Circle Oil continues to make good operational progress across its assets in the Middle East and North Africa. In Egypt, six wells in the Al Amir SE field and two wells in the Geyad field are producing at a combined rate of 7,500-8,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd), of which Circle's interest stands at 40 per cent. Facilities to allow associated gas to be put into production are expected to be completed by year-end, which will boost output.
Turning profits into cash in the period was less easy. The uprising in Egypt increased the delays in receiving payment from Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), although management hopes that a payment schedule agreed with EGPC will clear the backlog and make payments more regular. While, in Morocco, production has been constrained by the small capacity of the existing pipeline. Construction of a new and larger capacity gas pipeline is expected by the end of the year, which should give output a further boost. In exploration, Circle has started a process to sell part of its interest in Oman Block 12, where management estimates recoverable resources from nine prospects could total over 2bn barrels.
| CIRCLE OIL (COP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 27p | MARKET VALUE: | £152m | |
| TOUCH: | 26-27p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 42p | LOW: 20p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 30¢ | NET CASH: | $3.31m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 21.3 | 2.09 | 0.50 | nil |
| 2011 | 28.7 | 8.70 | 1.54 | nil |
| % change | +35 | +316 | +208 | - |
£1=$1.60 | ||||
