Corporate Profile
Overview
Storm Ventures International Inc.(SVI) is a private Canadian oil and gas exploration and production company with current operations focused in North Africa and the North Sea managed from offices in Calgary, Aberdeen and Tunis.
Our people are experienced, qualified and motivated to deliver value in direct alignment with our shareholders.
We will deliver value to our shareholders through our ability to develop and deliver cost effective solutions in our core project areas where our focused expertise will allow us to develop a sustainable competitive advantage and support repeatable profitable growth.
We are committed to the safe and environmentally responsible development of our assets. Safety of the public, our personnel and our contractors is the primary consideration in all operations.
We are committed to fair and open business practices in contracting, commercial negotiations with partners, contractors, local interests and host governments.
We are committed to sharing the benefits of resource development in the local communities that are impacted by our operations to the degree possible, and will strive to minimise the scope and impact of our developments.
We recognise these commitments as core to our business and in the best interests of our shareholders.
The Company began in June 2003 and to December 2008 had raised $121 million to identify and secure a balanced portfolio of exploration and exploitation opportunities in proven hydrocarbon provinces that are characterized by competitive fiscal terms, low political risk and an abundance of opportunities. This scenario occurs often in hydrocarbon basins where remaining potential is commonly thought to be below the economic threshold required to develop or below a materiality threshold for the larger players. Technology applications developed in the relatively mature basins in North America, a lower cost structure with greater focus, and historically high commodity prices supporting a lower economic limit, all contribute to framing the opportunity we are trying to exploit.
On December 24, 2008 SVI completed a material acquisition and expansion of our North Sea business by acquiring all of the outstanding shares of Silverstone Energy Limited ("SEL") that it did not already indirectly own for share consideration of $216 million (Canadian) pursuant to a share exchange.
The two companies complement each other with SEL being a focused gas play in the UKCS sector of the North Sea and SVI being a focused oil play in Tunisia. Both companies have an excellent balance of leads, prospects and discoveries to progress to development and hope to see financially independent active operations funded from domestic cash flow in each area within two years. The combination simplifies the executive management structure of SVI in anticipation of a public listing at some point in the future and the increased size of the combined company is expected to be a positive attribute in attracting future capital in the current difficult market.
Decreasing cost structures, fit for purpose technologies, and increasing exploration expertise resulting from focused applications, have all proven to be effective strategies for profitably addressing the challenges of diminishing average pool size in Canada. We will focus on similar opportunities where we recognize the ability to grow a substantial business from early success.
At year end 2008 the company has proven and probable reserves of 36.4mm boe with an estimated discounted present value after tax (Pv10%AT) over $500mm USD.
Corporate Capabilities
Experience
The Company is lead by a team of professionals who have demonstrated a successful track record of corporate and project initiation, growth and value crystallization in Western Canada over the last 25 years. Specifically, the group has been materially involved in the founding, building and sale of companies with combined production of over 70,000 Boed through Pinnacle Resources, Storm Energy Ltd., and Storm Energy Inc. over the period 1986 – 2004. This domestic experience has been augmented with partners possessing strong “hands on” production, project management and business development skills that have been focused on international oil operations in North Africa, and the North Sea. Recognizing what we don’t know well is equally important. The Company will align itself with local or joint venture partners who will be the catalysts to a successful operation or are capable of effectively providing strategic technical skills we lack on a specific project. Biographies of the key management and directors are available at the Key Personnel location on the website.
Technology
Challenging opportunities require innovative strategies that often include the application of fit for purpose technologies or development strategies. New oilfield technologies are usually available globally very quickly but the expertise associated with the successful application of new technologies in tough applications is not as wide spread. The industry in North America has been more aggressive than most other parts of the world at applying new technologies to help economically exploit increasingly more marginal accumulations by reducing costs, increasing rates and improving ultimate recoveries. SVI has experience in successfully applying modern geophysical, drilling, and completion technologies in tight gas, sour gas, heavy oil and conventional applications. As important as our experience, is our understanding and commitment to using fit for purpose technology applications to provide the innovation required to commercialize an opportunity.
Capital
Canadian private and public equity markets have always had a very strong resource bias and have become very supportive of international resource plays, particularly in energy. SVI management has had a successful track record of dealing with a large number of capital providers, both equity and debt, in the Canadian or US energy marketplace over the last 20 years. We would intend to access capital in this market as required to grow the Company. SVI has raised $121 million to date with the help of a investment dealers that included FirstEnergy Capital Corp., Tristone Capital and J.F. Mackie & Company Ltd.
Expanding Offshore Expertise
Storm is actively exploring offshore in the Tunisian portion of the Mediterranean Sea and is an exploration and production operator in the UK sector of the North Sea (see projects update). We are quickly gaining experience operating in some of the most challenging operating conditions and stringent regulatory environments in the world. We have operated 5 wells to date in the UKCS and were the development operator of the Victoria gasfield in 2008.We are also investing in purpose built technologies that will make us a profitable developer of marginal fields which will allow us to access both brownfield and new exploratory opportunities.