Wildcat Petroleum LON:WCAT has completed a desktop study of the petroleum potential of deep-water blocks offshore Sierra Leone. This was undertaken under an agreement with the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone and has been accepted by the PDSL.
The work confirmed Wildcat’s initial ideas regarding the good hydrocarbon potential of the deep offshore. The current situation is that much of the offshore has now been opened up to competitive bidding in a license round announced by the authorities originally in May – with a closing date which is now on 27 January 2023.
In the licensing round an oil company can apply with a partner. PDSL has confirmed that Wildcat can apply (subject to the usual pre-qualification requirements) as a Partner.
Since the licensing round is competitive, Wildcat Petroleum said it won’t be making any public announcements concerning specific findings from its study but will use the knowledge gained to try and secure a qualified oil company with which to partner in an application.
In a statement sent to The Armchair Trader this week, Wildcat Petroleum’s chairman said: “We are encouraged by the resolve and determination of the PDSL to make their bid round a success. Evidence from the large discoveries in the conjugate margin of South America (specifically Guyana and Suriname) indicate that Sierra Leone could be strategically placed to emulate those successes. We look forward to the authorities attracting oil companies to their offshore and the possibility of WCAT’s involvement.”
Activity in Sudan energy sector
Wildcat Petroleum generated some interest in the market when it announced an MOU with the government of Sudan last month, to work in collaboration with the Sudanese Oil Ministry to advance the development and commercial exploitation of hydrocarbon assets in the country. To achieve the objectives of the MOU will require some considerable investment. Wildcat confirmed at the time it was already in discussions with potential funding partners that include hedge funds and at least one multi-national oil company.
These sources of capital are considered by the company to be able to provide the scale of investment funding needed as well as the technical resources in some cases. Wildcat said that it did not itself expect to fund significant capital expenditure. It expects to have a number of oil projects running simultaneously across each of the four blocks in Sudan next year.
The deal with Sudan could be a big one for Wildcat as the local energy industry has been controlled for many years by state-backed oil companies from Asia. These are now exiting the local market. Local oil production has been declining since the creation of South Sudan. Both countries collectively held proved reserves of more than 5bn barrels of oil as of January 2022. Sudan offered eight blocks in its latest licensing round in an effort to revitalise upstream development. Awards are expected to be announced in January 2023.
Wildcat Petroleum reported assets of £179,699 for the year ended 30 June 2021 but has also recently placed 18m new shares at a price of 1.25p. It said it intended to allot and issue these new ordinary shares under its existing authorities on a non pre-emptive basis.
