Bahamas Petroleum Co. makes non-commercial oil discovery

Drilling has now ceased, the well having reached a depth of approximately 3900 m without incident, and the well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned.

Pre-drill, the well design allowed for a target depth of 4800 m across multiple potential reservoir horizons continuously through the Albian and Aptian aged stratigraphies, targeting P50 prospective oil resources of 0.77 billion bbl, with an upside of 1.44 billion bbl.

Over the coming weeks the company will undertake an evaluation of all technical information gathered during drilling and review the appropriate way forward for future monetisation of its business in The Bahamas, in particular with a view to renewal of a farm-in process.

The company will also focus on ensuring progress of its planned 2021 work programme in both Trinidad and Suriname, and associated production growth, as well as the potential to deliver prospect/lead maturation in Uruguay from reprocessed seismic. The company's 2021 work programme in Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname is targeting exit production of c.2500 bpd.

Simon Potter, CEO of BPC, said: "I am proud to say that after many years of diligent effort we did what we said we would do: BPC drilled the Perseverance #1 well safely and without incident, testing for the presence of hydrocarbons in the Southern Seas of The Bahamas. This was the very specific objective of the well - not a scientific or geologic experiment, but to seek hydrocarbons in commercial quantities.

In a technical sense, the well successfully validated the existence of oil, seal and reservoir. Together, these factors verify the existence of a working Lower Cretaceous petroleum system and sequences of reservoir quality within the Aptian, pointing to the overall hydrocarbon potential of other untested prospects captured by BPC's extensive acreage holding. However, at the Perseverance #1 location the volumes of oil encountered are not commercial.

Perseverance #1 is the first exploration well in The Bahamas for decades, and the data gathered from this well will prove invaluable in providing a modern analysis as to the regional potential of the petroleum system, which, in our view, reduces technical risk for any future/further exploration in this new frontier province. The Company will proceed to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the data derived from the well, as we believe the results provide a sound technical basis for renewed farm-in discussions.

Personally, I have worked on the Bahamas project for over 15 years and, along with the Board members and a number of the management team, have spent the majority of the last 10 years working to bring about the drilling of Perseverance #1. We all take great professional pride in the fact that BPC has delivered the well safely, responsibly and without incident, notwithstanding the challenges presented by Covid-19, low oil prices and a challenging market environment. Great credit is due to the professionalism of our operating and commercial teams, to whom I owe a huge thanks.

Elsewhere in the portfolio, in Trinidad we have producing oil fields and, in combination with assets in Suriname, we have upcoming drilling programmes scheduled in 2021, such that the near-term operational activity focus will now shift toward those activities.

All of us at BPC are resolute in support of the diversification strategy embarked on during 2020, and we remain intent on delivering the potential that is latent across the entire portfolio."

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