Fastjet Plc – Letter of Intent signed for sixth aircraft
Fastjet the African low-cost carrier (LCC) has announced that it has signed a letter of intent for the purchase of an Airbus A319 aircraft. The aircraft is expected to be ready for operations in September 2015 and is planned to be the first aircraft for the fastjet Zambia fleet.
The group currently operates three aircraft out of Tanzania and today’s announcement combined with the recent former announcement of the purchase of two other aircraft will double the fleet size once the aircraft come into operation. The company’s target is to have up to 34 aircraft operating to 40 destinations within and from Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda by the end of 2018.
UK Oil & Gas Investments – Horse Hill independently assessed by Schlumberger to contain 11bn bbls
UKOG has today announced results of Schlumberger’s independent assessment of the Horse Hill-1 well (HH-1) located on the Horse Hill PEDL137 and PEDL 246 licences (20.36% non-operated interest). Schlumberger estimates a total Oil in Place (OIP) of 11 bn bbls (2.2 bn bbls attributable to UKOG ) across the 55 sq. mile Horse Hill acreage. The Kimmeridge interval is estimated to contain 8.3bn bbls (76% of total) of the total OIP, with the Oxford Clay at 1bn bbls (9% of total) and Lias interval at 1.7bn bbls (15% of total).
Today’s report from Schlumberger builds on its June 2015 petrophysical evaluation assessment, which was ahead of Nutech’s assessment in April. We note that the volumetrics in today’s report, for the first time provides a calculated OIP number across the entire acreage, which we believe reiterates the prospectivity of the Horse Hill asset. However we caution that these assessments by Schlumberger refer to OIP volumes, which are estimated and cannot/ should not be interpreted as discovered reserves or resources. UKOG will integrate the reports findings into the planned flow test of HH-1 well which is expected later this year, subject to receiving approval from the Environment Agency. We believe the HH-1 flow test is a key near term catalyst for UKOG’s share price.
In light of the recent fall in oil prices, we note that UKOG is in a strong position financially, with £8m in cash and a further US$10m (£6.4m at current exchange rates) of debt facility that it can tap into. We believe that this puts UKOG in an enviable position vis a vis its peers on AIM, who have found the market virtually closed for capital raising, which could be exacerbated following the double dip decline in oil prices during the summer.
Herencia Resources – Extension of surface mineralisation at Picachos
Herencia has announced further surface sampling results from its widespread XRF sampling over the Picachos licence in Chile. Specifically the sampling was aimed at following the trend of copper mineralisation at surface to test the potential surface expression of mineralisation found in deeper diamond drill holes; to test three parallel structures in limestone sequences.
The results show that there is a surface expression to the mineralisation and the structures can be traced up to 1200m along strike. To validate these sampling results a drilling programme will be required. The goal of that program will be to identify potential further resources in what will be the Picachos open pit and transfer what was believed to be waste into ore – with improving economics for the project as a result. It also opens up the possibility of multiple open pits. Given the geology of the area it is likely (though not guaranteed) that the mineralisation will extend to surface and the drilling program will allow an estimate of thickness and insitu grade to be established.
The Picachos area is turning out to be very prospective ground for Herencia. We anticipate further resources in the licence which will aid the flexibility of any mining plan.
