London, UK, 14 May 2019

Edison issues initiation on Canacol Energy (CNE)

The Colombian, Caribbean Coast gas market is expected to move into gas deficit in the absence of LNG imports, incremental piped gas or the development of recent deepwater discoveries. We expect Canacol's market share to increase materially in 2019 and 2020, with management expecting production to ramp-up to 215mmscfd by mid-2019 (+89% from FY18). This is currently underpinned by a YE18 2P reserve base of c 559bcf, implying a reserve life index (RLI) of 7.1 years at 215mmscfd. High exploration and appraisal success rates (historically above 80%) and over 2.6tcf of unrisked prospective resource should enable Canacol to enhance RLI and provide the basis for further production expansion. Realised gas prices are largely fixed (forecast FY19 c US$4.75/mcf post-transport and pre-tax netback of US$3.73/mcf), providing visibility of free cash flows. Our 2P + risked exploration NAV stands at C$6.28/share.

Edison has valued Canacol using a conventional E&P risked NAV approach, with a base case valuation of C$6.28/share. Canacol currently trades at FY20 (post-ramp-up) P/CF 3.8x, versus its Canadian peers on 2.5x. We believe this premium is driven by certainty of price realisations, strong FCF yield and high production growth relative to peers. Key risks are around Canacol's ability to replace reserves, somewhat mitigated by its strong track record of exploration success. Colombian geopolitical risk will drive differentiated views on cost of capital; we provide sensitivities to this key valuation input using 12.5% in our base case.

Click here to view the full report.

All reports published by Edison are available to download free of charge from its website
www.edisongroup.com

About Edison: Edison is an investment research and advisory company, with offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East and AsiaPac. The heart of Edison is our world-renowned equity research platform and deep multi-sector expertise. At Edison Investment Research, our research is widely read by international investors, advisers and stakeholders. Edison Advisors leverages our core research platform to provide differentiated services including investor relations and strategic consulting.

Edison is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Edison is not an adviser or broker-dealer and does not provide investment advice. Edison's reports are not solicitations to buy or sell any securities.

For more information please contact Edison:

Sanjeev Bahl, +44 (0)20 3077 5742
Carlos Gomes, +44 (0)20 3077 5700
Elaine Reynolds, +44 (0)20 3077 5713
oilandgas@edisongroup.com

Learn more at www.edisongroup.com and connect with Edison on:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/edison-investment-research
Twitter www.twitter.com/Edison_Inv_Res
YouTube www.youtube.com/edisonitv