Petrel Resources hails renewed interest in Irish Atlantic

AIM-listed Petrel Resources, an oil & gas explorer focused on projects in Ireland, Iraq and Ghana announced a renewed interest and activity in the Irish Atlantic.

With a market capitalisation which over its lifetime had ranged from under £1m to over £100m, PET would now focus on the Irish Atlantic, particularly the Porcupine Basin, and expected its first well to be drilled in July 2017.

"We are very hopeful that the revived interest in offshore Ireland will be rewarded with a successful discovery" said John Teeling, chairman of the company.

It was also waiting on the results of the 3D seismic data conducted by Woodside Energy over Frontier Exploration License 3/14 and arbitration related to FEL 4/14.

PET reinvented themselves again in 2008 in Ghana and in 2011 by obtaining licences in the Irish Atlantic, the company said in a statement.

The group was also successful in Iraq obtaining a $200m E&P contract in 2005 in Subba and Luhais, but the chaos which followed the US invasion of 2003 made the work unfeasible.

Yet the country is so prospective that Petrel did not want to walk away, so in 2013 Petrel returned to Iraq, negotiating a 5% carry through to production on exploration work to be condcuted by Oryx, now a Kurdish controlled venture. However, to date Iraqs provinces have yet to try and develop their own oil and natural gas resources.

The money received from selling out of Subba and Luhais sustained the company in recent years and shareholders have not had to provide fresh capital.

The group remains optimistic they will continue to survive against the backdrop of wars, political disruptions, legal challenges and geological failures as they have done in the past.

Net cash at period end stood at €335.301, down from €795.647 at the end of fiscal year 2015.

"What does the above demonstrate - resilience, adaptability and persistence. Petrel has seen highs and lows with a market cap ranging from under £1m to over £100m. Our projects are risky and fail but over decades we have persisted through wars, political disruptions, legal challenges and geological failures" said Teeling.