Valeura Energy drills new wells and hires new CFO amid Thailand focus

Valeura Energy Inc on Friday said it drilled eight new wells in the Gulf of Thailand during the latest quarter, as it confirmed optimistic full-year guidance.

Valeura is a Thailand- and Turkey-focused oil and gas company based in Alberta, Canada.

Valeura said it drilled eight new development wells on its Jasmine oil field in the Gulf of Thailand, seven of which are now in production, during the first quarter of 2023.

Valeura reported working capital during the quarter of $103.8 million, as well as cash and cash equivalent resources of $268.5 million.

The company also said it hired Yacine Ben-Meriem as chief financial officer, starting on Monday next week. He is a founder of gold explorer Panthera Resources PLC, which is a partner of Valeura in Thailand.

Ben-Meriem will replace Heather Campbell, who is leaving Valeura to remain in Canada and ‘seek new opportunities’. Valeura said it has established an executive leadership office in Singapore, which gives better access to its business in Thailand.

Valeura said average oil production since March 31 has been above 23,000 barrels per day. It previously reported production of 20,475 barrels per day in the first quarter. This was from the upstream oil producing assets acquired from Mubadala Petroleum (Thailand) Holdings Ltd on March 22.

The company previously said it had restarted production from the Wassana oil field. Valeura purchased an 89% operated working interest in Wassana, which was inactive at the time, as part of its acquisition of KrisEnergy International Thailand Holdings Ltd.

Valeura reconfirmed its outlook announced last month, saying it expects full-year oil production of between 20,000 and 22,300 barrels per day. It also predicted operating costs of between $220 million and $240 million.

Shares in Valeura Energy closed down 2.7% at C$2.17 in Toronto on Thursday.

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