Strike Energy Ltd

ASX:STX

Earnings Call Transcript

[Emma Alexander, executive]

Okay. Good morning, everybody. Thank you for joining us this morning, and welcome to the Strike Energy quarterly results call for the second quarter of financial year 2025. Today, I'm joined by Executive Director and acting CEO, Jill Hoffmann, who's happy to introduce herself to you all and talk to you about the strategic review that was recently announced, give an update on Strike's projects, and then we will host a Q&A in the remaining time. We'll do this in the same way we've done in the past, and that will be by people being able to enter questions in the Q&A chat box, and I will host the Q&A with you at the end. I'll hand over to Jill.

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

Thanks, Emma, and thanks to you all for joining Strike this morning. Given this is is the first time I've spoken with yourselves, I thought I'd start off by sharing a little bit about me. So I joined Strike in May 2023 as an Executive Director. So this means I know Strike, and I believe it's a great company to be part of. Plus I really enjoy working with the talented team.

I have [ 25 ] -- sorry [ 35 ] years experience in the oil and gas industry, and I started in Aberdeen in Scotland working for an oil and gas major. From there, I relocated to Perth where I primarily worked for Wood Sun Energy. During this time, I've worked across the entire oil and gas value chain, from M&A and exploration right through to abandonment. This experience includes working on projects, including power generation projects, operations, gas marketing, regulatory approvals and strategy. And some of these roles have included substantial engagement with joint venture participants and key stakeholders, such as the community and the government. Indeed, I actually worked with the state government for 9 years as a Nonexecutive Director of Freeman Reports, including Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and Chair of the Board. So collectively, this experience aligns well with Strike's business. But enough about me, let's talk about Strike's business.

Our first slide is our Q2 financial year '25 highlights. And the first highlight is the financial investment decision that was taken at South Erregulla for an 85-megawatt fully integrated peaking power gas station, which will be commissioned and operational by 1 October 2026. This final investment decision is a clear demonstration of Strike's nimble and innovative approach to monetize South Erregulla reserves. Furthermore, it is the highest value-accretive concept to maximize value for Strike.

Our second highlight is the flow testing at Erregulla Deep, which confirmed a significant gas discovery.

Thirdly, Strike has now received all our environmental approvals for West Erregulla, which received the Commonwealth environmental approval under the EPBC Act.

And lastly, Strike met a contingent discovery at Walyering East 1.

For each of these highlights, we have provided an ASX announcement that will provide you with further information.

Now for the Q2 financial year financials. I appreciate there's a lot to read on the slides, but really to summarize, Strike's financial performance for this quarter is as expected. The reason revenue is slightly down relative to the previous quarter is due to the planned maintenance program.

I would also like to draw your attention to the ASX announcement that we released last night, advising that Strike has received credit approval for the $160 million development facility with Macquarie.

The strategic review. Strike's been incredibly successful since its strategic pivot to the Perth Basin. And we see Strike's value drivers in our business today, including a very strong market outlook for domestic gas in WA, a low-cost gas and condensate-producing asset at Mori, and we have a suite of projects in the development pipeline, including the recently sanctioned peaking gas power station at South Erregulla, and we also have the West Erregulla development.

In addition, Strike's resource growth opportunities at Erregulla Deep, Ocean Hill and Arrino Kadathinni. And importantly, we have a very strong team with technical, commercial and operational capability that has a track record of discovering and monetizing resources through applying an innovative and nimble approach.

That said, the Board believes Strike's project portfolio is undervalued by the price at which its shares have traded on the ASX. So consequently, we'll be conducting a strategic review with the objective of reviewing Strike's project portfolio and determining how we can maximize value for all our shareholders. And the key question that we'll be answering is how do we monetize these assets to identify the highest value pathway to market. Therefore, the strategic review will consider all options, including seeing our assets through to commercialization versus potentially divesting some assets.

This also means that the speculation around Strike being put up for sale or some of Strike's assets being sold is not a foregone conclusion. I also think it's very important to recognize, and I want to assure you, that it's definitely not the Board's intention to pause or delay any of our work programs while the strategic review is being undertaken. That means the strategic review will be undertaken in parallel to our work programs, including the execution of the South Erregulla peaking gas power station.

It is also very much Strike's intention to maintain our agility and nimble approach because this has served us well in the past, and we expect this approach will also serve us well in the future. I think the strategic review is also very timely because over the last 12 months, it's been really tough for our sector. So it's heartening to see the renewed interest in the sector as well as the broader recognition of the role of gas in the future energy mix. And I think that's really important, particularly in WA, given the state government's designed to switch off the coal-fired power generation in 2030.

Now looking at our projects. At Walyering, Strike is steadily producing at [ 10 25 ] TJs a day in line with our firm offtake agreements. It's a very simple domestic gas plant, which is what we want from an operational perspective. And it is this simplicity that contributes to the plant's strong performance of over 98% uptime.

The planned 7-day maintenance program was well executed by the team, coming in both under budget and within schedule. The Walyering 5 scope was a 3-day program, bringing the total production downtime to 10 days in the quarter. We expect production above 25 TJs a day will depend on market conditions as well as reserves replacement.

Now West Erregulla and Erregulla Deep. At last year's AGM, Strike advised a target for FID of Q4 2024 would slip given Hancock's acquisition of Mineral Resources Perth Basin gas assets. And we recognize that Hancock need to drill [ 2 ] in this acreage, which they're doing now before we reengage on FID timing.

In addition, Strike plans to acquire the natter 3D seismic survey this quarter and that will give us greater clarity of Erregulla Deep and West Erregulla Resources.

In relation to Ocean Hill, we've got new seismic 3D, which is being reviewed by Strike's subsurface team, and the objective of that review is to identify exploration drilling targets. And this is really important to us because today, the market is not attributing any value to Ocean Hill in our share price, hence, we want to crack on and mature this acreage.

Now South Erregulla. I appreciate there's a lot of information on this slide, and that's now available to you within the public domain for you to consider. So as you know, last November, the Strike Board took a final investment decision for the 85-megawatt, fully integrated South Erregulla peaking gas power station. It's a significant decision for Strike as well as an exciting project for the company. It's also a very clear demonstration of Strike's nimble and innovative approach to monetize South Erregulla reserves. And this peaking gas power station is the highest value-accretive concept to maximize value for Strike. And it's also the first project to be located on Strike on land that we call the precinct. As I mentioned earlier, the strategic review will not impact time line of funding for this project, and we're planning to break ground in Q2 this year and for the plant to be fully commissioned and operational by 1 October 2026.

The next slide highlights the growing opportunity for peaking gas power station given the state government's intention to switch our coal plants in 2030. And as you can see, that's a really significant opportunity because today, coal makes up 30% of the annual power generation fuel mix.

And on this slide, it's really pleasing to note that the market fundamentals continue to strengthen in support of the peaking gas power plant, including reserve capacity pricing, maximum energy offer price ceilings and the demand for gas-generated electricity.

And this slide here highlights the increasing capacity credit pricing, including the potential for a further significant increase when the 2027, 2028 capacity payment is announced in October this year.

So just to wrap up for your sounds, our near-term focus while contracting the strategic review will be maintaining operational excellence at Walyering and progressing our major projects across the portfolio. And that's -- now I'm going to hand it back to you, Emma, to kick off the Q&A.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

Excellent. Thanks, Jill. We've had quite a few questions come through on the Q&A box. So for anybody who missed at the start, we'll be running this Q&A session as we have in the past. [Operator Instructions] And we will aim to get through as many questions as possible. I do want to reiterate that we have still -- we are still using the hub on our website, and that questions can be submitted against each of the ASX announcements, and we will endeavor to get answers back up there that will be publicly available. So if any questions aren't asked -- aren't answered in this session, we will endeavor to have them up on the hub as soon as possible.

So Jill, the first question that's come through from Scott Ashton. Can you confirm whether another development well, i.e., South Erregulla 3 sidetrack 1 also South Erregulla 4 is required at the South Erregulla Power project?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

We don't need to drill another well prior to bringing the plant online. That doesn't mean to say that we won't drill further wells during the lifetime of that project.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

And are you able to provide some clarity on the progress on West Erregulla? It appears that the funding for West Erregulla is now uncertain. Given $55 million in undrawn debt is still pending, what is the holdup in that pending debt availability?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

My understanding is that we have the funding from Macquarie. And really what we've got to do is engage with Hancock. Now as I mentioned, you joined the 2 wells, and they're doing that at the moment. And our intention is to engage with Hancock. In fact, I'm actually meeting with them later today, and we'll take it from there.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

A question from Declan Bonnick. Are the results of the other 3D seismic said they're still expected around the end of financial year 2025. Would the JV be waiting on this data before taking FID?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

No. The JV is not waiting on this data before taking FID. What we're trying to do is just get great certainty on that permit in terms of the reserve space. We kick off that survey next month. As soon as that survey is completed, we will start the -- analyzing that information. Ideally, we'd have that done by the end of this financial year. If it's not, then it will be very close to it. But really, what I'm saying is that survey is once it's underway, it's full steam ahead to analyze that data, and then we'll take it from there.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

We've got a question around what and when is our next rig slot.

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

I'm sorry, Emma, I don't have the answer to that. I do apologize. This is 2 weeks -- this is that week 2 for me. I don't have a lot of the detail yet. Sorry, Emma. Are you aware of that one? Otherwise, we'll need to send a notice and put it out to yourselves.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

Yes. So currently, we don't have a firm rig slot at the moment. We are currently assessing our portfolio for what our next drilling opportunities are, be it our portfolio options such as Ocean Hill and Arrino, Kadathinni, but that's all still in the work. So there is no current firm rig slot at the moment.

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

I just think I would just answer that, Emma, is, as I mentioned before, it's not the Board's intention to slow down our programs whilst the strategic review is happening. So as I mentioned, we're looking at Ocean Hill. We're looking at that data for drilling targets, and that work is underway at the moment. So we will look for a rig slot at the appropriate time once we've completed -- we've got enough information from that review.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

Yes. Given the current funding constraints, could you clarify for investors how Strike can pursue exploration wells versus allocating capital to producing assets?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

That's part of the discussion that we'll be having as a Board for Ocean Hill. I think we do have a couple of options there, which is the preferred option. We're not clear on at that moment.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

So we've got a question that's come through as well, whether the Board has received any takeover offers that they have not released to the market.

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

No. I mean, we have no takeover offers, and we're well and truly aware of our ASX obligations, and we will be making any announcement as and when we need to.

At the end of the day, I should say, at the end of the day, we're a publicly listed company like anybody else, and we will be complying with those laws accordingly.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

A question from Matthew Walker around the DWP interconnect through Mondarra. When do you expect to commence sales through Mondarra? And what are you targeting in terms of annualized revenue?

I'm happy to take this one if you'd like.

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

Thanks, Emma.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

So as Jill mentioned in the presentation, any sales above our firm offtake at Walyering at 25 terajoules a day will be dependent on market conditions and reserve replacement at Walyering. And any material updates there, we'll provide the market with in due time.

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

Thanks, Emma.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

I think that's answered a few questions that have come through on Walyering. Do you have any comment, Jill -- we've had a few questions come through on this. What -- if you -- if the Board is seeing the share price undervalued, are you able to comment at all on what the Board thinks fair price is?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

I think that will become clearer as we undertake the strategic review and firm up the values that we see for each component of our assets. Last year, our share price halved. We'd be looking to get at least get back up to that. But I think the strategic review will make that clearer for us.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

Yes. Sure. And we've got some questions around the estimated time for the reserve certification at Erregulla Deep as well as the testing of Walyering East. Is there any sort of soft time lines associated with the strategic review? And will these -- will the strategic review impact those time lines?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

So from our perspective, those work programs will continue as planned. The strategic review, we should have that completed next quarter. And once we've completed that review, we'll be advising the market of anything that we need to as a result of plan.

In terms of the time lines for those 2 specific activities, Emma, do you have them to hand?

[Emma Alexander, executive]

So we will be conducting the West Erregulla review after we collect the NADA 3D. We had advised that, that is likely to occur this quarter. And then we're hoping to have results from that and be able to use those by the end of the financial year. That will depend on the seismic acquisition and the detail that comes out of that, but we will update the market once that's occurred.

Is the strategic review going to involve any external or independent consultants?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

I think the strategic review will be largely undertaken internally, but we will use a strategic consultant to help us with that. And that individual would be an experienced person who's undertaken strategic reviews of a similar nature. And we're actually going through that process at the moment and actually working out who that is. And in the meantime, we've actually kicked off some work under the strategic review internally.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

A question from Mark Wiseman. You mentioned the Board will consider assets to divest versus seeing them through to production. Is there any indication at this stage of which assets may be optimal to divest or where you have seen interest expressed as a specific asset at attractive valuations?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

We have not made any decisions in relation to which assets to divest. So actual divestment, it's not a foregone conclusion. We actually need to work through and understand the options for each asset before we come to a decision around that. We don't have any offers on the table for specific assets at the moment.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

I guess following on from this, there are potentially huge resources within the Ocean Hill and Arrino areas. Will the company ensure that current shareholders get the full benefit of any future delineation before assessing any global or opportunistic takeover approaches before this delineation is complete?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

From our perspective, if we -- if -- and I say if deliberately -- we sold any asset, it would be absolutely at a market value. We're not into any sale of assets for submarket value. So our plan, as I mentioned, is we're going to start the working -- we're actually working at the moment on the Ocean Hill and working out where those drilling targets are. And also for Arrino Kadathinni, we're starting to work that one up as well. So it's full steam ahead on both those assets. I think as you rightly said, we do see there's potentially significant resources there, and we're going to work through and try and mature those, and the strategic review will happen in parallel. So really what I'm saying is that there are no foregone conclusions for any asset sales. We're going to be looking at the options and as a Board, working through what is in the best interest for Strike and how do we maximize the value for those assets?

[Emma Alexander, executive]

Sure. We've got a couple of questions coming in around our working relationship with our JV partner, Hancock. Can you provide a bit of color on how constructive and positive these relationships are at the moment and what they look like going forward?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

Let me answer that a little bit in a different way. So I haven't met Hancock yet. That first meeting is this afternoon, which I'm very much looking forward to. But let me step back a little bit and go: My approach to dealing with joint venture partners is to respect the joint venture operating agreements that govern those agreements and the rights and the obligations of those agreements, but also respect the people that manage the joint venture in a constructive and open manner as much as possible. At the end of the day, we've got to work together regardless of who that joint venture participant is. And I've found, through my recent past, creating constructive relationships is the best path. Now in any JV, sometimes you agree and sometimes you disagree. So the challenge then becomes is working out how you can get in the line way forward. So whether it's West Erregulla or any other JV, that's the approach that I'm going to be taking.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

Okay. A question from Peter Lewis about will the strategic review consider the obvious price suppression of struck shares through ASIC or the ASX?

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

Everything is on the table for the strategic review. At the moment, we're going through and scoping that. So that specific question, I guess, is we haven't looked at that specifically, but we are going to be looking at how we can increase the value of our share price.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

Sure. And I think most of the questions that are coming through have actually been answered. So if -- this will be posted up on the website. So if you came in late and maybe you missed something, perhaps jump on our website later this afternoon and we'll have the Q&A up there for people to rewatch. Again, sort of we want to keep this Q&A open, so feel free to submit questions through the hubs. Otherwise, we will, yes, speak to you next time in the next quarter.

[Jillian Hoffmann, executive]

Thank you.

[Emma Alexander, executive]

Thanks, everyone.