Hardman buoyed by Mauritania find By Toby Shelley in London Published: November 10 2003 12:10 | Last Updated: November 10 2003 12:10
Shares in Hardman Resources rose more than 5 per cent in early London trading on Monday as drilling reports indicated another discovery offshore Mauritania.
Preliminary results from the Tiof well showed the presence of gas and oil on the prospect, which lies some 25 km from the Chinguetti oil field.
Tiof had previously been estimated to have a 50 per cent chance of containing recoverable reserves of about 94m barrels.
Chinguetti is expected to be declared commercially viable in the coming weeks and to start producing in late 2005. Daily output is seen at up to 75,000 barrels a day. Another discovery named Banda could add to that.
Ted Ellyard, managing director, said: "We are delighted to announce these preliminary results from the Tiof exploration well. The early indications of both oil and gas are encouraging but further data is needed before we will know the true thickness of the oil column."
Australia-based Hardman, which is listed in London, has a 21.6 per cent stake in the licence area on which Chinguetti and Tiof lie. Hardman's share price has risen since March on news from Mauritania.
In early Monday trading it stood at 29.5p, up from 28p at Friday's close. Its low of the year was about 15p.
The share price of Premier Oil, which acquired a small stake in the Tiof area from Fusion earlier this year, rose a more modest 2p to 378p.
An appraisal well completed on Chinguetti last month flowed at more than 11,000 barrels a day, well above expectations. Another exploration well, Poune, is due to be drilled by operator Woodside. Hardman estimates Poune as having the potential of holding greater reserves than Tiof.
Analysts said the early result from Tiof suggested the risk factor of drilling offshore Mauritania could be due for downward adjustment.
HDR Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
