North Sea-focused UK oil and gas firm Valiant Petroleum said yesterday it was poised for a transformation if its 50%-owned Viola prospect delivered strong results later this year.
Valiant, which posted pre-tax profits of £14.9million for the first half of 2010, compared with a trading surplus of about £775,000 a year earlier, estimates Viola North alone could contain more than 100million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
Chief executive Peter Buchanan said even 40-50million boe would double the group’s current reserve base.
The results from an exploration well are expected during the final quarter of 2010, with plans in place for a possible side track. Valiant also has high hopes for Tybalt, a find made earlier this year, in which it has an 80% stake.
Its internal evaluation has Tybalt containing up to 100million barrels of oil, with further appraisal planned for 2011.
Valiant said the first half of 2010 was a period of step-change for its operations after the completion of the first phase of the West Don and South Don developments.
It added: “With the ongoing phased development in and around the Don fields and recent exploration success at Tybalt, Valiant remains well-positioned for future growth.”
First-half revenue came in at £41.7million, against about £3.6million a year earlier.
Production from the Don fields during the first half of this year totalled 6,033 barrels of oil per day.
Mr Buchanan said he envisaged relatively stable production from the Don fields over the next few years, which would provide a platform for further growth.
Valiant also revealed it had launched a market sounding process as the first stage of a potential refinancing of its debt facilities.
It added that the refinancing, which it hopes to complete by the year-end, was not essential to the business but would increase its funding flexibility in the future.
Meanwhile, oil rose for the first time in three sessions, bouncing with equities and supported by a weaker dollar as concerns over the European banking system eased and investors cautiously bought riskier assets.
US crude for October delivery settled up 58 cents at $74.67 a barrel, with London Brent crude 43 cents higher at $78.17.
Engineering company Aquaterra Energy said yesterday it had secured one of its biggest contracts to date.
It won a multimillion-pound deal from Apache North Sea for a high-pressure marine riser system.
The system will be used to develop the Bacchus field in the North Sea, drilling three subsea wells from the Rowan Gorilla VII jackup rig.
Aquaterra was established in 2005 by oil and gas veteran Mark Boyd. The company has quickly expanded to a team of more than 70 staff.
Its head office is in Norwich and there are also offices in Aberdeen and Lowestoft.