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.
Announcements, explained
Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
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 2010agm notice● Neutral
AGM presentation covering Beach's debt-free position, flood recovery in the Cooper Basin, shale gas prospects, the ITOCHU LNG MOU and the Impress merger. It repeats previously known points rather than adding new results.
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.
25 Nov 2010agm notice● Neutral
All seven AGM resolutions passed, including the remuneration report, re-election of Moretti and Alley, the executive incentive plan and deletion of constitution clause 22.4. The release said 'unanimously' on a show of hands, corrected in the next filing.
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.
26 Oct 2010drilling progress report● Neutral
Weekly report: Encounter-1 (Beach 90%) drilled 372 m to 2,445 m, still in the 12¼ inch hole, heading to intermediate casing at 2,600 m. Target depth remains 3,625 m. No shale results yet.
26 Oct 2010quarterly activities report● Neutral
September quarter: production 1.76 MMboe (up 13% as Cooper flooding eased), revenue $122.9m, cash up to $207.5m after $43m from Arrow for Tipton West. Western Flank drilling unlikely before year end. Repeats the 152 PJ GLNG proposal and Egypt/Tanzania/Bakken progress.
25 Oct 2010material agreement▲ Good
Santos announced an agreement to supply 750 PJ of portfolio gas to GLNG over 15 years from 2014, with oil-linked pricing, conditional on a final investment decision on GLNG train two. Beach (20.21% of the JV) is in discussions on participating.
25 Oct 2010investor presentation● Neutral
Citi conference presentation by the COO repeating known points: 66 MMboe reserves, over $200m cash and undrawn facilities as at August 2010, the GLNG proposal (152 PJ share), Encounter-1 then Holdfast-1, stimulation in Q1 2011. No new results.
25 Oct 2010material agreement▲ GoodMajor
Beach says the Cooper Basin JV has received a Santos proposal to supply 750 PJ of gas to its GLNG project from 2014 over 15 years, oil-linked. Beach's share would be about 152 PJ. Terms are not agreed and discussions continue.
22 Oct 2010annual report● Neutral
Beach's 2010 Annual Report was released with notice of the AGM on 25 November 2010 in Adelaide. The chairman's letter discusses resource rent tax uncertainty and says reserves were unchanged despite flooding. It repeats the FY10 results already reported.