Etablissements Maurel & Prom S.A. ($MAU)

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Maurel & Prom's Presentation of the 2025 Annual Results. We'll have a presentation by our CEO, Olivier de Langavant, followed by a Q&A session. Olivier?

Thank you, Matthieu, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining this webcast. We'll have Patrick Deygas, our CFO, will give you more detailed comments on our performance on our results. I believe you have read this morning's press release that provides, of course, the annual results for 2025, but also an update on our activities and the outlook. I won't go into the detail of all the figures that will show up in the presentation because you have it before your eyes, we'll leave more time for the Q&A. But take-home message already. 2025 gave us an outstanding both operational and financial performance. Our results are up compared to last year, up 2% to 37,000 barrels per day. Scope 1 and 2 emissions stand at about 14.4 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent. A good figure, however, slightly up. Compared to last year, the price environment is down. The oil was slightly below $70 per barrel compared with $80 in 2024. Of course, there's a gap we have to address that, and sales stood at $578 million, EBITDA, $250 million. Consolidated net income stood at $428 million, and that's quite a record for our network. And of course, the group share of net income stood at $410 million and free cash flow, $236 million. We confirm the asset potential in Venezuela, new regulatory framework after the issue of a General License 50A by OFAC. Production in Venezuela up 34% a significant increase in our 2P reserves standing at now 158 (sic) [ 148 ] million barrels compared to 80 million at end of 2024. Of course, the regulators recognize all the service conducted over the years. So we see it as it were. And we are looking at significant deleveraging with the unwinding of 50A, meaning that we can now resume operations. We can spend money where we need to spend money and provide resources from the U.S. And of course, we are in a position to export our crude and so therefore, generate income. Now of course, we can now seek further opportunities in Venezuela. This is now made possible with the license 50A. Significant operations and development. Development CapEx stood at $169 million in '25, and we are looking at $240 million for 2026. So a lot of work there. Exploration CapEx is also up to $15 million -- from $15 million in 2025 to $42 million in 2026. We have a campaign of 6 wells being explored in Colombia. We drilled the first one. It's called Hechicero. Now this is completed. You may remember that we took over the operations as we became a full-fledged partner after authorization by the authorities early in January. And the first well turns out to be positive. So we're very happy with that. And maybe we'll say a few words about that later on. In Tanzania, we picked up a drilling operation in December. That hadn't been -- there hadn't been any drilling for quite some time and the first well is indeed positive. And in the days to come, we expect the field potential to go from 100 million to 130 million cubic feet per day. So that means using the full capacity of the production facilities. And in Gabon, we have a well called Mouletsi. You may remember we started off that in 2024. So that well demonstrated a production potential of about 25 million cubic feet per day. That's because of the size -- I mean, it's limited by the size of the tubing we have, but it's a very good well. Again, we're very pleased with that. Our portfolio is expanding through external growth. As I said, we confirmed the acquisition of a 61% stake in Sinu-9 gas license in Colombia. So we had 40% from LGE and 21% from minority partners of that self-same license. And we also have a 5% option to bring it to 66% if we wish to do so, we probably will. And then the entry into the Block 3/24 in Angola, it's sitting next to Blocks 3/05 and 3/05A. Financial structure has been made more robust. Of course, we have now a 20% stake in Seplat Energy. We sold rather our stake there at a good price. We generated $200 million, and that money will be put to use in our operations of organic growth as well as external growth. And growth again combined with a better return to shareholders, dividend being $77 million, so it's EUR 0.33 per share and -- EUR 0.38 per share, beg your pardon, we -- I beg your pardon, EUR 0.33 per share in 2025, and we will bring it to 38% (sic) [ EUR 0.38 ] in 2026. So that will be about $90 million, up almost 15%. So that's -- well, we have a steady increase in dividend. That's a positive signal, even though this means we still intend to keep cash for ourselves or rather to pay for our growth. So we remain as it were a growth share. We have a very sound outlook. You can see looking past that, well, over time, that production has been increasing steadily. It will keep increasing. Our reserves increased as well significantly, significant cash flow generation throughout the cycle. As you can see on the right-hand side of the slide, cash flow has steadily grown over the years. Our balance sheet is very robust indeed. The net debt was too high a few years back. We stood at $700 million in gross debt, about $500 million in net debt. And now we stand at a net cash position. And so of course, it is much more comfortable. We have about $180 million more than we owe. And the dividend also has been growing steadily ever since we took over -- we started dividends again in 2022. We find that the dividend has been multiplied by more than 2.5 by 2026, provided, of course, that the AGM gave its go ahead. So very satisfactory performance. If we look at the indicators for 2025, as of 31 December 2025, First, safety. We find that you may remember 2024 was not so good, but much a lot better in 2025. We find a -- well, there was no LTIR over the year, and we broke down -- we reduced the number of the recordables that is -- the total recordable injuries. So these are incidents that do not cause any interruption of operations. In '26, earlier this year, there were a couple of incidents, which means we have to keep on our toes and be careful about that. The ESG performance was not quite as good as 2024. We had set ourselves targets. We didn't quite meet them. We have assets in Gabon. Flaring started up again in terms of emissions. Well, this is all a matter of mix -- production mix. We -- the gas oil ratio was higher in these operations, and that brought about more flaring and therefore, more emissions, but we stick to the general target for 2030, which is to bring down emissions at 90% compared to 2020 in terms of flaring and also methane emissions, we expect to have them down 97%. In venting, as you can see, is basically out of the picture. I mean we basically were able to remove it altogether. So -- but of course, these are indicators we have to keep our eyes on. Regarding production and reserves, and this is Slide #8, we find that production was up in 2024 because of Venezuela and again up in 2025, our reserves have been growing significantly compared to last year because now we have 2Ps worth about 300 million barrels. And you also noted that about half of that is located in Venezuela. So that underlines the importance of that country for our company. But of course, the signing of the GL 50A license made it possible to resume operations that had been suspended between May of last year and February of this year. So this is very good news indeed. So we are looking at a very sound base of reserves. Looking at our operations in Gabon, Ezanga, performance was slightly disappointing because we're down 6% in 2025 compared to 2024. That's because there were a number of challenges on the oil export line. They were -- there was in Q4 some incidents. And then there were issues of well availability. We've been working at addressing these challenges. Evacuation was -- that's an issue that won't occur again, but there was issues of availability. And that, of course, happens in the context where production as a whole is still pretty high. In Mnazi Bay, production was slightly down as well, but that is because we were waiting for the drilling of wells. We haven't been drilling anything for quite a while. We needed to consume a lot of our production, but now we'll get back to our initial production rate. We are looking -- waiting for TPDC to take on large numbers. So we will be bouncing back in Tanzania, thanks to that. That was Tanzania. In Angola, Block 3 had a number of projects, right, it was stable over the years, but 2026 should see growing. And then likewise, in Venezuela, we had a 30% growth from 2024 to 2025. And of course, now with -- we certainly expect to -- production to increase in 2026 as well, looking at 25,000 barrels for Iberoamerica. If you look at the outlook, well, the actual performance compared to the guidance. So right now, we compare 2024 and 2025 but now looking at '25 compared to the guidance. So we see what I said about Gabon applies. So we were down 6% compared to the guidance. But Tanzania, we were up ahead of the guidance. Well, we were below in 2024, but we're above now in 2025. What happened was that our buyer asked for a maximum delivery. And so we -- and we had about 100% availability. Angola is slightly down compared to the guidance, about 5%. But all in all, we look at, give or take, 1%. We are right on line, on target, but Venezuela is behind, I mean, compared to guidance for pretty obvious reasons. You may remember that in May, we were stopped in our tracks because the license was suspended. But now we are starting on a new chapter. Regarding the financial indicators now, you have some incidents, free cash flow was down compared to the guidance. Part of the problem was -- I mean, there was not much of an issue, but there were lags in Gabon, there was one ship that was behind schedule, whereas in 2020 -- well, in 2024, we were ahead of schedule. It didn't happen in 2025. So we had some delay. And so that meant less output in Gabon and therefore, less revenue. So -- and that combined with a number of minor incidents. So that's the cash flow that was under expectations because of that. Dividends, well, the problem is that we -- our license was suspended in May. And so we were not in a position to bring back dividends as expected. Development CapEx was slightly more than anticipated. Exploration CapEx were significantly less, and that was because, again, some -- there were some delays in operations that didn't get started. We're looking at -- we were looking at $67 million in debt service. But in fact, drawing on the RCF at the end of the year, we were able to generate a positive position and $77 million in dividends, as you know, compared to $70 million announced. So we were actually above expectations. If we look more carefully at the financial review, I'll give the floor to Patrick, if you like.

Yes. Good morning, everyone. So a few words about the 2025 financials. I will say a few words about the P&L and cash flows. So prices -- the prices environment is slightly less favorable with a $69 per barrel price, down 14% compared to 2024. The beginning of 2026 situation will lead to a decrease in sales. And OpEx and G&A well is very similar to last year and trading activities remain significant, slightly below the figures of last year. So we have $249 (sic) [ $249 million ] in EBITDA and taking depreciation, amortization and provisions into account, and there's a positive impact of the sale of Seplat, and this led to $280 million in surplus. And so we have $403 million in operating income. When it comes to the financial expenses, $14 million is the figure. Income tax is $117 million. And the share of income loss of associates is quite high and namely PRDL. And so the contribution is plus $156 million. Hence, a consolidated net income of $428 million, so up 74% compared to last year when it was $246 million. When it comes to cash flows, cash flow -- the operating cash flow is $162 million. There was development CapEx, $169 million; exploration CapEx, $15 million and also the effect of the sale of Seplat, which 50% entered the cash flow in December. And so a similar amount was paid beginning of February. And so we have a positive effect on acquisition and sale of $197 million. And the difference is due to some prepayments made as part of the sale of our oil asset in Colombia, Sinu-9, of which the acquisition was concluded beginning of January. Dividends received from Seplat and PRDL in Venezuela, they amount to $61 million. And so free cash flow is $236 million after net debt service of $109 million, again, due to the drawdown on the accordion. And so the dividends paid are $77 million, and we have a plus 178% change in cash position. So this leads us to having a closing cash of $460 million. Gross net -- gross debt at closing was $282 million and the net debt at closing was minus $179 million. So we have a strong increase compared to last year when it was positive and it was $34 million. A few words about the capital structure. It is worth insisting on the robustness of our financial position and the high level of cash. So $179 million positive -- of net cash, $460 million in cash, and we have a total debt composed of a bank loan amortized with 2 tranches, one that is amortized $110 million, revolving bank loan of $130 million and the shareholder loan of $42 million. To the right of the slide, you can see the change in debt position. What we can see is a strong deleveraging because we have moved from a situation in 2019, where the debt was a lot higher, and we now have $282 million in debt and net cash, 180 -- approximately $180 million. So you have the debt repayment profile in the bottom right corner. And what you can see is that the bank loan will reach maturity in July, and we are repaying the debt. So we should have about $200 million in new money.

Thank you, Patrick. We will now go into more detail when it comes to development and exploration activities, the ongoing and upcoming activities in Gabon, of course, there is the continued development. Drilling campaign, 12 wells that has been going on for years now to maintain production in Ezanga. I mentioned it in 2025, there were slight delays due to facilities availability. What we should stress is that we have had quite successes -- quite a number of successes. And so we will maintain the potential in 2026. And hopefully, we will do even better. Completion of seismic data acquisition in preparation for a comprehensive review of the Blocks prospect. So it will end soon. As you know, we mainly produce in a central area, and we're finishing this acquisition campaign outside the area. And hopefully, we will have new prospects. There are a few ideas that exist. So for Etekamba, since Mouletsi one -- well, you have the well encountered 43 meters of net gas pay in the Gamba and Dentale formations. And production start-up is expected by the end of the year, end of 2026. And the goal is to sell it on the network for it to be used in the city of Lambarene to make sure electricity is provided. That is part of our contracts and commitments. In Colombia, we have this very good well. There was a 3-well exploration campaign, and this will bring us back to 130 million cubic feet per day and potential and we will consolidate this. And for the following wells, one will be an exploration well and that will be very interesting for us. When it comes to Sinu-9, well, the exploration campaign started last month, very recently. And the first well is Hechicero. It is progressing well. The rules in Colombia and what the regulator imposes prevents me from giving more details about the results for this well. Everything needs to be declared. You need approvals. So there are slight delays. But what I can say and what is in the press release is that we successfully drilled through the CDO formation. That was the main goal, and it confirmed the gas potential. So it is fully in line with expectations. And we also identified other interesting areas, and we would have a more deeper objective to the pre-CDO. And we're hoping the results will add to what was in the initial prognosis. Once again, we will know very soon, and we will perhaps give you more information at a later stage. In Italy, the environmental license, we expected should be granted to us. A letter will be sent to confirming this soon. So an exploration well drilling is planned. We will just have to look into the environmental license conditions. We'll have to see them and make sure they don't raise any particular issues when it comes to timing. But so things are moving forward. On the next slide, Venezuela. That is the major event after several years on this license, 1.5 years with the license up to May 2025. That's the background. So we know this asset very well. It is a very large asset. And on the 18th of February, this license was issued to us, and we can do what is necessary and namely, we can receive income. And what we're hoping is to be able to continue the ramp-up in production with this asset. The potential of this asset, of course, is far beyond the 50 barrels per day, would have 25,000 over the year. And we're very confident and we should be able to reach levels that would go beyond 60,000 barrels per day. So there is a very strong potential with this major asset. Since the 18th of February, we've already started drilling on site. Operations have begun with workover, so repurposing of wells. These activities will continue. They will help ramp up production and the activities will continue until the end of the year. And by the end of the year, new wells will be drilled and this will be unprecedented. There have been activities of that sort for close to a decade. We're hoping to be able to lift soon. We have a significant cargo backlog. About 8 are owed to us, and this adds to the ones we should receive in 2026. So in the days to come, we're hoping an announcement will be made and the first cargo should be released. This should be the case in the next weeks to come. And then we're hoping to receive a cargo every month. Coming back to Colombia. So we bought a 40% stake in GE. This was the initial deal signed in February last year. And we bought an extra 21% from the minority stake partners. And this was all approved by the ANH, the regulator and the closing of this operation was made on the 5th of January. So we now own and own the site and operate the license. Thanks to that, we were able to prepare during the signing and closing. And we were able to start just a month after the closing with a minimum of 6 wells. And this will help us use the resources and use the potential of the asset fully. The NGE transition, well, $229 million, we paid part of it last year. We paid another part of it, $78 million at closing on the 5th of January, and we still have about $100 million to pay by middle of this year. So the current infrastructure, we were hoping to access Hechicero in the weeks to come. We will have a 40 million barrels capacity by the second half of the year, and then we will increase that figure and the asset if we are successful throughout the campaign and for a Block prospect could reach 100 million cubic feet per day. In January, production was about 14 million cubic feet per day. The well that began production last year has a -- faces quite a strong decline. So we need those new -- those fresh wells that are very good wells once again. On Block 3 and 4 in Angola, there's a 40% interest in the Block alongside Afentra and Sonangol and 20%. And a number of discoveries were made by Elf and then Total and some minor discoveries were also made. And the goal is to start production in those areas using infrastructure at a low cost. And -- we don't have any obligations when it comes to construction works on this Block. And so we're in the study phase. On the 20% sale in Seplat Energy, an agreement was signed. So we sold all of our stake in Seplat. And there is a $10 million that was paid. So about $0.5 billion received, about GBP 3.05 per share. This asset was better valuated by the market, and we could sell it with a premium -- the share was about GBP2.60. We liked this asset because we were one of the 3 founders and helped develop Seplat. But we've reached a point where it was only a financial asset that was not -- that was generating dividends amounting to 5% return on investment. That was not our goal. So we wanted to retrieve cash and purchase assets directly, and we're expecting 15% in return and a production, which we will be able to better control. And that, of course, is more interesting than holding a minority stake as a shareholder. So we wanted to favor more direct investments. Moving on to the perspectives and to the goals for 2026. As is usually the case, and we must make every effort to strive for EHS&S excellence. So we need to maintain the goals we have when it comes to LTIR and TRIR 0.2 and 0.8, respectively, per million of hours worked. And we need to continue to work on greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. And as we said, in 2025, we slightly exceeded our goal and then maximizing the existing portfolio. We need to continue developing the existing production sites, and we need to complete the Ezanga seismic campaign and also the Etekamba start-up with a gas discovery in Tanzania, increased production per vessel to 130 million cubic feet per day. We're almost there. And then we need to start drilling the second well, KASA-1X and perhaps we will test production facilities of 130 million cubic feet per day. And we will try to exceed that design plate. And for Colombia, development of the Sinu-9 field with at least 6 wells. And then in Italy, the possible exploration of a well drilling in Sicily. So by the end of the year or next year, we'll have to analyze and see what the implications are of the environmental license that was issued to us. Now importantly, on Venezuela, I mean, I mentioned this before, but still over and beyond what was said about the role of the state, we will be looking at new development opportunities. We're well positioned. We're amongst the 6 companies authorized to operate and do business in Venezuela. And so we're exploring all opportunities in terms of acquisition, new licenses, new fields with a view to developing there. And we're even looking at another target. So I was in Venezuela back in February. I'll be back there next week. So we certainly intend to grow our business there. And as I said, we are at the right time -- at the right place, at the right time. Regarding external growth, we had an SPA signed to acquire Azule Energy to the tune of 25% in Blocks 14 -- Blocks 14 and 14K. Now it's not a foregone conclusion because there's been a right of first refusal to the other partner has not exercised that option. So we don't know. We -- it's not as I said, a done deal yet. And you might also know that Chevron also signed an SPA with [indiscernible], and they were in the competition. They were ahead of us somehow. So we'll see how it goes. So that's Block 14. And that's why we have -- I give you an update on that. Other than that, we have been assessing possible targets. We haven't improved the cash position. We haven't sold anything. So there's no point in letting cash sleep until it reaches $600 million. We will be spending it somewhere, but we're looking at possible targets. We're working on our data room. We have beefed up our M&A people -- M&A team. And so we will be doing -- there will be M&A activities, and we have enough financial wherewithal and flexibility plus access to additional cash at favorable conditions, if necessary. I mean we're looking at an upsize and refinancing of our existing that could bring in an additional $200 million in fresh cash. We said that dividends would be up 15% to EUR 0.38 per share. So that would cost us about $90 million. We could afford to pay out more, but we felt we should keep some cash to pay for growth. And I think it is in the shareholders' own interest for us to keep doing this. Regarding our operational and financial guidance for 2026, in Gabon, we're looking at output at about 18,500 barrels per day. That's 100%. So in our own working interest, we're looking at 14,800. So in Angola, 21,000, 100%, so 43% working interest. In Tanzania, we expect to bring production to 66 billion cubic feet per day in M&P working interest. We could do better. It depends on what the buyer -- our main buyer, our main customer wants us to do. In Colombia, we're looking at 25 million cubic feet per day. That's maybe a conservative estimate, $15 million our share. So total consolidated would be 32,000 plus about 10,000 in Venezuela. So altogether, almost 43,000 barrels per day. Cash flow, we're looking at upwards of $290 million at $70 per barrel. So of course, if you can imagine that if the price of the barrel goes up, it will be more or down it would be less. But in dividends, we're looking at -- we're expecting $100 million in -- from PRDL, where we have to pay 20% to our minority shareholder. So $100 million is, again, a conservative estimate because you may remember that there were a couple of cargoes that were behind schedule. And so if they come in on time, we will be able to cash in on that. But we've had challenges in the past getting updated on our cash revenue. Development CapEx, we're looking at $240 million, $130 million in Gabon, $25 million in Angola, $40 million in Tanzania and $40 million in Colombia. Exploration CapEx, we're still looking at a lot of cash there because we're spending $20 million in Gabon to complete the seismic campaign and the exploration and drilling for Ezanga, $10 million in Colombia, $12 million in Italy. That is if the well confirmed before year's end. That cannot be taken for granted nonetheless. Regarding M&As, acquisitions and disposals, the balance would be about $74 million, well, it's enough with -- well, there's the acquisition cost. We have Seplat Energy that we disposed -- that we're selling. Part of that purchase was paid in January, the other -- the first tranche was paid in December. And we could reimburse a $6 million deposit -- deposit, sorry, in Angola. That is if a 2 decided to exercise its pre-emption right. So we get that back if it falls through then. Financing, well, we're spending -- we're looking at interest and other expenses, $308 million. It looks at the $300 million, but it could be only $100 million because if we decided to use an upsize on our -- I mean, we're talking with our banks to add these $200 million. And that, of course, would be dry powder for further acquisitions. Now of course, our priority is always safety, environmental issues. We're trying to make the most of our existing assets. It's not just a matter of acquiring new assets, but in Gabon, in Tanzania, in Venezuela, asset -- well, in Venezuela is an existing asset, but it is enjoying steady growth. And Colombia, of course, is just starting off. So we want to be -- to have a capital discipline. We want to have a strong balance sheet to beef up our cash position. But then we find ourselves in a position when we will be able to make new acquisitions beyond the actual cash available. And then we will continue exploration, but also M&As. But when we create value, of course, some of it goes back to our shareholders. And then we want to be flexible in operational terms. So that applies to [indiscernible] Sinu-9. We want to keep full control of operations, likewise in Venezuela. We want asset resilience. That means we want about 40 -- we're looking at a breakeven point of $40 per day or $50, including debt service. And the net income breakeven point is -- stands at $40 per barrel. Financial strength, we are looking at $460 million cash available, not including the $200 million of the additional RCF plus we have an undrawn line, a shareholder loan of $100 million, which we could also use. So we have lots of cash available if we need to, above $600 million. Plus with the support of Pertamina Group, we have access to borrowing at favorable conditions. That was a pretty lengthy presentation, but it may have been necessary to provide these details. But now we'll have a Q&A session. So this is your chance to put questions on the platform. Thank you.

We have a first question from Ahmed Ben Salem from OBHF. They want to know what our expectations are regarding production in the next 2 or 3 years and the associated CapEx. And so what can we expect in terms of asset development for the existing assets that is?

Well, that is a pretty broad question. Regarding existing assets, starting with Gabon. In Gabon, for the years to come, our ambition is to maintain production at its present level. That is within reach. Nonetheless, it -- we have to work on it because this is a mature asset. So we have to work on maintaining production, maybe increase it a little bit if the results of the seismic campaign show up promising readouts -- results. So Gabon, we expect at 100% 20,000 barrels per day. We could move up to 25,000. I don't think we'll do better than that at 100%. Tanzania, our ambition is to return to 100 million cubic feet per day, 100%. So that would be 78 million in terms of actual capacity in working interest. We can't expect our buyer to buy 100% of our output. So we're looking at something like 70 million to 75 million cubic feet per day. But that assuming -- well, if we can remove some of the bottlenecks in operations, it could be as much as 140 million cubic feet. Regarding steady demand for the buyer we are talking about sales contracts to other buyers than our traditional buyers, TPDC and Tanesco. And TPDC is happy for this to happen. We'd have people buying gas to make CNG or mini-LNG. We don't know for sure. We're looking at a few million cubic feet per day, maybe 5 million or 10 million cubic feet per day. Not much, but enough to diversify our customership so as to diversify sales as well. But we're looking at some growth in Tanzania, but the big growth, of course, is to be expected from Colombia. As you know, there's been a campaign of exploration drilling. We're updating our assets. We expect to cruise speed at 200 million cubic feet per day in 2 years' time. And then we get 66% of that because there's a 5% option we have beyond the 61%. I'm pretty sure we'll exercise that option. So we have strong expectations regarding Colombia. That asset, we very much like, not to mention, of course, the huge gas potential. And we -- I mean beyond -- we could also get oil, not just gas in Colombia, so that we could have both oil and gas. And then, of course, Venezuela, -- of course, it's the big item. We're looking at more than 400 million barrels in existing reserves at 100%. So of course, we would like to have a strong ramp-up. What we have -- we started drilling. I mean, after the workover, we'll start drilling at the year's end. But we may bring in a second rig. So both rigs would be working side by side. And then -- the ambition is to bring production back up. You may remember this to that 13,000 when we resumed operations, not this then at upwards of 20,000 and we're looking at 30,000 by year's end. And our ambition is to reach 60,000 barrels per day by, say, well, within 4 or 5 years. So that ramp-up will keep going steadily. Again, it's a fine asset out there. As regards growth on existing assets, that's basically what it's all about, plus any new business that might come in. So Maurel & Prom is going to go up in scale. Regarding the necessary CapEx needed in Venezuela, we do this using available cash flow. We have -- well, cargoes, we sell -- I mean, part of the cash, of course, goes out in taxes and in the state coffers. But part of it, of course, is used to the debt payment, but then the rest goes to OpEx and CapEx. And as production increases, well, the share of cash available for OpEx and CapEx, that increases as well. And so of course, that can snowball into bringing our ramp-up way beyond where we stand today, but without needing to get -- to take any cash out because our net cash position is generated by Venezuela and that is, of course -- so we can pay back our debt without having to reinject any other cash into development. We can keep our own.

Another additional follow-up question on BHF. Regarding the dividend, we are going from EUR 0.33 to EUR 0.38 per share. Is there a deliberate policy? What's the trend going to be like?

Well, it grew from EUR 0 to EUR 0.14 to EUR 0.20 to then EUR 0.33 and EUR 0.38. So this is a gradual trend. But of course, F&R is always happy to see the dividends per share go up, but we have some trade-off to do. I mean there's some cash should be earmarked for our shareholders and some of it should be kept. While some can be invested in the future by -- for acquisitions. There are fine opportunities out there. And I think it is in the shareholders' interest that we should keep cash just for that because, of course, we are also paying back our debt. But whatever we engage in should be sustainable. I mean, of course, we could start paying, say, $0.80 per share or $1 per share. But if we can't keep this up over time, that wouldn't be right. So I mean, we increased the dividend by [indiscernible] in 2023, again, 25% in 2024, another 10% in 2025, and we're looking at 15% in 2026. So that's pretty good. I mean it's a fine upward course. But of course, the main thing is to keep it up. I mean we will not be bringing dividend down. That's -- I mean, that's our intention. So we want to certainly grow in scale.

Thank you, Olivier. There's a question from Jean-Luc Romain from CIC. About Venezuela, -- he has 3 questions. One, about the ramp-up in production. Just what are you expecting? Second, on the debt, the M&P working interest and the new legal provisions, do they enable Maurel & Prom to become -- to get a majority stake in that asset? I mean, is it legally possible now, especially in tax terms? I mean -- and what are we going to do?

A lot of questions, but very interesting. On the ramp-up, I mentioned that a few minutes ago. Our hope is to increase production and reach close to 10,000 barrels -- an extra 10,000 barrels per day. So it is a lot between 5,000 and 10,000 barrels per day extra. And it should bring us to 50,000 to 60,000 barrels per day within a few years, maybe 2030 or 2031. On our debt, so for our dividends, we will recover it gradually, $100 million this year. And so it will be an upward pace, about $70, $100 million still to be cashed in. And we're hoping things will ramp up. The $100 million this year, I mentioned it. It is a minimum, and we're hoping the amount will grow over time. On the new legal provisions, that is an important question. I see 2 points to raise. The ability to renegotiate. We've already made a formal request to resume discussions on that front and to renegotiate taxation. We want a more favorable tax conditions and this should help us increase the net production rate. Secondly, as part of CPP, the possibility to have the fields without PDVSA with a total control. It will help us -- it would enable total control over joint operations. This, of course, is important because in Urdaneta for now, where we have key assets, there are quite a number of governance obstacles that sometimes delay some decisions. That was what I wanted to answer. So this is a major change, the new tax and legal provisions the new setting when it comes to having a 100% access via the CPP. This opens up a lot of opportunities. So discussions will be had with administrations with states that might be in a challenging situation.

Thank you, Olivier. A question from Anish Kapadia. On the gas exploration potential in Gabon, Etekamba. So who are the clients for this gas and what is to be expected?

Let's clarify a point to start with. We're very happy with this well, but -- we were not looking for something huge. It isn't a huge field. Still, it will meet the needs of local communities in Gabon. Gabon uses gas in its power plants. So there is a market and within an existing grid. We need to supply Lambarene as part of this grid. So electricity is to be supplied. That is in the contract we signed. And also, we have a commitment from the authorities to buy this gas. It is set out in the contract. Gabon purchases certain quantities of gas. So we'll have to see how things are put in practice, and we're hoping we would produce 10 million cubic feet per day to start with. And gradually, we would increase that amount. There might be another opportunity as well. Perenco currently has an FLNG and so a project to export liquefied gas. And so they would be interested in having additional resources. So that would bring a second market to us. But the gas will never be the majority of our income in Gabon, only a small share.

Another question from Hannam & Partners on Colombia this time. You mentioned the results on Sinu-9. What is to be expected when it comes to production growth? You mentioned the fact that the field produced 20 million cubic feet per day, 100% last year. The announcement was made that there were 14 million -- we had this 14 figure for January. So could you explain the trend and what is to be expected?

Indeed, for the 2 first wells, production is decreasing because the completion led to a number of issues. So we're starting from scratch, so to say, with this new well, and we'll continue with the following wells. And we are hoping to ramp up production starting with 20,000 to 30,000 cubic feet per day for several weeks. And then we would swiftly reach 40,000 by the second half of the year. And then we will have to continue. I mentioned this, the goal would be to reach 60 million cubic feet per day by 2027. And ultimately, the goal is to reach approximately 80 million to 100 million cubic feet per day if things turn out well, and I am optimistic. And again, there is a potential with the exploration well.

Thank you, Olivier. A question from a shareholder on the timing when it comes to the drilling in Sicily.

So we need to be humble about this. The confirmation that the environmental license is issued is very good news. We haven't received the document yet, but we know approval was granted. And a number of conditions will have to be fulfilled, obligations. And this might lead to additional delays. We had a contingent well in 2026. So this might happen in 2026, but we could be aiming for 2027. We really are looking forward to using the prospect. Italy is to be a complex country. France isn't -- is complex as well. But so end of the year or Q1 of 2027 at the latest, that is the goal.

Thank you, Olivier. Coming back to Ahmed Ben Salem from BHF on the definition of the zones of interest for acquisition outside Venezuela. What are the other regions, the other preferred regions?

Well, they remain the same, Africa and South America. In South America, you have Venezuela, Colombia, but also other countries. In Venezuela and Colombia, there are many opportunities and there is diversity in those opportunities, but other countries are being looked at as well. So again, the regions are Africa and South America. We are allowed to go elsewhere, too, but those 2 regions provide a comfortable setting for us. And we're familiar with those areas. We know the regions well. And when it comes to the assets, offshore, onshore, so for onshore and offshore, there are no exclusions. It can be conventional offshore, and it can even be beyond that deep offshore, no restrictions on that front. When it comes to the oils, there is a debate going on oil, gas. We like gas, but oil is good as well. So we tend to focus on oil as of today. We're looking at several gas assets as well.

Thank you, Olivier. A question from a curious shareholder. Why did Maurel & Prom get the license a few days after the other majors in Venezuela?

Well, that is curious indeed. I don't know how to frame it. Is it because we didn't have it at the same time? Is it a question because we received it swiftly after the others. In any case, the GL 50, the first license was issued on the 13th of February. We were expecting it. And I spoke about the fact that we would get the license a few days prior to that date. And it was a shock when the issues -- the issue happened, and we weren't in the pool. But we had very good meetings, successful meetings and swiftly after that, the authorities on the 18th of February, granted this license to us. I don't know what happened. Was it a mistake or not, but they corrected that mistake very swiftly.

Thank you, Olivier. We're reaching the end of the webcast. Perhaps we could have one more question. The Maurel & Prom share did very good over the past 3 months. What are the prospects? What is the outlook? What should shareholders expect? Will there be value creation?

The share has indeed grown lately and everyone commends that trend. I don't know what influence the crude prices have had over the past few days. I don't think those prices will sustain over time. I don't think the markets believe that those prices will go back down. And when this happens, I don't think our share will decrease -- our share price will decrease. On the outlook, I think investors are convinced we have very strong fundamentals. Value is created in Venezuela. And we also have a potential in Gabon, Colombia. Again, Colombia is very important for us. But my take on the future and on the prospects for the share is that we have a lot of leeway for acquisitions given our cash position and given the extra debt, we can afford to have -- again, we have net cash. We have a lot of leeway. Again, we can borrow money, and we have this very strong willingness to make acquisitions that help us scale up. I mentioned this earlier on, we're looking at a variety of elements. We have an M&A team that is very active, and we doubled the number of people. So we were fully involved on that front. I'm very optimistic.

Thank you, Olivier. I will let you conclude, but I just want to thank the shareholders for attending this webcast and for their questions.

Well, to wrap things up, I would go back to my -- what I was saying, we have a very sound position. Historical assets are doing well. We have new assets that will start strong in Venezuela and Colombia, too. And the guidance -- the outlook is very positive. We have a strong will to do merger and acquisitions. M&As are never an easy task. It doesn't always work on the first attempt, but we have a number of targets, and we have options. We won't be obliged to pay a high price for growth. We will be in a position to make the right decisions for our operations, our activities to be sustainable and value will be created. We have high expectations when it comes to return on investment, and I think we can reach those targets. So I think we can be fully confident. Thank you, and goodbye. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]