San Leon Cleared for Nigeria, Sheds Polish Blocks
AIM-listed San Leon said that all resolutions proposed at its September 20 shareholder meetings were approved and that the company will now be able to complete its 9.72% indirect economic interest in Nigerian production licence OML 18 by September 30.
As a result ToscaFund, which held a 39.64% interest in San Leon, has now raised that to 54.41%. San Leon listed four other funds as significant shareholders: Total Investment Solutions and Amara Equity Invest (each 8.97%), The Capital Group of Companies (8.46%) and Optima Worldwide (4.41%). Oisin Fanning again becomes San Leon’s CEO, having lately been executive chairman. As previously announced, former Shell Nigeria chief Mutiu Sunmonu becomes non-executive chairman.
San Leon also said that seven Polish [onshore] licences or licence applications have been “relinquished, or are in the advanced stages of relinquishment”: Permian Basin: Blocks 206 & 208; Baltic Basin: Braniewo, Gniew, Prabuty South; Southwest Carboniferous Basin: Olesnica; and the Carpathian Basin: Bestwina.
However most of its core Polish onshore portfolio of appraisal and development, including shale gas appraisal, are retained. Thus San Leon notes that it keeps interests in two Permian licences (block 207 Siekerki, plus Cybinka/Torzym); two Baltic ones (Gdansk West, Szczawno), two Carpathian ones (Ciesyzn, Bielsko-Biala) and six licences in the Fore-Sudetic Monocline of southwest Poland.
The Lewino frack in central Poland in 2014, at which San Leon's contractor was United Oilfield Services (Photo credit: San Leon Energy)
Its Permian interests include the Rawicz field, where San Leon drilled a successful test well this April (Rawicz-15) that produced 3.6mn ft³/d, and where its development plan now envisages at least three wells to be drilled for first production in early 2017 (including Rawicz-12 and Rawicz-15). On Gdansk West, it performed Poland’s most successful vertical shale gas frack of 2014.
State PGNIG, the last major investor in Polish shale gas exploration, said recently it may decide later this year whether to continue or halt such activity.
Mark Smedley