Mart Resources Inc.
COMPANY DATA | INTRODUCTION
| PROJECT IN HAND | MANAGEMENT
NEWS UPDATE | CHINESE
| Address: | 310, 1167 Kensington Crescent NW Calgary, AB Canada T2N 1X7 |
| Tel No.: | (403) 270-1841 |
| Fax No.: | (403) 270-1839 |
| Web Site: | www.martresources.com |
| Corporate Email: | david.halpin@martresources.com |
| Contact Person: | David Halpin |
| Position: | CFO |
| Traded Market: | TSX-V |
| Traded Symbol: | MMT |
| Outstanding Shares: | 137 million |
| Public Float: | 75 million + |
| 52 Week High: | $ 1.24 |
| 52 Week Low: | $ 0.43 |
| Present Price: | Click Here |
INTRODUCTION
Mart Resources Inc. is an international energy company committed to building substantial shareholder value by acquiring, financing and developing oil and gas related assets in West Africa. In so doing, the Company will become strategically positioned to capitalize on future expansion in this resource-rich region.
The major multinational oil companies are now concentrating their efforts and available funds on exploiting Nigeria's huge deepwater offshore potential. This has left Mart Resources Inc. and a few other smaller companies with the exciting opportunity to participate in development of the many low-risk, high-reward oil opportunities remaining onshore in the prolific Niger River Delta region of Nigeria.
WHY NIGERIA
The Nigerian government is playing a leading role in proven undeveloped field development, and they see it as an effective way to both increase the country's production and promote domestic participation in the oil and gas industry.
Follow
ing the transition to civilian government in 1999, the Oil Ministry issued new guidelines for the development of proven undeveloped fields. These called for abandoned or under-exploited fields to be recovered from operators and production rights re-allocated.
In 2001, the government offered 24 proven undeveloped fields. The fields could only be awarded to companies incorporated in the country with majority Nigerian ownership. Early in 2003, 31 indigenous companies were selected for farm-out and operation of the fields. The government, through its 100% state-owned national oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has had overall control of the industry. Under the privatization program seven NNPC subsidiaries are to be sold and state-held refineries are slated for privatization.
Since 1999, the democratically elected government has done much to restore confidence in the oil sector. Currently, Nigeria is the world's fifth largest oil producer and a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Estimates of Nigeria's proven oil reserves range from 25 billion to 35.2 billion barrels. The majority of these reserves are found in relatively simple geological structures along the country's coastal Niger River Delta, but newer reserves have been discovered in deeper waters offshore.
Estimates of recoverable oil reserve in deepwater geological formations (up to 5,000 feet below the surface) range from 8 to nearly 20 billion barrels. Nigeria's deepwater has already produced substantial discoveries and the bulk of new exploration by major multi-national oil companies is taking place offshore.
Also, Nigeria has a stable political environment with real GDP grew at around 4.2% in 2003.
PROJECT IN HAND
Nigerian Marginal Field Allocation Program
Over the past several years, Mart has been evaluating opportunities to participate in the development of proven but undeveloped oil and gas fields in Nigeria under the Nigerian Marginal Field Allocation Program. Under the Program, which was introduced by Nigerian government decree in 1996, a total of 116 proven but undeveloped fields were designated as "marginal", meaning that the fields were believed to hold commercial quantities of hydrocarbons but were considered to be too small to be commercially exploitable by multinational oil companies under historical fiscal regimes. According to published reports, these fields may hold an estimated two billion barrels of oil, and reports suggest that proven undeveloped fields have the potential to add over 150,000 barrels per day to Nigeria's oil production.
Mart has undertaken detailed technical and commercial evaluations on 10 of the 24 fields allocated, and has entered into commercial discussions on five of these fields. Mart has concentrated its efforts on those fields located in close proximity to existing infrastructure, allowing for short development times and early cash flow generation. Many of the wells in these fields were drilled in the 1970s and 1980s on the basis of outmoded 2D seismic; however, most of the fields being evaluated by Mart are covered by more modern 3D seismic data, which provides much improved definition of the proven reservoirs as well as the upside exploration potential in and around the fields.
Mart has formed strategic partnerships with indigenous Nigerian companies - and successful bidders - to jointly develop and finance a number of proven undeveloped fields including the Umusadage Field, the Eremor Field and the Qua Ibo Field. Mart will partner with international industry and financial companies to fund and develop the projects. The Company's indigenous Nigerian partners will be responsible for operational support, infrastructure, logistics, local working knowledge and relationships.
MANAGEMENT
Mart Resources Inc. has a well management team with experience in different areas.
David Parker, President
Mr. Parker has over 22 years of upstream oil and gas experience with BP, Ranger Oil Limited and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. He has worked in a number of technical and commercial roles including exploration geology and geophysics, economic modelling for strategic forecasting, acquisitions & divestments and corporate planning & development. Mr. Parker is a fellow of the Geological Society of London and a member of AIPN, EAEG and PESGB.
Wade G. Cherwayko, Chairman
Mr. Cherwayko has negotiated, financed and developed numerous projects over the past decade in West and North Africa. These include two power plants in Nigeria and Benin, and he was responsible for acquiring, financing, exploring and developing onshore and offshore oil and gas assets for Abacan Resource Corporation, Centurion Energy and Yinka Folowiyo Petroleum Company Ltd. Previously he was a consultant for oil companies operating in Canada, USA and South America.
David Halpin, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
Mr. Halpin is a Certified Management Accountant who has consulted for Mart Resources in financial, management, administration and investor relations roles since the Company's inception in 1995. Mr. Halpin was also cofounder, director and CFO of Ware Solutions Corporation and was responsible for taking that company public on the TSX-V and for later negotiating the successful sale of the company. Prior to these positions, he provided his financial expertise to various Western Canadian companies operating in the resource and financial sectors.
Philip Nelson, V.P. Exploration, Director
Dr. Nelson worked in exploration and development geophysics for over twenty-eight years with Shell, including four years as Geophysical Advisor to Shell International in the Hague, with responsibilities for Africa, the Middle East and Far East. For the past 11 years, Dr. Nelson has worked on many African projects as a geophysical consultant. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute (FEI), and an active member of AAPG, EAEG, SEG, SPE and PESGB.
Robert J. Leslie, Director
Dr. Leslie received his Ph.D. in Marine Geology and Oceanography from the University of Southern California. He has worked as an exploration geologist in Canada, U.S.A. and internationally. During his career, Dr. Leslie has served as Vice President, Exploration of Wainoco Oil Corporation (TSX, AMEX, NYSE) and President and CEO of BlueSky Oil & Gas Ltd. (TSE, NASDAQ), Texas General Resources, Inc. (AMEX), Red Oak Resource Inc. (TSX) and Mart Resources Inc. (TSX.V). He has been a Director of the Corporation since August 1996.
William (Bill) Cherwayko, Director
Mr. Cherwayko has over five decades of oil & gas exploration and production experience. Mr. Cherwayko was President of Centurion Energy, and was responsible for setting up that company's operations in Canada, Tunisia, and Egypt. Previously, he co-founded Abacan Resources Corporation, a company focused on exploring for oil and gas in West Africa. He was responsible for negotiating concessions and for drilling and production operations for that company.
Leroy Wolbaum, Director
Mr. Wolbaum is an independent businessman who has been active in the oil and gas industry for over thirty-five years. He has owned two chemical service companies and has provided consulting services in Africa, China and South America. Mr. Wolbaum is a past board member of Centurion Energy and is a director of Anglo-Swiss Industries Inc. He has been a Director of the Corporation since 1997.
NEWS UPDATE
On October 07, 2005, Mart Resources Inc. announced that it has successfully closed a US dollar denominated private placement of 40,000,000 common shares to US and offshore institutional investors at a price equivalent to CDN$0.85 per common share for aggregate gross proceeds before commissions and expenses of CDN$34,000,000. The proceeds of the private placement will be used for contracting of rigs and equipment for drilling and completion activities on Mart's Nigerian oil and gas fields, acquisition of seismic data for the fields, and design and construction of production facilities. In addition, the proceeds will be used for negotiation and acquisition of oil and gas exploration concessions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, continued evaluation and acquisition of interest in proven undeveloped oil and gas fields in Nigeria, other West African opportunities and for general working capital.
Mart also confirms that it has completed its statutory filings under National Instrument 51-101 and that the filed information is available for viewing at www.sedar.com.
On September 19, 2005, Mart Resources Inc. announced that it expects to have its share listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange within eight weeks.
On September 15, 2005, Mart Resources Inc. announced that development plans for Mart's oil fields in the Niger Delta are on schedule to commence in the fourth quarter of 2005. At Umusadage Field, Mart and its partner Midwestern Oil and Gas Ltd. plan to drill two new wells based upon analysis of data from the previously drilled N2 well, which was the only well tested, initially flowed 2,654 barrels of oil per day. Drilling operations should commence in November of this year. At Qua Ibo Field, it is anticipated that two wells will be drilled. Development plans for both of these fields entail the early procurement and installation of production facilities with crude oil being exported to nearby third-party infrastructure. At Eremor Field, where the Company and its partner Excel Exploration & Production Company Limited re-entered and tested the Eremor #1 well at a rate of 940 barrels of oil per day, Mart and Excel are presently finalizing a detailed field development plan.