EANS-News: C.A.T. oil AG continues to push its growth and diversification strategy
Strategic objective to leverage efficient sidetrack drilling platform and diversify into high-end conventional drilling services First conventional drilling tender awarded by Russneft Two new sidetrack drilling rigs already in operations
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Company Information
Subtitle: Strategic objective to leverage efficient sidetrack drilling platform and diversify into high-end conventional drilling services First conventional drilling tender awarded by Russneft Two new sidetrack drilling rigs already in operations
Vienna, 24.03.2011 (euro adhoc) - C.A.T. oil AG (O2C, ISIN: AT0000A00Y78), one of the leading providers of oil and gas field services in Russia and Kazakhstan continues to push its growth and diversification strategy. The 2011-12 investment program of EUR 150 million aims at expanding into the strong growing conventional drilling business and at strengthening the existing sidetrack drilling and fracturing businesses.
In this context the two new sidetrack drilling rigs, which had been delivered in January, have successfully been deployed in late February. They have accomplished their first wells in a timely manner and have been operational with high utilization levels at Rosneft´s Yugansk production area in West Siberia. Compared to the end of 2010, the addition of these two rigs constitutes a 13% increase in the company´s sidetrack drilling capacities and increases C.A.T. oil overall sidetrack drilling capacities to a total of 17 rigs.
In addition, C.A.T. oil was awarded its first tender for conventional drilling which will become the third core business in the second half of 2011. The tender is worth EUR 2.25 million and was received from C.A.T. oil´s customer Russneft.
Manfred Kastner, CEO of C.A.T. oil, said: "We are very pleased that we have received our first conventional drilling tender by Russneft at this early stage. The award confirms our quality track record and represents a good starting point to expand into the strongly growing new business segment." Mr. Kastner continued: "We are encouraged in our primary strategic objective to leverage our efficient sidetrack drilling platform laying the foundations for further growth and diversification of our business. With respect of the implementation of our capacity expansions, we are well on track."
As part of the expansion into conventional drilling operations, C.A.T. oil has ordered nine new 1,100 HP North American conventional drilling rigs, which will be delivered to Russia during the course of the second half of 2011. C.A.T. oil expects that at least four out of the nine ordered new conventional drilling rigs will be put into operations before the end of the year.
"The award of our first conventional drilling tender enables the immediate utilization of the first new rig upon its delivery to the Russneft sites in July. We are confident to significantly capitalize on our strong market position and customer relationships which will enable us to receive additional orders during the year," Manfred Kastner said.
C.A.T. oil will publish its results for Fiscal Year 2010 on April 28, 2011.
About C.A.T. oil AG: C.A.T. oil AG is one of the leading providers of oil and gas field services in Russia and Kazakhstan and is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (SDAX). C.A.T. oil offers a wide spectrum of services to increase the lifecycle of an oil field or to make unexploited oil fields accessible. The Company´s growth is driven by the following factors: Existing oil fields need to be stimulated due to shrinking oil and gas resources in order to optimize capacities. Simultaneously, idle wells are reactivated or made accessible through new methods in order to deploy wells to their maximum. Additionally C.A.T. oil will establish conventional drilling as third core service which allows to activate completely unexploited oil and gas sources.
Since its foundation in 1991 in Celle, Germany, C.A.T. oil has built up a leading hydraulic fracturing services business in Russia and Kazakhstan. Following its IPO in 2006 the Company has invested more than EUR 200 million in additional services and capacities: sidetrack drilling has become the Company´s second core business. In November 2010, the Company introduced a comprehensive investment program with a volume of EUR 150 million which will mainly be used to set up conventional drilling as part of the Company´s service portfolio. Furthermore, C.A.T. oil offers coiled tubing, formation evaluation services, well work-over, cementing and seismic services. Due to the recent expansion investments C.A.T. oil´s fleets and rigs are state-of-the-art and therefore allow for time-efficient and effective deployment. C.A.T. oil´s customer base includes the leading Russian and Kazakh oil and gas producers amongst them Gazprom, KazMunaiGaz, LUKOIL, Rosneft and TNK-BP. C.A.T. oil has a long-standing relationship with these customers and has been a reliable service provider since its market entrance in the early nineties. The Company has its headquarters in Vienna and employed an average of 2,427 people on 30 September 2010, most of whom are based in Russia and Kazakhstan.
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Contact:
FD
Carolin Amann
phone: +49(0) 69-92037132
Thomas Krammer
phone: +49 (0)69 92037-183
Branche: Oil & Gas - Upstream activities
ISIN: AT0000A00Y78
WKN: A0JKWU
Index: SDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share
Börsen: Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard