Challenger Energy Group plc (LON:CEG), the Caribbean and Atlantic-margin focused oil and gas company, with oil production, appraisal, development and exploration assets across the region, has announced its Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022.
The 2022 Annual Report and Financial Statements will be posted to shareholders by 30 June 2023. The Company’s AGM will be held on 15 August 2023 at 11:00 GMT at The Engine House, Alexandra Road, Castletown, Isle of Man IM9 1TG. Notice of the AGM will also be posted to shareholders in due course.
Chairman’s Letter to the Shareholders
Dear shareholders,
I am pleased to report to you as chairman of your Company.
In my last report I discussed the transition that the company was undertaking on several fronts: moving on from legacy issues, refocusing the Trinidad business, and pivoting longer term exploration towards Uruguay. Over the last year, we have delivered on each of these.
In relation to legacy issues, final settlements of historic liabilities were agreed at the start of 2022, which, in tandem with a capital raising in March of 2022, allowed the company to clear its balance sheet and refocus its resources. The Company remains in discussions with the Bahamian government regarding the status of its licences there, and our rights to benefit from the substantial work undertaken and cost incurred. However, this project no longer forms part of our immediate business focus.
In Trinidad, we made substantial changes to our business, resetting the basic operating philosophy away from “maximising production” to “efficiency and profit”. We strategically prioritised our main assets in south-east Trinidad, streamlined operations around those main assets, and began a process of divesting and monetising non-core assets. These measures have resulted in a more efficient and sustainable Trinidadian business.
In Uruguay, the Company has benefitted from renewed global focus on energy security and exploration, following the Ukrainian invasion and loss of access to Russian production and reserves in Western energy markets. These developments, when coupled with recent exploration success in Namibia – the “other side” of the Atlantic conjugate margin on which our Uruguay assets sit – have seen Uruguay become a new hot zone in global exploration, as evidenced by the heavy presence of global majors in the country’s recent licencing rounds.
Our AREA OFF-1 acreage has thus become more important for our Company. As Eytan describes more fully in his CEO report, in the past year we have rapidly advanced our AREA OFF-1 technical work program, to enhance the value we hope to realise when we farm-out the asset. The story has been further enhanced by the award of the OFF-3 licence to the Company, which grows our business in Uruguay even further.
In my last report, I noted my belief that oil will remain an important part of the energy mix for many years to come. The events of the last year, and the impact this has had on energy prices and the global energy industry, make these observations as relevant as ever. As the Western world searches for new and more secure sources of energy, we are well positioned to benefit.
I would like to thank all our staff for their efforts over the course of the past year, the Board for their support in managing and guiding this process, and finally our shareholders for their continued support.
Iain McKendrick Chairman, Challenger Energy Group
28 June 2023
