Aurelian Exploring Strategic Options
London-listed Aurelian Oil & Gas has said it is exploring "strategic options" with the possibility of a sale or merger among the options under consideration.
In a confident statement released today, Aurelian said even after a successful 2011, the company was not reaching its full potential and was reviewing several strategic options, including the sale of assets or the sale or merger of the company, to reach that potential.
"Unlocking the full upside within the company is likely to require additional technical and financial resources," the statement said. "The Board believes that the value of the company, its skills and its future opportunities are not fully reflected in the current share price."
Aurelian pointed to the successes of the Siekierki project, a tight gas play in Poland, and said that the project was an "attractive" one.
"The Board remains committed to maximise value for shareholders," Chairman John Conlin said. "The Board’s decision to explore strategic options is, we believe, the best way to achieve this goal. The business review has shown that Siekierki remains an attractive gas resource project and that our exploration portfolio has material upside. "
CEO of Rowen Bainbridge said the company had a more exact understanding of the project in recent times, and said that the company had the tools to attain the value from the play.
The company says it will provide further updates on the business's developments in due course.
"The insight that we have gained on Siekierki is an important step forward," he said. "We now know a lot more about this project and have a more precise and phased appraisal plan to capture its value. This understanding could only have come from the appraisal programme the company executed over the past two years.
"The company is a pioneer in unconventional gas in Poland and our experience is consistent with that of our peers, in that tight gas and shale plays take time to unlock. The strategic hypothesis of unlocking value through technology in oil and gas exploration and production in an energy-hungry part of the world remains intact."