Selan Exploration Technology Limited (SELAN) is engaged in oil exploration and production.
The have a right to develop three discovered oilfields situated in the state of Gujarat namely Bakrol, Indrora and Lohar, all with proven oil and gas reserves.
Further to this they have two unexplored fields in Gujarat namely Ognaj Oilfield and Karjisan Gas field.
The Proven and Probable (2P) Reserves of Lohar is around 6 Million Barrels
The Proven and Probable (2P) Reserves of Bakrol Oilfield alone are 73 Million Barrels as per the latest annual report.
As per the management interviews and reports that Indrora Oilfield contain far larger quantities of recoverable oil than Bakrol. Even if we take it to be same as that of Barkol the total recoverable Crude is worth more than 40000 Crores worth.
Selanâs production cost is $11 per barrel, which is one of the lowest.
As these are pre-nelp discoveries the company has to pay just $5 per barrel as Royalty to the government.
The production had stagnated over the past few years solely because of regulatory delay’s by DGH and GOI(Environmental) approvals.
However of-late the company has started getting approvals which makes me believe that good times are ahead for this company.
The company has been generating consistently high positive cash flows from their operations.
Particulars Mar’12 Mar’11 Mar’10 Mar’09 Mar’08
Cash and Cash Equivalent - Beginning of the Year 117.91 78.56 46.90 23.61 10.32
Cash and Equivalent - End of the Year 111.36 117.91 78.56 46.90 23.61
Company has a good return on equity (ROE) track record: Consistent ROE of 24% over the past few years.
Company is virtually debt free over an elongated period of time.
The company has been consistently buying back shares through buyback schemes from the market once every two years.
The Company has bought back 1,54,518 shares as on 30.01.2013 even during a phase where there is significant CAPEX investments taken up by the company.
Extremely conservative management. Sometimes it makes you feel irritated about this.
The dividend Payout is increasing consistently over the years. Last year it was at 50% i.e. Rs. 5
SELAN has a Development Plan for drilling of additional wells in these blocks in the next 2 to 5 years.
The Plan is intended to be executed in a phased manner and would involve large capital expenditures, to be funded through a combination of external borrowings and internal accruals. The proposed external borrowings shall be drawn in various stages of completion of each phase. This approach offers a view to judiciously monitor the debt.
The current production is around 250000 barrels per year. The company expect to achieve production / sales volume of 5,00,000 - 7,00,000 barrels each year within the next 1-2 years.
Former vice presidents of BP and Shell coming on board of this company augurs well for it.
Negatives
Exploration Restrictions
With respect to drilling approvals, approvals are now valid only for the fiscal year in which they are received, irrespective of how late in the fiscal year they are received.
Complying with international tendering procedures, import from abroad of long lead time items, and lining up of rig and allied services represents a challenging time line.
As such, the process is ongoing and unpredictable.
Regulatory Approvals
This is the ONE major roadblock for this company.
For the last 3 yrs there were virtually no approvals to any of the upstream oil companies.
But things seems to have changed.
SELAN seems to have received limited regulatory approvals since last couple of months.
