Last year was a “transformational” year for Valiant Petroleum. The first oil was produced from its northern North Sea oil fields: West Don (Valiant 17 per cent stake) came on stream in April followed by neighbour Don Southwest (40 per cent) in July. The company also drilled two successful appraisal wells on Don Southwest. It acquired an additional 11 per cent in the Causeway field and the remaining half share of the Banquo and Helena undeveloped discoveries. Proved and probable oil reserves total 27m barrels of oil equivalent.
The importance of first oil production quickly shows through in the table below. Revenue represented 752,000 barrels of oil sold at an average price of $71 (£46.69) per barrel while the earnings were boosted by a deferred tax credit.
This year will be busy too. Valiant has also announced farm-out agreements on its Viola and Tybalt exploration projects and wells on them may be spudded quite soon. It will also be submitting a Field Development Plan on its central North Sea Crawford field - 29 per cent stake. Valiant forecasts 2010 production of between 6,500 and 7,500 barrels of oil a day. Assuming a middle figure and a $75 per barrel oil price, one broker believes this year’s operating cash flow will be over $124m (2009 $23m).
VALIANT PETROLEUM (VPP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 581.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £228m | |
| TOUCH: | 580-582.5p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 718p | LOW: 412.5p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 596¢* | NET DEBT: | 32% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008† | – | -96.4 | -253.0 | nil |
| 2009 | 53.4 | 10.5 | 55.1 | nil |
Aim: Oil and gas exploration and production. * Including intangibles of $64.3m, or 164¢ a share. †15 months. £1 = US$1.5107 | ||||
