow oil-prone targets analogous to the nearby Tobias and Galinda fields, to the deeper pre-salt play which is analogous to the deep water Kwanza Basin discoveries in TotalEnergies Kaminho project…more

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