Rockhopper Annual Report 2009
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2009 RKH 00000 Cover _02.qxd 17/9/09 12:05 Page 1 Rockhopper Exploration plc Telephone +44 (0)1722 414 419 Hilltop Park Fax +44 (0)1722 328 491 Devizes Road [email protected] Salisbury www.rockhopperexploration.co.uk Wiltshire SP3 4UF Company Reg. No. 05250250 Annual Report 2009 2009 RKH 00000 Cover _02.qxd 17/9/09 12:05 Page 2 ‘Rockhopper’ is an AIM-listed oil and Investor information gas exploration company based in the United Kingdom. Rockhopper has licences to explore for oil and Rockhopper has conducted an extensive technical Registered address and head office Auditor gas in the North Falkland Basin, a petroleum work programme since its inception in 2004 and is Hilltop Park Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP system with two proven source rocks. now drill ready, subject to finance and necessary Devizes Road Hartwell House regulatory consents. Salisbury 55-61 Victoria Street Both oil and gas have been encountered Wiltshire Bristol on Rockhopper acreage in a previous round Rockhopper has signed a Letter of Intent with a SP3 4UF BS1 6AD of drilling conducted by Shell in 1998. 3rd party energy company to farm out one of its licences. Nomad and broker Financial adviser The first independently verified discovery Canaccord Adams HSBC Bank plc in the Falklands (well 14/5-1) is on Desire Petroleum, a partner of Rockhopper, has Cardinal Place 8 Canada Square Rockhopper acreage. signed a Letter of Intent with a drilling company to 7th Floor London drill a number of wells in the North Falkland Basin 80 Victoria Street E14 5HQ Rockhopper has a contingent gas resource and in 2010. London a number of oil prospects on its acreage. SW1E 5JL Registrar AIM: RKH Computershare Investor Services PLC Solicitors Vintners Place 01 Rockhopper milestones Milton Gate 68 Upper Thames Street 02 Rockhopper background 60 Chiswell Street London London EC4V 3BJ Group Annual Report 2009 EC1Y 4AG 06 Highlights General emails 07 Chairman’s statement Bankers [email protected] 08 Managing Director’s review Royal Bank of Scotland plc 11 Board of Directors 36 St Andrew Square Audit committee emails 12 Directors’ report Edinburgh [email protected] 19 Corporate governance EH2 2YB statement Website 21 Independent auditor’s Lloyds TSB Bank plc www.rockhopperexploration.co.uk report 25 Gresham Street 22 Group income statement London 23 Group balance sheet EC2V 7HN 24 Group statement of changes in equity HSBC Bank plc 25 Group cash flow statement 8 Canada Square 26 Notes to the group London financial statements E14 5HQ Company Annual Report 2009 38 Company balance sheet 39 Notes to the company financial statements 45 Investor information Designed and produced by JacksonBone. Designed and produced Group. Printed in England by Synergy Annual Report 2009 Rockhopper Exploration plc 45 Rockhopper milestones ≥2004 ≥2005 ≥2006 Rockhopper is set up and is Farm In to Desire Petroleum 920km 2D seismic acquired granted licences PL023 and licences PL003 and PL004 with GSI in licences PL023 and PL024 completed PL024 Rockhopper is granted Four CSEM lines acquired over licences PL032 and PL033 licences PL023 and PL024 IPO and Admission to Positive CSEM results obtained AIM raising £15 million at 42p per share 3D survey commences Achievements to date to Achievements ≥2007 ≥2008 ≥2009 2D interpretation confirms 3D interpretation confirms Competent Persons Report potential P50 2.5 billion barrels potential P50 1.2 billion (CPR) completed by RPS Energy potential recoverable on barrels potential recoverable licences PL023 and PL024 on licences PL032 and PL033 First independently verified discovery in the Falklands 850km2 3D survey completed Total prospects mapped now confirmed on Rockhopper with CGG Veritas, at that time, contain potential P50 3.7 acreage the largest in the Falklands billion barrels recoverable area across all operated acreage First contingent gas resource in the Falklands confirmed by RPS Placing of new shares to raise EIA commissioned on PL032 on Rockhopper acreage £1.3 million at 37p per share and PL033 Top 8 oil prospects considered Site survey collected on Ernest SPD appointed to provide by RPS Energy contain potential with Wavefield Inseis drilling expertise 1 billion barrels recoverable 550 km additional 2D seismic Placing of new shares raises EIS submitted on all operated collected with Wavefield Inseis £3.6 million at 101p per share acreage EIA commissioned on PL023 Letter of Intent signed with a 3rd and PL024 party energy company to farm out one licence Desire Petroleum, a partner of Rockhopper, signs a Letter of Intent with a rig company for North Falkland Basin drilling campaign during 2010 Annual Report 2009 Rockhopper Exploration plc 1 Rockhopper background Licence Location North Falkland Basin Water Depths 100m-550m, relatively shallow Suitable drilling units Moored semi submersible, harsh environment rig not required Drilling window Drilling possible all year round, relatively benign met-ocean conditions Data 3D, 2D, CSEM, 2 Wells, Site Surveys, Benthic Hydrocarbons Live oil recovered 27.1API On Rockhopper acreage Gas Contingent Resource On Rockhopper acreage Acreage Shell wells previously drilled 2 Rockhopper Exploration plc Annual Report 2009 PL023 & PL024 100% Rockhopper Exploration Awarded in November 2004 and covering an area of some 2100km2. The blocks are close to the Islands in shallow water of less than 200m. Exploration data coverage is 2D seismic and CSEM. Rockhopper has acquired over 1500km of 2D seismic and 4 CSEM lines since 2004. No wells have been drilled on the acreage. Licence Prospect 23//24 Beauchene Bleaker Concordia Dolphin Ernest Golding Keppel Pebble Saunders Usborne Weddell Annual Report 2009 Rockhopper Exploration plc 3 PL032 & PL033 100% Rockhopper Exploration Awarded in May 2005 and covering an area of some 1620km2. The blocks were previously held and drilled by Shell and are in water depths of 450m to 550m. Exploration data includes two wells (both of which encountered oil and gas) along with 2D seismic and 3D seismic. Rockhopper has acquired over 850km2 of 3D seismic data since 2005. Well 14/10-1 recovered live oil to surface. Well 14/5-1 encountered significant quantities of gas. Licence Prospect 32//33 Sedge Tyessen Jason Sea Lion Chatham Meredith Walker Louis Fox Stephens Johnson Berkley George Contingent Resources Johnson (gas) PL003 & PL004 7.5% Rockhopper Exploration Rockhopper farmed in to these blocks in July 2005 to gain access to early drilling and to spread risk. Covering an area of some 1340km2 the blocks are in water depths of 350m to 450m. Data coverage includes 2D and 3D seismic. 4 Rockhopper Exploration plc Annual Report 2009 Competent Persons Report A Competent Persons Report (CPR) was provided by RPS Energy during 2009. ≥ Top eight oil prospects over 1bn barrels CPR oil prospective resources ≥ Contingent gas resource up to 8 Tcf ≥ Top two oil prospects 23% chance of success ≥ Top two oil prospects each have NPV 10 2.5 billion USD at P50 level For full report go to: www.rockhopperexploration.co.uk Annual Report 2009 Rockhopper Exploration plc 5 Highlights ≥ Letter of Intent signed with a third party energy 2009 company to farm out one of our licences ≥ Gas discovery declared in Competent Persons Report ≥ Johnson prospect contains an estimated Contingent Gas Resource up to 7.9 Tcf recoverable ≥ Two best oil prospects given 23% chance of success in CPR ≥ Six further oil prospects highlighted in the CPR ≥ Top eight oil prospects contain 1 billion barrels recoverable ≥ Further 15 oil prospects not considered in the CPR ≥ Environmental Impact Statement submitted to relevant authorities ≥ LOI signed by our partner Desire Petroleum with drilling contractor for North Falkland Basin campaign 6 Rockhopper Exploration plc Annual Report 2009 Chairman’s statement Dear Shareholder, Environmental Impact Statements were submitted in preparation for any drilling I write to you following our most exciting campaign. One for licences PL023/024, the other developments to date. for PL032/33. We conducted a well attended public meeting in Stanley as part of the public We have signed a Letter of Intent to farm out one consultation process for the work. of our licences to a third party energy company. That farm out is subject to a number of A successful equity placing during May 2008 conditions, including regulatory approvals, and raised £3.6 million for pre-drilling studies on Pierre Jungels Pierre full details will be made public once these are our operated acreage. This work is largely satisfied. The farm out, if completed, would completed. entail the drilling of one well on our acreage and leaves us with 100% of the equity in our three Our cash balance was USD 6.4mm at the year other licences. We believe this could represent end and the loss for the year was USD 4.5mm. Competent Persons Report (CPR) significant value creation for shareholders. This is higher than in previous years due to the A review of the group’s acreage adverse foreign exchange effect of reporting in conducted by an independent expert, Furthermore, the fully independent competent dollars. In the period the Dollar has in this case, FTSE 250 company RPS Energy. CPRs typically contain a persons report by RPS Energy recognises well strengthened against Sterling. description of the assets, along with 14/5-1 as a gas discovery and the subsequent a view of the likely size and risk of a classification of Johnson as a Contingent Gas The fiscal regime in the Falkland Islands, when number of selected prospects. In this Resource means that we are closer than ever combined with our relatively shallow water and case, an estimated Net Present Value to proving the full potential of the Basin. benign operating conditions, means that an oil is also included for some prospects. discovery could be commercial at oil prices as Environmental Impact Statements Our partner, Desire Petroleum, has recently low as USD 30 per barrel.