Sponsors Approve Delivery of Badger Demonstrator Milestone 1
At the August meeting of the Steering Committee of the Badger Explorer Demonstrator program, the Committee confirmed that the deliverables provided during June 2012 met – and, in fact, exceeded - the requirements for Milestone 1 of the Demonstrator program. Milestone 1 is thus approved, enabling Badger Explorer ASA (“BXPL”) to invoice the sponsors for the stage payment under the Demonstrator Agreement.
Based on the timely completion of the Milestone 1 deliverables, and on the technical progress achieved over the past several months, the Steering Committee also approved BXPL’s proposal to accelerate the timetable for several of the deliverables planned for later milestones in the project.
BXPL’s Badger Explorer Demonstrator program is a three-year development program, which kicked off in January 2012, and which is currently sponsored by Statoil Petroleum AS and ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS (“the Sponsors”). The Steering Committee consists of representatives from the Sponsors and BXPL.
“The scope of the entire Badger project has been extensive, involving a wide range of technologies and developments”, says BXPL President and CEO, David Blacklaw. “We have recently increased our focus on concrete deliverables and on progress toward commercialization. As a result, we have been able to implement and test several important improvements to the overall Badger design, which collectively help to reduce the development’s residual technology risk.”
To further reduce this risk, BXPL has decided to accelerate the delivery of a Beta Version of the Badger tool to mid-2013, including all the key elements of the tool needed for the first field deployment. This change provides for the time required to properly qualify the technology to the levels of technical readiness necessary for the successful deployment in a field pilot, upon completion of the Demonstrator program.
"We thank our sponsors, and acknowledge the value of the support they provide; not just in financial terms, but also in the form of ongoing technical advice and guidance on application of the technology ", adds Blacklaw.
Other contributors to the Demonstrator Program include Innovation Norway, whose NOK 20 million award was announced in the press release of 23rd November 2011. In addition, negotiations with other potential oil company sponsors are progressing, based on the delivery on schedule of the program to date.
Stavanger, 16th August 2012
For further information, please contact:
David W. Blacklaw, CEO, cell phone +47 406 44 010, office +47 52 97 45 50
Gunnar Dolven, CFO, cell phone +47 908 53 168, office +47 52 97 45 40
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