TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, 2 October 2019: Orca Exploration Group Inc. (“Orca” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: ORC.A, ORC.B) is pleased to provide the following operational update on its current activities in Tanzania.
Orca’s Additional Gas sales increased to 64 million standard cubic feet a day (“MMscfd”) in August 2019, taking the average for the year to date to 60 MMscfd (8 months ended 31 August 2018: 37 MMscfd). On September 25, 2019, an agreement was reached with the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (the “TPDC”) to increase the maximum daily quantity of Additional Gas that can be supplied under Orca’s Gas Sales Agreement with the TPDC to 30 MMscfd (from 20 MMscfd). This Additional Gas will be processed and transported to Dar es Salaam through the National Natural Gas Infrastructure (“NNGI”).
The Company is actively pursuing new sales opportunities in Tanzania. The Company is assisting the Tanzanian Government in evaluating the potential to supply large volumes of natural gas to strategic partners in the East African region. Supplying those strategic partners would require Orca to develop the northern section of the Songo Songo field (“SSN”) where there was a natural gas discovery in 1974. In addition, the Company is in discussions with commercial fuel distributors and other potential consumers to expand its existing compressed natural gas business.
Orca remains well placed to deliver additional volumes to the proposed new 185 MW gas fired generation facility at Kinyerezi 1, via the NNGI. Whilst efforts to progress the project continue, Orca believes the plant will not be operational before mid-2020, as opposed to late 2019.
Orca has continued to optimise the refrigeration system at the Songas facility and final performance testing is expected to commence during October. This follows recent adjustments to operational settings on the Songas facility that together are expected to see processing capacity return to approximately 100 MMscfd.
Concurrently, Orca is nearing completion of the front-end engineering and design for compression for the Songas facility. Refrigeration and compression will work in harmony to address declining reservoir pressure to ensure maximum production levels can be sustained, subject to demand, through to the end of the PSA licence in 2026. Alongside this, Orca is developing plans to workover three onshore wells to address corrosion, sand and water issues. Successful workovers are expected to return around 21 MMscfd of additional production potential from the field, at an estimated cost of US$15million.
Nigel Friend, CEO of Orca commented:
“The Government of Tanzania is actively looking at ways to utilise its significant indigenous natural gas resources to fuel industrial and economic growth for the benefit of the country and the wider East African region. We are encouraged by this increased activity and, in conjunction with our partner, TPDC, are evaluating the options to increase production from the Songo Songo field to ensure that natural gas is available to support the Government’s objectives in a timely manner”.
Orca Exploration Group Inc.
Orca is an international public company engaged in natural gas exploration, development and supply in Tanzania through its subsidiary PAET. Orca trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbols ORC.A and ORC.B. The Company’s Project Agreements are more fully described in the Company’s 2016 Annual Information Form, and available on www.orcaenergygroup.com.
For further information please contact:
Nigel Friend, CEO
nfriend@orcaenergygroup.com
Blaine Karst, CFO
bkarst@orcaenergygroup.com
For media enquiries:
Celicourt (PR)
Mark Antelme
Jimmy Lea
Jemima Lowe
Orca@celicourt.uk
+44-207-5209261
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.