Corcel acquires stake in assets onshore Angola

Corcel PLC has acquired 90% interest in Atlas Petroleum Exploration Worldwide Ltd. (APEX), and with it, working interests in KON 11/12/16 blocks in Kwanza basin, onshore Angola.

Deal completion is contingent upon formal execution of three risk service contracts (RSCs) with the Angolan government, expected later this week. RSC terms include an initial 5-year exploration phase, a subsequent 2-year exploration phase, and a 2-year base production period. 

Minimum spend on the blocks is $6 million for KON-11 and KON-12, and $3 million for KON-16, with commitments to drill one well on all three blocks.

Tobias (KON-11) and Galinda (KON-12) fields are considered brownfield development opportunities and were both drilled and developed in the 1960s and 1970s by Petrofina, with combined historic production over 30 million bbl. Both reservoirs are in the Binga limestone with 4-14% porosity and lie at 700 m and 1,900 m, respectively.  Tobias peak production was about 17,500 b/d. Galinda peak production was about 2,700 b/d. 

APEX and Corcel believe that significant recoverable volumes of oil remain in place at both locations and initial plans may include additional seismic work to firm up drill locations, as well as a combination of vertical and horizontal wells.

All three blocks hold post and presalt prospective resources. APEX estimates 456 million bbl postsalt unrisked P50 prospective resources and 1,029 million bbl presalt unrisked P50 prospective resources.

After the acquisition, Corcel will hold 18% net working interest in KON-11, which has 12 historical wells and is operated by Sonangol. Likewise, Corcel will hold 22.5% net working interest in KON-12, which has eight historical wells and is also operated by Sonangol. Corcel will be operator of KON-16 (31.5% net interest).

Consideration for the acquisition is £800,000 satisfied through the issuance of 200,000,000 new ordinary shares at a price of £0.004, locked up for 18 months.