Corporate Profile
Overview
Storm Ventures International Inc. (SVI) is a private Calgary based oil and gas company committed to applying Canadian experience, technology and capital to provide innovative solutions. We intend to create value and provide superior returns to our shareholders through achieving our vision of being a profitable small project niche exploiter in the upstream energy business outside of conventional resources in Western Canada.
The Company began in June 2003 by raising $10mm to identify and secure a small 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 areas where remaining potential is commonly thought to be below the economic threshold required to develop, as defined by the very large oil companies operating in a $20.00 oil price environment and often under less favorable fiscal terms than are available today.
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. We have acquired a position on projects in the North Sea and North Africa to date and intend to both expand our operations in these regions and add a third geographic exposure in 2007. You are invited to view the Projects portion of our website to get an up to date review.
Corporate Capabilities
Experience
The Company is led 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 raised $40MM at $4.00/share in October 2005 and closed a $42MM equity offering at $5.00/share in December 2006. Repeat Institutional participation represented approximately 80% of the most recent financing that was completed with the help of a syndicate that included FirstEnergy Capital Corp., Tristone Capital and J.F. Mackie & Company Ltd. Storm Ventures has recently announced our intent to raise as much as $50mm of new equity by way of non brokered private placement to existing shareholders at price of $6.25/share. Prior to this issue the company has 36.1mm shares outstanding fully diluted.
In addition, one of the Company’s largest shareholders and founder is Storm Exploration Inc., a TSE listed public company focused in Western Canada that currently produces in excess of 6,000 Boed.
Expanding Offshore Expertise
Storm is actively exploring offshore in the Tunisian portion of the Mediterranean Sea and 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 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.
Storm Ventures conducts its North Sea business under the banner of 33% owned Silverstone Energy Limited with a head office based in Aberdeen. Our largest partner and co-founder in Silverstone is Lime Rock Partners Inc., an energy focused US private equity firm with over $1BN USD under management, including a successful track record with several North Sea investments. Silverstone is managed by a small team of Aberdeen based, North Sea experienced professionals led by Steve Horton as Chief Operating Officer. Steve has strong experience, gained over 25 years at BP, and excellent business contacts in the commercial and service communities. Our Aberdeen personnel are integrated with seconded personnel from SVI Calgary and supported by strategic alliances with key service providers including AGR Well Management (drilling), Helix RDS (subsurface), ADIL (project development), and CSL (subsea). With this model Silverstone has successfully delivered three 100% interest gas discoveries in the challenging North Sea operating environment over the last 24 months and is quickly moving to fast track development of our Victoria gas discovery in late 2008.
Storm has initiated a joint venture with Houston based Alpha Petroleum Services to design and manage the conversion of a tanker to a Floating Production Storage & Offloading vessel (FPSO) for use on both Storm generated projects and as a business development catalyst to new field development opportunities. Alpha has both the marine engineering and the offshore oilfield development expertise combined with the recent tanker conversion experience to make this a viable alternative.