PetroTal confirms dividend, maintains production guidance

PetroTal confirmed in an update on Wednesday that it would distribute a dividend payment of $23m on 15 September.

The AIM-traded firm said the payment, corresponding to 2.5 US cents per share, would be directed to shareholders on the record as at 31 August.

At the current trading price of 58 cents per share, it would result in a 4.3% quarterly yield or an annualised yield of 17.2%.

The company said the upcoming dividend payout would make for a cumulative total of around $37m disbursed in dividends in 2023 thus far.

PetroTal also noted that it had temporarily halted its share buyback programme on 25 August, to facilitate the clearance of purchased shares in its share registry.

Buybacks had since resumed on 5 September, with another temporary suspension anticipated around the end of the quarter.

The total number of shares repurchased in July and August amounted to 3,886,822, representing a value of $2.3m to shareholders.

On the production front, PetroTal reported that its output for July and August averaged 11,552 barrels and 12,651 barrels of oil per day, respectively.

The adjustment in production was put down to the company’s strategy of managing the reduced barge movement to and from Brazil, due to the expected low river dry season.

Still, PetroTal remained optimistic about making up for the volume deficit if river conditions normalised in the upcoming fourth quarter.

The company continued to stand by its annual production guidance, which was projected to be in the range of 14,000 to 15,000 barrels of oil per day.

“Currently the contracted PetroTal drilling rig is moving to the west part of the Bretana field where the new L2 West platform is expected to be delivered in September,” the company’s board said in its statement.

“Crews will work for about a month to complete the installation of the L2 West platform with drilling commencement of well 16H to occur in early November.”

At 1039 BST, shares in PetroTal were up 0.89% at 45.4p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.