JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Independent oil and gas exploration and production company Camac Energy reported a net loss of $15.9-million, or $0.04 a basic and diluted share, for the full year ended December 31, 2013, on the back of lower crude oil sales.

The loss came as the New York-listed energy firm, whose asset portfolio consisted of eight licences in Nigeria, Kenya and The Gambia, covering an area of some 41 000 km2, reported that crude oil revenues for the year narrowed to $7.9-million from $16.6-million reported in the prior fiscal year.

In 2013, the company sold about 73 000 net barrels of oil at an average price of $107.85/bl, while, in 2012, it offloaded some 148 000 net barrels of oil at an average price of $112.60/bl.

Losses from continuing operations totalled $15.9-million in 2013, as compared with losses of $9.3-million for the 2012 period, primarily the result of lower sales volumes.

EXPLORATION

Camac, which listed on the JSE in February, reported in a results statement on Monday that its drilling operations in Nigeria continued in the fourth quarter of the year, with the Oyo-7 well encountering net oil pay of 115 feet in the pliocene reservoir, while also confirming the presence of hydrocarbons in the deeper miocene formation.

The northern offshore drillship Energy Searcher had been secured for up to two years, following its arrival in the Oyo field in March.

Drilling of the horizontal section and completion activities for Oyo-7 would begin in April.

“In addition to the drilling rig being secured for up to two years, the floating production, storage and offloading vessel Armada Perdana has been secured for up to seven years, starting January 1, for our existing and future offshore production,” Camac noted.

The company also finalised the acquisition of the remaining economic interests that it did not already own in the production-sharing contract covering offshore oil mining leases in Nigeria, including the currently producing Oyo field, from oil and gas producer Allied Energy.

Meanwhile, exploration activities at the onshore exploration Blocks L1B/L16 and offshore Blocks L27/L28, in the Lamu basin, Kenya, were ongoing.

An environmental- and social-impact assessment study was completed in February on Blocks L1B/L16, while preparations were under way for a two-dimensional (2D) seismic shoot later this year.

For the offshore blocks, Camac was currently participating in multiclient 2D seismic data acquisition that would conclude this month, with final data delivery expected in June.

“We will then conduct a geological and geophysical study incorporating the newly acquired data and plan to drill the first onshore exploration well on either L1B or L16 in 2015,” the company stated.

Further frontier exploration activities were also continuing offshore in The Gambia on Blocks A2 and A5.

Camac was currently reprocessing existing 2D seismic data on these blocks, while a regional geologic study and possible three-dimensional seismic survey was planned.

The first offshore exploration well in The Gambia was expected to be drilled in 2016.

To fund further exploration activities, Camac earlier this year closed the first $135-million tranche of a $270-million equity investment from South Africa's Public Investment Corporation