Aminex, the oil and gas company listed on the London and Irish Stock Exchanges, has this morning reported an operating loss of $1.29m for the six months to the end of June 2004. This compares to a loss of $651,000 the same time last year.
The company said that the cost of sales and amortisation charges are slightly below those of 2003, reflecting lower levels of oil and gas production. Administration charges for the current period were $125,000 higher than those of 2003, much of this increased due to a weaker dollar on translation of the sterling denominated head office expenditures.
During the six month period, Aminex completed drilling operations on the Nyuni-1 well offshore Tanzania and signed a conditional petroleum agreement with the North Korean authorities, the closing conditions which have now been met.
It added that since the end of the reporting period, the company has formalised an agreement with Liquefied Natural Gas and joined a bidding group for exploration in Egypt in partnership with First Energy of Dubai.
It said that despite the significant potential of these new agreements, none represent an onerous financial commitment for the company at the outset.
The Nyuni-1 well has provided more expensive and more difficult than anticipated and those problems have been compounded by the failure of the company's joint venture partner, Petrom, to meet in full its share of drilling obligations. The Petrom issue is now in the English High Court.
Aminex said it continues to work hard to develop its existing assets as well as its further opportunities. It added that it is in a good position to take advantage of a buoyant market for oil and the likelihood of sustained high prices for natural gas.
