North Sea-focused Trap Oil Group said yesterday it had made substantial progress towards becoming a full-cycle exploration, appraisal, development and production business.
It added that astute acquisitions and careful management of assets during 2011 and the first quarter of this year had transformed the firm.
Aim-listed Trap said earlier this week it was acquiring a 15% stake in the North Sea Athena development from Dyas UK for £34.5million, in a “game-changing” deal it had chased since its flotation nearly a year ago. Athena is expected to start producing for Trap and its partners – Ithaca Energy (UK), Dyas, EWE Aktiengesellschaft and Zeus Petroleum – by the end of June.
Trap has estimated an initial production rate of 10,000 barrels of oil per day, rising to 18,000.
Delivered its first results as a publicly quoted company yesterday, Trap reported pre-tax losses of £4.53million for 2011, against a £353,437 deficit the year before. Operating losses totalled £4.48million, against a £297,561 deficit in 2010, as revenue fell 36.2% to £807,044.
Trap has plans to drill six exploration wells this year.