alberta cow dump ...
Bowood Energy Inc., an "undercapitalized micro-cap," is looking for strategic partners to help develop the Alberta Bakken.
Big reward requires big investment and that’s why tiny oil explorers like Bowood Energy Inc. are looking for a hand up.
On Monday, the company that has a big land stake in the Alberta Bakken play announced it was undertaking a review of strategic alternatives that could involve selling all or part of the company, a merger or a recapitalization.
President and chief executive Robert Mercier returned a call Wednesday to explain that the move was made to “beat the bushes” and see what interest there is in sharing what could be a profitable venture.
“The asset we have in southern Alberta is fantastic. It’s a resource play but it’s big dollars and we can’t continue on just meandering along without more access to capital,” he explained.
“As an undercapitalized micro-cap company, we really can’t do a heck of a lot.”
He said initial horizontal wells with multi-stage hydraulic fracturing have cost as much as $12 million to drill and complete, but that could fall to $6 million to $7.5 million depending on depth now that more is known about the formation. With 95 sections on the Blood Tribe lands and two to eight potential drilling locations on each section, that’s a lot of potential and a lot of cash.
Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. has been farming in on the play by paying 80 per cent of the costs of a well to earn 50 per cent. But even coming up with the 20 per cent cost is a big deal for Bowood, a company with a market cap of about $50 million, says Mercier, adding he’s reluctant to sell shares when they’re trading below 20 cents each.