Challenger Energy delays FY results due to extended lockdown in Trinidad and Tobago

Oil and gas company Challenger Energy warned that it was unable to publish its audited accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020 by the 30 June deadline due to extended Covid-19 lockdowns in Trinidad and Tobago.

While Challenger was granted an additional period of up to three months to publish its annual report, with the company now scheduled to publish its annual report by 30 September, the firm provided a trading and corporate update on Tuesday in order to somewhat fill the gap.

Challenger said production and drilling operations had been maintained despite almost continuous Covid-19 related restrictions on the movement and availability of staff and contractors.

For the five months to 31 December, aggregate gross production from the company's five producing assets in Trinidad was 64,088 barrels of oil, generating gross revenues of $2.3m, while for the period from January to May, aggregate gross production from the same five producing assets was 64,319 bbls, generating gross revenues of $3.3m.

The AIM-listed group also pointed out that cost-saving initiatives had led to an overall saving of approximately 15% against recurring group overhead on an annualised basis, while additional initiatives were set to continue to be implemented over the coming months, with a view to achieving its stated savings target of 20-30%.

Chief executive Eytan Uliel said: "In April we laid out a plan to 'reset' this company, focussed around the core strategic objective of growing production and cashflow. I can report that we are making solid progress against this goal.

"Much remains to be done, and the next six months will be a busy time for Challenger Energy. We will keep shareholders regularly informed as to our progress."

As of 0920 BST, Challenger shares were down 1.08% at 2.75p.