Full-year revenues up by 8 per cent at PetroNeft

Dublin-headquartered exploration company PetroNeft reported a pretax loss of $11.5 million for the 12 months to the end of December, up from a loss of $2.8m a year earlier.

Revenues for the Siberian-focused firm rose 12 per cent to $38.6 million. PetroNeft booked a Net loss of $9m, driven by $6m foreign exchange loss on intra-group loans

The company said production was up 8 per cent to 870,965 barrels of oil over the year.

PetroNeft said drilling at Licence 61 in Russia would re-commence this summer. The company recently entered into a farmout agreement with Oil India for a 50 per cent stake interest in the licence.

The agreement involves a total investment of up to $85million from Oil India, consisting of a $35 million upfront cash payment, a $45 million spend on exploration and development on Licence 61, and a $5 million performance bonus.

PetroNeft remains the operator of the licence.

"The Licence 61 Farmout materially strengthens PetroNeft both financially and strategically. We believe the transformation we will undergo as a result of the Licence 61 Farmout will be for the benefit of the shareholders in the company as a whole. The company will be debt-free and the jointly controlled entity will have a fully funded $45 million work programme,"said chairman David Golder.

“The Licence 61 Farmout gives us a strong industry partner seeking to build a strategic position in Russia as well as the financial resources to develop the significant potential of Licence 61,” he added.