Past year: ▼ 33%(83.5c – 1.29 AUD)
Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
6 Dec 2010business combination● Neutral
Impress's board unanimously recommends Beach's 8.5c on-market cash offer, absent a superior proposal, and directors intend to accept for their shares. Directors sold a significant portion of holdings to Beach, giving it 19.9%. Impress cites Victoria Petroleum's opposition as the reason for the switch.
6 Dec 2010business combination▲ Good
Beach says on-market buying through Euroz has lifted its Impress interest above 30% within hours of launching the 8.5c offer. Management calls the early selling encouraging. Progress towards control, though the offer is unconditional and Victoria Petroleum holds 20%.
3 Dec 2010security holder rights change● Neutral
Beach issued 5,453,895 unlisted performance rights to executives on 1 Dec, following approval at the 25 Nov AGM. They expire 30 Nov 2015, are not exercisable before 1 Dec 2013 and depend on performance criteria. Routine equity incentive issue.
1 Dec 2010admin correction● Neutral
Beach lodged its updated constitution with the ASX, as required under listing rule 15.4.2, following amendments approved at the 25 November 2010 AGM. It was an administrative filing.
1 Dec 2010drilling progress report● Neutral
November drilling report: Encounter-1 has two of three cores recovered, with a Murteree core to come before the rig moves to Holdfast-1. Canunda-1 testing slips to early 2011; Coonatie-14 and Tirrawarra-79 were cased and suspended as future gas producers; Paralana work is delayed.
1 Dec 2010business combination▼ BadMajor
Victoria Petroleum lifted its Impress stake to 20.00% and says it currently intends to vote against Beach's scheme, though it has no present plan for a rival bid. A 20% blocking stake threatens the 75% vote needed (inference).
1 Dec 2010joint venture update● Neutral
Drillsearch says Canunda-1 (Beach 50% operator) testing will restart in January 2011 after a workover. Both partners have declared the discovery commercial, with 2C resources of at least 2.8 MMboe. Earlier 10-day test produced over 2,500 bbls of condensate and light oil.
30 Nov 2010drilling progress report● Neutral
Weekly report: Encounter-1 drilled 89 m to 3,346 m, and the 27 m Epsilon core was cut and recovered. The rig was shut down three days for repairs; the Murteree core comes next.
30 Nov 2010admin correction● Neutral
Amended version of the due diligence release, correcting Eddie Smith's title to Impress Non-Executive Chairman. Terms are otherwise unchanged.
30 Nov 2010business combination▲ Good
Beach completed due diligence on Impress within the agreed timeframe, so the merger continues toward completion in early 2011. Entities linked to two Impress directors gave Beach options at 8.25c that could lift its holding to 19.9%.
29 Nov 2010joint venture update▼ Bad
Petratherm says Paralana (Beach 21%) work is delayed at least four days by heavy rain. Perforation and injectivity test now early December, with the main fracture stimulation in February-March 2011. This pushes back the earlier mid-November test plan.
25 Nov 2010admin correction● Neutral
Amended AGM results: same votes and all resolutions still passed, but the show-of-hands wording now says 'passed' rather than 'unanimously' for most resolutions. Administrative correction only.
25 Nov 2010joint venture update▲ GoodMajor
Beach and ITOCHU have identified possible South Australian sites for a 1 million tonne a year LNG plant, needing about 60 PJ of gas a year and about A$1 billion. Follows their earlier MOU; no contract or final investment decision yet.
23 Nov 2010drilling progress report● Neutral
Weekly report: Encounter-1 drilled 110 m to 3,257 m, with slow progress in the Epsilon sandstone. The Epsilon core is next, then the Murteree shale; target depth is 3,625 m.
22 Nov 2010capital raising announcement● Neutral
Victoria Petroleum, which operates the Cooper permits Impress holds 40% of, raised A$26m at 37c a share and holds 10.15% of Impress. It says it is assessing Beach's proposal. This is a possible complication for the Impress scheme (inference).
22 Nov 2010business combination▲ Good
Full release on the Impress Energy deal: Beach pays 8.25c cash a share (A$73.1m, 35.9% premium to one-month VWAP), funded from cash, adding Cooper Basin western flank permits. Needs 75% of votes and 50% of holders in early 2011; A$730k break fee applies.
22 Nov 2010business combination▲ GoodMajor
Beach agreed to acquire Impress Energy by all-cash scheme at 8.25 cents a share, valuing it at $73.1m, a 35.9% premium to the one-month VWAP. Funded from cash, it adds Cooper Basin western flank permits. Needs Impress shareholder approval in early 2011.
16 Nov 2010drilling progress report● Neutral
Weekly report: Encounter-1 drilled 285 m to 3,147 m, including the 19.3 m recovered core from 3,102 m. Progress through the Roseneath shale was slow. The next core is planned in the Epsilon.
15 Nov 2010investor presentation● Neutral
Macquarie Private Wealth presentation by the Managing Director, repeating known points: FY10 production of 7.3 MMboe, 66 MMboe 2P reserves, Paralana testing from November. No new results.
15 Nov 2010drilling result▲ Good
Encounter-1 reached the top of the shale target at 3,078 m on 12 November, with gas shows higher than nearby wells. A 19.3 m core was cut from the Roseneath Shale. About three more weeks of work remain before Holdfast-1.
9 Nov 2010drilling progress report● Neutral
Weekly report: Encounter-1 drilled 266 m to 2,862 m after the intermediate casing was run and cemented, with some lost time. Drilling continues in the 8½ inch hole toward the coring point near 3,200 m.
8 Nov 2010production update▲ Good
Drillsearch says Chiton oil field production in PEL 91 (Beach 40% operator, Drillsearch 60%) has restarted as floodwaters recede, after being suspended since early February. Canunda extended production testing is also continuing.
8 Nov 2010joint venture update▼ BadMajor
ROC, operator of Basker-Manta-Gummy (Beach 30%), says the joint venture will prepare to enter a non-production phase, suspending oil production from the FPSO. Remaining oil is expected to be recovered through a later gas development. Beach has expressed informal interest in supplying BMG gas to an LNG project.
4 Nov 2010asset acquisition disposition● Neutral
Somerton Energy agreed to buy Otway Basin permit PEL 186 for $200,000 and will offer Beach 66.67% on the same terms, which would cost Beach about $133,000. Somerton plans at least one well in 2011.
3 Nov 2010drilling result▲ Good
Acrasia 5 (Beach 25%) reached 2,300 m and logs show 31.6 m of net oil pay across all four targets. It will be completed as an oil producer and brought online before 31 December 2010. Field impact on production and reserves is still being assessed.
3 Nov 2010joint venture update● Neutral
Petratherm says Paralana 2 (Beach 21%) will be cleaned of brine, with perforation and injectivity testing in mid-November, taking under a week. The larger fracture stimulation date depends on equipment. This follows the wireline check that found no blockage.
3 Nov 2010drilling progress report▲ Good
October drilling report: Irtalie East-1 (Beach 38.5%) found 6 m of net oil pay and Strzelecki Northeast-1 found gas, both suspended as future producers. Encounter-1 is at 2,569 m, with first coring expected mid-November. Canunda-1 testing restarts next week.
2 Nov 2010drilling progress report● Neutral
Weekly report: Encounter-1 reached 2,596 m, the intermediate casing point, after 151 m in the week. Running the 9 5/8 inch casing lost some time because of damaged joints. Production hole drilling follows.
29 Oct 2010director officer appointment● NeutralMajor
Executive Director Hector Gordon, with Beach since 1996, resigns at end of October to become full-time Managing Director of Somerton Energy, in which Beach holds 56.6%. The board plans to recruit a new director with attention to diversity.
27 Oct 2010drilling progress report▲ Good
Stuart Petroleum's Acrasia 5 oil well (Beach holds 25% via Mawson) flowed about 900 barrels a day from the Poolowanna Formation, on top of about 450 from the Birkhead. Hutton and Tinchoo targets are still to be logged.
