Predator Oil & Gas Holdings PLC on Tuesday said it has started a litigation process regarding the repayment of an outstanding loan it paid for a terminated project to a subsidiary of Challenger Energy Group PLC.

Predator, a Jersey-based operator active in Trinidad, Morocco and Ireland, is seeking the full repayment of £591,065.

The firm invested the money into the CO2 EOR project in Trinidad under the Inniss-Trinity Well Participation Agreement. The project by Challenger Energy’s subsidiary FRAM Exploration Trinidad Ltd was ‘prematurely and unilaterally terminated by Challenger on August 1, 2021,’ Predator said.

CO2 EOR stands for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery.

‘As a result the company lost its ability to potentially recover 853,000 barrels of oil from the AT-4 Block through expansion of the CO2 EOR project,’ it added.

Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, Predator executive directors underwent a consultation trip in Trinidad last week.

‘We are disappointed not to have resolved our dispute amicably with Challenger. We believe that 10 months should have been sufficient time to reach a mutually attractive settlement. In view of the scale of the opportunity lost to the company at Inniss-Trinity shareholders will understand why we were left with no alternative but to begin a process of litigation,’ said Predator Executive Chair Paul Griffiths.

In a separate release, Challenger Energy on Tuesday provided an update for its H2 Work Programme in Trinidad and Suriname. The firm is to re-complete 10 to 15 current wells and reactivate 10 to 12 wells not in production. One of the planned re-completions and one planned reactivation are at the Inniss-Trinity field, planned for completion in October, where the firm stopped the planned CO2 EOR project with Predator.

‘A proposed CO2 injection enhanced oil recovery programme for the Inniss-Trinity field is undergoing a detailed technical review for potential execution in 2023,’ the company added.

Challenger plans ongoing investment through essential equipment purchases such as a swabbing rig and vacuum tankers. Meanwhile, it is evaluating nine potential wells in Trinidad for drilling in 2023. The company plans a new enhanced oil recovery project at the Goudron field in Trinidad.

Predator Oil & Gas Holdings shares were down 5.1% at 10.68 pence each in London on Tuesday morning while Challenger Energy were off 10% at 0.10 pence apiece.

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