VAALCO Energy, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend

HOUSTON, Nov. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY; LSE: EGY) (“VAALCO” or the “Company”) declared its quarterly cash dividend of $0.0625 per share of common stock for the fourth quarter of 2023 ($0.25 annualized), which is payable on December 21, 2023, to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 24, 2023. Future declarations of quarterly dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates are subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

George Maxwell, VAALCO’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Our continued focus on operational excellence and enhancing the productivity of our diverse asset base has allowed us to continue to deliver on our promise to pay an increased dividend rate in 2023. With this declaration, we will now pay $0.25 per share in 2023 compared to $0.13 per share in 2022. While we are returning meaningful cash flow to our shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, we continue to grow our cash position and had over $100 million in cash on hand at September 30, 2023. We are excited about the future and the ability of our premier assets in Gabon, Egypt and Canada to continue generating strong operational results into 2024 and beyond.”

About VAALCO

VAALCO, founded in 1985 and incorporated under the laws of Delaware, is a Houston, Texas, USA based, independent energy company with production, development and exploration assets in Africa and Canada.

Following its business combination with TransGlobe Energy Corporation (“TransGlobe”) in October 2022, VAALCO owns a diverse portfolio of operated production, development and exploration assets across Gabon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea and Canada.

For Further Information

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws and other applicable laws and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Where a forward-looking statement expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “aim,” “target,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “may,” “likely,” “plan” and “probably” or similar words may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to (i) estimates of future drilling, production, sales and costs of acquiring crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids; (ii) the amount and timing of stock buybacks, if any, under VAALCO’s stock buyback program and VAALCO’s ability to enhance stockholder value through such plan; (iii) expectations regarding future exploration and the development, growth and potential of VAALCO’s operations, project pipeline and investments, and schedule and anticipated benefits to be derived therefrom; (iv) expectations regarding future acquisitions, investments or divestitures; (v) expectations of future dividends, buybacks and other potential returns to stockholders; (vi) expectations of future balance sheet strength; (vii) expectations of future equity and enterprise value; and (viii) VAALCO’s ability to finalize documents and effectively execute the POD for the Venus development in Block P.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks relating to any unforeseen liabilities of VAALCO or TransGlobe; the level of success in exploration, development and production activities; the right of host governments in countries where we operate to expropriate property and terminate contracts (including the Etame production sharing contract and the Block P production sharing contract) for reasons of public interest, subject to reasonable compensation, determinable by the respective government in its discretion; the final terms of the agreements pertaining to Block P in Equatorial Guinea, which remain under negotiation; ability to generate cash flows that, along with cash on hand, will be sufficient to support operations and cash requirements; actions by joint venture co-owners; failure of assets to yield oil or gas in commercially viable quantities; impact and costs of compliance with laws and regulations governing oil and gas operations; the ability to replace oil and natural gas reserves; risks described under the caption “Risk Factors” in VAALCO’s 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 6, 2023.

Dividends beyond the fourth quarter of 2023 have not yet been approved or declared by the Board of Directors for VAALCO. The declaration and payment of future dividends and the terms of share buybacks remains at the discretion of the Board of Directors of VAALCO and will be determined based on VAALCO’s financial results, balance sheet strength, cash and liquidity requirements, future prospects, crude oil and natural gas prices, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board of Directors of VAALCO. The Board of Directors of VAALCO reserves all powers related to the declaration and payment of dividends and the terms of share buybacks. Consequently, in determining the dividend to be declared and paid on VAALCO common stock or the terms of share buybacks, the Board of Directors of VAALCO may revise or terminate the payment level or buyback terms at any time without prior notice.

Inside Information

This announcement contains inside information as defined in Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 on market abuse which is part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“MAR”) and is made in accordance with the Company’s obligations under article 17 of MAR. The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of VAALCO is Matthew Powers, Corporate Secretary of VAALCO.

Released November 7, 2023