COPL’s Liberia well can be transformational - broker

Shore Capital analyst Craig Howie says he is highly encouraged to see the start of drilling operations for Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited’s (LON:COPL, CVE:XOP) exploration well offshore Liberia.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that project operator US oil supermajor ExxonMobil began drilling the Mesurado-1 well.

COPL owns a 17% stake in the exploration project, though its share of drilling costs are covered by Exxon.

In a note, Howie said: “Mesurado-1 is a high impact well which could be potentially transformational for COPL, in our opinion.

“Given the strong subsurface understanding and presence of a lucrative multi-well carry (targeting an extensive prospect inventory), we believe that the risks lie firmly on the upside for the company.”

Shore Capital’s valuation, risked net asset value, amounts to 21p per share which is more than double the current price of 9.99p.

Mesurado-1 is located some 50 miles from the Liberian coast and is in 2,500 metres of water.

The target has been estimated to host 1.78bn to 4.2bn of gross prospective recoverable oil resources, which would equate to between 305mln and 720mln barrels net for COPL’s interest in the project.

The project is on trend with exploration successes in neighbouring countries such as Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana.

Story by ProactiveInvestors