Circle Oil sees €7.23m profit

LIMERICK-BASED oil and gas exploration company Circle Oil recorded a net profit of $10.36 million (€7.23m) last year, after incurring a loss of $13.51m in 2009.

The company’s management yesterday referred to 2010 — which also saw Circle record its first ever full-year operating profit, of $12.6m — as “a milestone year” that included a successful share-placing which raised over $66m and 100% success rates in drilling campaigns in Egypt and Morocco.

The debut operating profit was a turnaround from an operating loss of $340,000 in 2009.

Basic earnings per share amounted to 2.19c, up from a loss per share of 3.66c in the previous year. Revenue increased by 194% — from just over $15m to $44.4m.

“Our model of moving rapidly from exploration and discovery to early production has proved to be highly successful and is allowing us to work with our partners to develop existing assets and to put in place the funding for future development,” Circle chairman Thomas Anderson said.

“We have enjoyed another successful year. Further progress has been made in consolidating our position as a significant explorer and producer of oil and gas in Egypt and Morocco.”

Mr Anderson also noted the recent increase in Circle’s prospective reserves in both Morocco and Egypt. Recent independent assessment of the Sebou and Gemsa licences in these countries showed that the Moroccan operations could hold up to 83% more and the Egypt operations up to 65% more oil reserves than initially anticipated.

“Our acreage position and remarkable drilling success rate can be considered as an industry stand-out. I believe that the company will continue to perform at this level throughout 2011 and into 2012, bolstered by the strong history of its drilling results and the experience of its management team,” Mr Anderson said.

The coming year will see Circle continue drilling in its main two geographical bases, but also continue operational progress at its operations in Tunisia and Oman.