Excitement is building over the latest drilling results from the Senegal oil discovery of junior oil and gas player FAR, with analysts saying the field may now be bigger and better than first thought.
FAR late on Monday announced that an appraisal well at its SNE oil find off the Senegal coast had delivered strong flow rates while also recovering oil from other sands not previously included in the field’s resource estimates.
Shares in the Melbourne-based explorer jumped as much as 12 per cent yesterday on high volumes on the back of the news, before cooling later in the day to close steady at 8.3c.
The latest appraisal results won a favourable reception from analysts, who were all encouraged by the latest data.
Cannacord Genuity analyst Tim Masters said the appraisal well was a strong result that would significantly de-risk the commerciality of the field, while the oil recovered from the thinner sands above the targeted reservoir pointed to “further resource and valuation upside”. Best estimates currently put the contingent resource at SNE at 330 million barrels, but Mr Masters said those thinner sands could lift the ultimate size of the field by 20 per cent or more. “In our opinion, minimum commerciality now appears more likely than not,” he said.
“Indeed, we continue to believe there are risks to the upside around the ultimate field size.”
The good news also extended to the cost of the well. Drilling finished a week earlier than scheduled, which Mr Masters said meant the well should be at least $5m under budget for FAR and its partners.
Argonaut analyst Philipp Kin described the appraisal well as a “great result for FAR” that would most likely exceed the company’s and the market’s expectations.
Mr Kin also noted that FAR had about $80m in cash and no debt to see it through the drilling program at SNE.
Morgan Stanley analysts Adam Martin and Stuart Baker said the results represented a strong start to 2016 for FAR.
“The magnitude of the flow rates is encouraging and reflective of the type of flow rates required for commercial operations,” the analysts said. “The JV now needs to prove this can be done in other parts of the field with further drilling and testing.”
FAR has a 15 per cent interest in SNE. Britain’s Cairn Energy owns 40 per cent, US energy heavyweight ConocoPhillips owns 35 per cent, and Senegal’s state-owned oil and gas company Petrosen holds 10 per cent.
FAR Price at posting:
7.2¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)