northern petroleum plc 
annual report and 
accounts 2013
northern petroleum plc annual report and accounts 2013 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013
northern petroleum is an oil and gas exploration 
and production group which has undergone 
significant change during 2013 the group 
is now primarily focused on production and 
development activities which are more within 
the group’s control and which are expected to 
deliver demonstrable value for shareholders in a 
reasonable timeframe alongside this lower risk 
activity northern petroleum continues to mature 
exploration and appraisal projects which can be 
farmed out and drilled in order to generate the 
possibility of very high returns on investment
northern petroleum’s key assets are in canada 
an onshore production play with significant 
growth potential and italy an offshore 
group of permits and applications containing 
exploration prospects and discovered oil fields 
introduction
01 2013 highlights
02 group at a glance
04 chairman’s statement
strategic report
06 chief executive officer’s statement
08 business model
09 strategy 
10 review of operations
16 risk management and principal risks 
18 group financial review
20 corporate social responsibility
governance
22 board of directors
23 corporate governance report
25  the health safety and 
environment committee 
26 the audit committee 
27 report on directors’ remuneration
33 directors’ report
35  directors responsibilities in respect 
of the annual report and the 
financial statements
financial statements
36 independent auditor’s report 
37 consolidated statement of profit or loss
38  consolidated statement of other 
comprehensive income
39  consolidated statement of financial 
position
40 consolidated cash flow statement
41  consolidated statement of changes 
in equity
43 notes to the accounts
83  unaudited statement of net commercial 
oil  gas reserve quantities – proven 
and probable reserves
84 company balance sheet
85 notes to the company accounts
information
93 notice of annual general meeting
95 glossary
96 directors offices and advisers
 production led growth 
“ to be a focused exploration  
and production company  
achieving material growth  
with a respected reputation”
strategic report
pages 6–21
 northern petroleum plc northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 01
introduction
health safety and environment
» the group maintained its record of no lost time 
incidents on its operations throughout the year 
including over nine months of operations in 
the netherlands
» care and maintenance of the markwells wood site 
in the uk including the cleaning and removal of 
storage tanks and flowlines
» abandonment of the la tosca well site including 
the reinstatement of the site to its original condition
operational
» entry into canada with a land position acquired in 
north west alberta and execution of a successful 
proof of concept well programme in early 2014 
» sale of the netherlands operating subsidiary 
to vermilion energy inc 
» refocusing of the italian portfolio to the southern 
adriatic where existing permits contain two oil 
discoveries and one world class exploration prospect 
» completion of the four well exploration programme 
offshore french guiana following up on the original 
zaedyus discovery
» award of a 14 million acre exploration licence 
in south australia targeting an unconventional 
shale oil play
financial
» sale of the netherlands operating subsidiary 
for €195 million in cash
» cash on the balance sheet at the year end was 
€260 million 31 december 2012 €225 million
» impairment of historic capitalised costs resulting 
in a charge to the profit or loss account of 
€177 million
board and governance
» restructure of the board including the 
appointment of a new ceo an independent 
nonexecutive chairman and two new 
independent nonexecutive directors
» reduction in board members from ten 
to six including three executive and 
three nonexecutive directors
2013 highlights northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 02
the group’s key 
assets are focused 
on production 
and development 
in canada and 
exploration and 
appraisal in italy
uk
small portfolio of 
production development 
and exploration licences
canada
101 mmbls of original 
oil in place across 
26454 acres with 
an average recovery 
factor to date of 17
french guiana
minority interest in a 
frontier exploration 
programme with 
the potential for 
significant returns 
group at a glance
suriname
brazil
french 
guiana
united 
kingdom
canada
alberta
united states northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 03
introduction
northern petroleum’s 
primary assets are in 
alberta canada and offshore the 
southern adriatic italy the albertan 
redevelopment project is the first move of a 
production led growth strategy which should 
provide the business with measurable growth in 
production reserves and cash flow the southern 
adriatic permits contain two oil discoveries one 
with significant recoverable resources and cygnus 
a world class exploration prospect 12kms from the 
producing aquila oilfield while the group’s other 
assets are not currently a primary focus for the 
business there is the potential for significant 
upside in the offshore french guiana licence 
and the new 14 million acre licence 
with unconventional shale oil 
potential in the otway basin 
south australia
italy
focus on offshore 
southern adriatic 
exploration and 
appraisal projects
australia
large onshore 
unconventional 
shale oil play
italy
australia
south 
australia
italy
onshore – exploration
longastrino permit 1000 northern
cascina alberto application 1000 northern
offshore – exploration
sicily channel
cr146np permit 1000 northern
d351crnp application 1000 northern
southern adriatic
fr39np permit 1000 northern
fr40np permit 1000 northern
d149drnp application 1000 northern
d60frnp application 1000 northern
d61frnp application 1000 northern
d65frnp application 1000 northern
d66frnp application 1000 northern
sicily channel – offshore sicily
d358crel application 500 petroceltic
d29grnp application 500 northern
d30grnp application 1000 northern
ionian sea – offshore sicily
d597frnp application 1000 northern
  orca exploration group inc own a 70 economic 
interest in the licence
french guiana
offshore – exploration
guyane eel licence 14 shell
  northern petroleum owns a majority interest in 
northpet investments limited a company which has 
a 25 interest in the guyane licence
australia
onshore
pel629 licence 1000 northern
licence status interest operator
canada
onshore 
north west 
alberta 71 leases 1000 northern
united kingdom
onshore – exploration
pedl126 licence 500 northern
pedl233 licence 500 igas energy
offshore – exploration
p1916 licence 625 northern
onshore – production
pl211 horndean licence 100 igas energy
pedl070 avington licence 50 igas energy northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 04
summary
» fundamental changes in the 
composition of the board
» the complementary experience 
and expertise of the executive team 
is reflected in the nonexecutive 
directors 
» material changes in the year affecting 
operations and corporate governance 
» changes undertaken in 2013 should 
now benefit the business during 2014 
and beyond
as the new chairman of northern petroleum plc i am pleased to report 
on behalf of the board the continuing transformation of the group
significant board changes have been made during the year designed 
to support and challenge the new management team in their drive 
to create value for shareholders the board recognises the challenges 
that the group faces and using our collective experience we are 
working together to realise the value of the opportunity that currently 
presents itself we firmly believe that the strategy of production led 
growth will enable the group to deliver shareholder value
there were several material events during 2013 which affected 
areas ranging from operations through to corporate governance in 
operations the group sold the dutch operating subsidiary to 
vermilion energy inc and acquired petroleum and natural gas lease 
acreage in canada that offers production development and 
exploration opportunities additionally the italian portfolio was 
refocused to concentrate on the southern adriatic and the four well 
follow up exploration programme in french guiana was completed 
from a corporate governance perspective northern petroleum was 
completely re shaped with a restructured and reduced board including 
a new nonexecutive chairman and chief executive officer 
the proceeds from the sale of the dutch assets have provided 
sufficient funding to carry out the proof of concept programme and 
initial development activity in canada while supporting the efforts 
in italy for the acquisition of 3d seismic further investment in 
canada will allow the project to become a material part of the 
business with development and production growth and provide a 
foundation for further production areas and additional core value 
this approach is taken in line with our strategy of production led 
growth which is discussed later in this report the business model 
employed by the group encourages focus on the assets that offer 
the optimum chance of adding material value while we continue to 
review the best way to monetise and divest assets that no longer fit 
with the corporate strategy
the board changes in 2013 have led to the creation of a management 
team that can positively pursue this strategy i would like to thank 
the former members of the board who endeavoured to set the 
groundwork for the current team to build on with active portfolio 
management the new team have now been able to position the 
group to grow
the experience and background of the new nonexecutive members 
of the board complement the skills and competence of management 
to create an effective team in support of the delivery of shareholder 
value the industry proven ability of the nonexecutive team 
provides the guidance to support the enthusiasm and drive of the 
management team
 chairman’s statement northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 05
introduction
the experience of the board ensures that we are aware of our 
responsibility to look after all our stakeholders manage risk and 
undertake our activities in a manner consistent with globally 
recognised best practice these responsibilities are something that 
we consider very important to the health of the business as we 
outline later in this report
we are confident that 2014 will see the positive impact of changes 
initiated in 2013 we continue to refine our approach and operations 
in order to create and deliver value from our existing portfolio 
while  working hard to upgrade our assets by pursuing new 
opportunities which fit our revised strategy i am very excited about 
working with this new team and i have every confidence that we will 
deliver opportunities that are capable of adding significant value to 
northern petroleum
the particular challenges the group faced in 2013 are largely 
behind us and 2014 is set to be an exciting and rewarding year 
i thank our staff and shareholders for their support during a year 
of transformation and i look forward to continued support as we focus 
on starting to develop the production that will lead the group to 
sustainable value creation 
jon murphy
nonexecutive chairman
14 april 2014
during the past twelve months 
our business has undergone a 
significant and transformational 
period of change this report 
provides the detail of the 
preparation work undertaken 
during the year to position 
northern petroleum for its 
new strategy of production 
led growth and the progress 
achieved to date
jon murphy
nonexecutive chairman
ensign service rig conducting reentry operations on well 1422 
alberta canada northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 06
summary
» change in primary operational focus to 
north west alberta canada
» rationalisation of the italian portfolio to 
focus on the southern adriatic 
» relationship building undertaken in italy 
to mitigate against external events 
which hindered progress
» clear corporate communication required 
to set transparent objectives to the 
market and deliver against these
» update on the group’s resource 
position critical to understanding 
where the true value lies
» group well positioned for production 
led growth
 chief executive officer’s statement
a transformational year
2013 was a year of significant change for northern petroleum the 
group said farewell to the chairman and managing director who 
had been with the group for 18 years and 14 years respectively 
further significant board changes were made during the year with 
the board reduced from 10 members at the start of the year to the 
final complement of six members in  early 2014 the  incoming 
nonexecutive directors have brought in a wealth of experience and 
expertise from industry and financing that will provide the necessary 
guidance and governance to support the management team and 
staff as the business grows
operationally the group refocused from the netherlands to canada 
with the acquisition of petroleum and natural gas leases in  north  west 
alberta during the first quarter followed by the completion of the 
sale of the netherlands operating subsidiary in the last quarter 
much work was conducted on the canadian assets during the year 
with both subsurface and operational preparative work performed 
to allow drilling operations to commence in the first quarter of 2014
a consolidation of the italian portfolio was also conducted during 
the year with a number of permits and applications relinquished in 
order to allow a more focused approach to the remaining interests 
the key area in italy is now the permits and applications held in the 
southern adriatic where significant progress has been made 
throughout the year in understanding the potential of the area this 
has been done in conjunction with a concerted effort to develop 
relationships within italy to allow progress through the approvals 
process we believe that the group’s objectives and the value that 
could be realised by the development of the discoveries are now 
fully recognised within the italian government in particular in the 
southern adriatic independent assessment of the giove discovery 
has estimated a recoverable contingent resource of 26 million 
barrels of oil 
in addition to the core areas in canada and italy the group 
also gained an exploration licence in south australia where there 
is shale oil condensate and gas potential the work programme 
for  the first year will assess this potential and the group will  determine 
the forward plan from this in french guiana the operator completed 
the exploration drilling programme without commercial success 
a  large desktop study consolidating the seismic and well data 
gathered to date has now been undertaken by the partnership to 
establish future exploration targets in the licence finally in the uk 
the group is looking at the best way to maximise the value of the 
licences through a sale or farm out 
the need for change
the need for change at northern petroleum has become clear over 
a number of years the producing fields in the netherlands did not 
perform as expected leading to reserve write downs and the capital 
cost of developing the fields was too great for the group in an 
investment environment where raising money for small companies 
was very challenging progress in italy stalled with the changes in 
legislation after the gulf of mexico spill and the decision by shell not 
to drill a farm in well offshore west of sicily further the need for 
good corporate governance required a shake up of the board 
all these issues and a number of others contributed to the operational 
and board changes that were effected during 2013 the spirit of change 
engendered by this has been captured well by the management and 
staff and everyone is very motivated to work towards a new era for 
the business these events have provided the first steps to position 
northern petroleum for the future northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 07
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
positioning for growth
much of the work performed in 2013 and continued in early 2014 
has been to enable growth when the new management team came 
together in july a review with investors concluded that the group 
needed to be clear in communication with shareholders and deliver 
on promises made
three short term operational goals were set by the team the sale of 
the netherlands subsidiary the startup of operations in canada 
and making progress with the italian southern adriatic permits two 
of those three objectives have now been met with the sale of the 
netherlands subsidiary concluding in october and operations in 
canada commencing in february 2014 the third objective is still 
of great importance to the growth of the business and much effort 
has been made to move the work programme in italy forward 
this has included running through a tender process with seismic 
acquisition companies to have a vessel available to conduct the 3d 
seismic survey in the fourth quarter of 2013 unfortunately 
the environmental approval process is still pending within the italian 
government and it has not yet been possible to conduct the survey 
something that has had a direct affect not only on northern 
petroleum but also on the service suppliers many other companies 
and industries have been impacted by the impasse within the italian 
environment ministry however we continue to work hard with the 
italian authorities to allow the survey to progress as planned in 2014 
with  the recent changes in the italian administration and government 
viewed as positive to the industry
along with the operational goals and essential to positioning  
the group appropriately the management team also endeavoured 
to increase the standards of corporate governance within the 
business key to corporate governance is the composition of the 
board and particularly the nonexecutive directors with the three 
new nonexecutive directors in place i  believe that the group  
has an exceptionally strong board for its size with the right  
skill set to complement challenge and ultimately support the 
executive members 
to further enhance the capacity to grow the business from a strong 
and credible foundation gaining an up to date picture of the reserve 
and resource base of the business was critical this has been 
achieved through third party review and while the change in 
categorisation and reduction of the southern adriatic resource was 
a material change it has given the management team a clear picture 
of where the true value lies 
the changes in the primary financial statements this year reflect the 
significant operational changes that the business has undergone 
during 2013 three key events have driven these changes the sale  
of the operating subsidiary in the netherlands the strategic  
exercise reviewing the direction of the business which has led  
to the impairment of certain assets and the consolidation of  
the now controlled joint venture which owns the french guiana 
interest while these changes have produced significant noncash 
losses in the profit or loss account for 2013 with the focus in the 
future being towards production the primary financial statements 
will be more closely aligned with measuring the performance of the 
business across each year as opposed to  across a multiyear 
exploration campaign 
the management and staff have been working hard to establish the 
asset status and optimum route forward in both surface and 
subsurface work programmes together with building relationships 
with all stakeholders this and the work discussed above allows the 
group to go forward with optimism and focus on the fundamental 
issues of growth in both value and reputation
looking forward
northern petroleum is now moving into a new era where the 
strategy of production led growth will be a significant component of 
future success in a market where the appetite for risk has reduced 
the companies that show focused use of capital to create sustainable 
growth offer more to investors 
this new strategy for the group is already making progress with the 
start up of operations to grow production in north west alberta 
the  positive results of the proof of concept project where all 
three of the wells encountered economically recoverable light oil now 
support plans for the full redevelopment of these lands to be 
finalised and implemented this will be a key focus for the group 
over the coming year 
to enhance the group’s production capability further opportunities 
will be evaluated with a view to establishing an additional core area 
this will reduce the risk of reliance on one area and allow technical 
skills proven in north west alberta to be utilised elsewhere
in addition to production led growth we recognise that growth 
through a sensible exploration and appraisal strategy is also required 
to provide the potential for very large returns on investment 
the opportunity that the southern adriatic presents is world class 
and we will continue to pursue this through working together with 
the italian authorities to gain approval to shoot the 3d seismic 
there will also be a sustained effort to demonstrate the value to 
other industry players such that we can develop an appropriate joint 
venture to fully evaluate the cygnus prospect and giove discovery 
through the drill bit
further to the italian opportunities a review of exploration potential 
is being conducted to identify the key focus areas that the group 
may enter in the future this will identify exploration opportunities at 
an early stage to ensure that we are able to keep our exploration 
portfolio in the right shape to generate new opportunities without 
significant capital commitment
in summary
northern petroleum has been through a transformational year 
during 2013 the new strategic approach to focus on production led 
growth will be very important for the future as the new board and 
management team aim to deliver an exploration and production 
company that provides investors the value that they expect i look 
forward to updating existing and new shareholders regularly as our 
group develops in this exciting new environment
keith bush
chief executive officer
14 april 2014 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 08
business model
a simple business model which will produce positive 
results over a reasonable investment horizon
production led growth
production and reserves provide 
clear demonstrable value for 
shareholders and investment 
community to evaluate growing 
this core value alongside a more 
volatile exploration and appraisal 
campaign will create a sustainable 
business model with a good rate of 
return for the shareholder 
exploration and appraisal upside
the group’s exploration and appraisal 
assets each have the ability to produce 
significant returns to shareholders 
upon successful monetisation the 
outcome and timing of maturing 
these assets are less in the control 
of the management therefore a 
broad portfolio of such 
opportunities needs to be created 
to achieve success 
capital discipline
as a smaller group financial 
resources are relatively limited 
the forecast rates of return of all 
projects need to be evaluated on 
an equal basis to ensure they 
contribute to the overall growth of 
the business at the appropriate 
level of risk 
production led 
growth
capital 
discipline
exploration  
and appraisal 
upside
sustainable 
value creation northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 09
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
strategy 
the group has established key performance indicators 
to clearly define what is important to the successful 
implementation of the group’s strategy and provide a 
benchmark against which to measure performance 
strategy 
following the management changes in 2013 northern petroleum 
undertook an internal review process to assess the best strategic 
direction for the group this process took into consideration the 
group’s existing assets collective skills and experience and 
compared these to the opportunities that currently exist within the 
industry alongside these key areas of consideration thought was 
given to the balance of risk and reward required by the shareholders 
and new investors to create interest and future investment 
in recent years the investment community has moved away from 
volatile exploration led strategies especially at the smaller end of the 
market and it is not clear when this may change investors are 
interested in companies with sustainable business models that have 
a realistic chance of growth in an appropriate time frame taking into 
account this sentiment and given the experience and skill set of the 
group’s board and senior management northern petroleum is 
focusing on production led growth primarily onshore as the key 
component of the new strategy
the key strengths of a production led growth strategy are
 » creating a sustainable business model that allows the group 
to grow
 » building core demonstrable value
 » operations that are more in the control of the group 
with a faster return on investment
 » a cost environment more appropriate for a small company 
with limited resources and
 » assets which can support greater equity and debt investment 
at the right time
the second component of the strategy is to continue to provide our 
investors with exposure to exploration and appraisal opportunities 
primarily offshore but only with a controlled outlay of the group’s 
capital as a relatively small exploration and production company 
northern petroleum must provide its investors with the possibility of 
high returns to match the inherent risks of investing at the smaller 
end of the market the timing and results of this type of activity are 
less within the management’s control and typically take longer to 
mature to a point where a return on investment can be realised 
however in conjunction with the primary strategic focus of 
production led growth this exploration and appraisal activity 
will provide the opportunity for significant upside in addition to 
the foundation of a more predictable but very valuable increase 
in core value from production
through the successful implementation of this strategy northern 
petroleum aims to provide its shareholders with exciting short term 
activity and value growth while building a well balanced exploration 
and production business of material size over the medium to 
long term
key performance indicators
health safety and environment 
undertaking exploration and production activities safely 
without a negative impact on people the operating environment 
or the group’s reputation is fundamental to the successful 
growth of the business
the group’s management and staff will be assessed annually 
across a specific set of measurements using an hse scorecard 
benchmarked against industry best practice as well as full 
regulatory compliance the scorecard will include industry 
standard hse metrics such as lost time incident frequency as 
well as zero spills and zero stakeholder complaints any projects 
conducted will include several key contractors and the hse 
component of their evaluation selection and management will 
be essential to the hse kpis incident prevention will be the 
most significant factor in meeting hse goals and consequently 
a high level of training and competency is being established to 
ensure that all staff and contractors are fully aware of their duty 
in respect of hse and are competent to perform the tasks 
required of them ensuring the safety of all involved and with no 
harm to the environment
reserves and production 
a key part of the group’s strategy is to create shareholder value 
that is measurable as an exploration and production company 
increasing levels of reserves and average production rates are 
an important component of the growth of the business and can 
be clearly defined and measured 
finding and development costs 
in order to provide competitive rates of return to shareholders 
the group must ensure that it incurs appropriate levels of cost 
in exploration appraisal and development activities sufficient 
levels of capital must be provided to allow the growth of the 
business in a cost effective way projects must compete 
internally for the allocation of capital and demonstrate a robust 
rate of return the average cost incurred to find and bring 
assets into profitable production will be measured against 
industry standards 
staff scorecard 
to successfully deliver the group’s strategy the group must 
retain and attract appropriate and quality staff providing a work 
environment that is positively challenging and rewarding for 
ambitious individuals in the industry is fundamental to building 
a successful business the group’s management will be measured 
against a scorecard of criteria including detailed objective setting 
set against the defined strategy and focused on the growth of 
shareholder value northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 10
review of operations
canada
2013 activity
as part of a review of development 
opportunities around the world canada was 
considered the most suitable country for 
four main reasons the ease of access to data 
the established industry and infrastructure 
the low cost of proving opportunity 
concepts and the running room to create 
core value and significant cash flow for the 
group canada provides the group with the 
opportunity to  quickly replace the production 
from the netherlands and build an increasing 
production base that can sustain growth
the decision to enter into canada was 
taken in the first quarter of 2013 with the 
acquisition of 9320 acres of oil and gas 
leases in the virgo area of north  west 
alberta activity post the first quarter was 
focused on preparing the optimum test 
programme for the newly acquired lands 
a  full subsurface work programme was 
conducted to examine how best to evaluate 
the keg river redevelopment opportunity 
this included the purchase and interpretation 
of 3d seismic over the lands the creation of 
static and dynamic reservoir models to 
evaluate the remaining potential in the oil 
pools and preparation for operations with a 
focus on existing well locations that could 
be most effectively worked on
the original concept of the play was to 
reenter existing wells to reinstate 
production from the keg river reefs 
subsurface work during the summer of 
2013 showed that there were further 
opportunities available with the drilling of 
new wells into previously produced reefs 
rather than just conducting reentry 
operations drilling of new wells would also 
reduce the operational risk as the condition 
of all the downhole equipment is known 
the work also showed that well reentry 
was still a viable option and therefore a 
three well proof of concept programme was 
developed the programme was designed 
to test the commercial viability of reinstating 
production in keg river carbonate reefs 
which were mainly drilled and produced in 
the 1960s 70s and 80s the programme 
comprised the reentry of an old production 
well 1422 the drilling of a new well into a 
previously produced reef 1333 and the 
drilling of a new well into a newly identified 
reef 1619
reentry operations on well 1422 virgo area
3d structure map illustrating well penetrations into keg river pinnacle reefs
the proof of concept programme was 
approved by the board at the end of the 
third quarter and well licencing work 
commenced at that point this included full 
consultation with the local population along 
with the appropriate environmental surveys 
and reporting at the time of the applications 
for the three well licences there was an 
unprecedented backlog at the alberta 
energy regulator due to a change in 
procedure combined with a large number 
of industry applications this caused the 
process to take longer than forecast and 
meant that the proof of concept work 
programme moved into early 2014 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 11
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
rig up of the ensign service rig on well 1422 isolation packer recovery on well 1422
planned activity
during the production operations in the first 
quarter of 2014 two new wells were 
successfully drilled 1619 and 1333 and 
one well was successfully reentered 1422 
where production from all previously 
producing horizons was shut off apart from 
the keg river
the results from well 1422 proved the 
concept of oil reequilibration over time 
which supports the option of reentering 
other wells across the group’s acreage and 
bringing them back into commercial 
production the results from well 1333 proved 
that the larger reefs which have historically 
only been produced by one well will support 
multiple new wells targeting unswept oil 
zones while it is not expected that there 
will be many more new reefs found well 
1619 which was drilled into a previously 
undrilled reef successfully calibrated the 
group’s 3d seismic interpretation which 
will be beneficial for the location of future 
wells on existing reefs and is a standalone 
economically viable discovery
the group acquired its initial land position 
of 9320 acres through three alberta crown 
land lease sales in 2013 the group has 
participated in four further land sales this 
year targeting specific land sections to help 
augment the group’s position in this play 
total land acquisition costs have been 
cdn28 million including fees and initial 
rental payments the average price paid by 
the group in 2013 in acquiring its initial 
land  position was cdn186 per hectare 
the highest average price paid in a land 
sale in the area in 2014 has been cdn475 
per hectare
the group’s aggregate land position now 
comprises 26454 acres with an alberta 
energy regulator calculated 101 mmbbls 
stooip from which 175 mmbbls of oil has 
been produced giving an average recovery 
factor of 17 per cent internal review has 
identified more than 100 reefs or partial reefs 
which are now being graded for future 
drilling and production 
the ongoing work programme in 2014 
will  be to evaluate the results of the 
production  testing and focus on the 
redevelopment plan for the virgo area 
the   primary focus is to increase the 
recovery factor by an initial five per cent 
through primary recovery techniques 
in  addition work in 2014 will consider 
the  potential of secondary recovery from 
water flood which has been done on a 
limited basis and with some success in the 
wider area redevelopment programme 
planning is expected to continue for the 
remainder of the year a  further drilling 
programme is being planned for later this 
year and will target reefs that enhance the 
understanding of the area and provide good 
production opportunities northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 12
review of operations continued
italy
2013 activity
the southern adriatic permits and applications 
have been the focus of attention as they 
have the potential to be transformational for 
the group the group’s management has 
expended significant effort including regular 
dialogue with the italian ministries and british 
embassy in rome to gain the required 
environmental approvals for the planned 3d 
seismic operations and for the award of the 
adjacent application areas however the key 
requirement of ministerial signature for the 
environmental impact assessments has 
not been achieved therefore it has not yet 
been  possible to conduct the 3d seismic 
work programme nor have the applications 
converted to permits
the southern adriatic acreage takes 
precedence within the italian acreage 
portfolio as it lies within a proven 
hydrocarbon province containing the 
producing aquila oil field the cygnus 
prospect is up dip of it and evidence from 
the development wells for the field indicate 
that cygnus could have a shared oil water 
contact with aquila during 2013 erc 
equipoise limited “erce” assessed the 
prospective resources for the cygnus 
prospect recognising in the high case 
estimate a common oil water contact with 
the aquila field giving a prospective resource 
of 979 million barrels with 790 million barrels 
of recoverable oil within the 100 per cent 
owned permit fr39np the erce 
prospective resource estimate for the mean 
case using a shallower contact giving partial 
hydrocarbon fill and a separation from the 
aquila field from the mapped prospect is 
446 million barrels of which 401 million 
barrels are within the permit the cygnus 
prospect is a stratigraphic trap with its reservoir 
comprising resedimented carbonates derived 
from the adjacent apulian platform the distal 
and basin equivalent of these sequences are 
productive in the aquila field erce estimate 
a chance of success of 12 per cent for 
the cygnus prospect
significant technical work has been 
conducted on the discoveries within the 
southern adriatic permits in 2013 studies 
on the giove discovery have indicated 
the  potential for larger oil in place than 
previously recognised and a review of the 
well results has indicated a better recovery 
factor may be applied further increasing 
the potential therefore in order to obtain 
a  consistent picture through the 
southern  adriatic permits erce was 
also  contracted to review the giove and 
rovesti discoveries and the new work 
performed by the group 
the review performed by erce gave 
positive results for giove with an increase  
in the expected recoverable resource to  
26 million barrels however the recoverable 
resource from rovesti was reduced due to a 
reinterpretation of the available log data 
erce has reclassified both giove and rovesti 
as contingent resource volumes previously 
both assets have been categorised as reserves 
the reclassification is reflected on the balance 
sheet by transferring the historical acquisition 
and development costs from tangible to 
intangible this now allows the group to focus 
on moving the giove discovery through the 
appraisal phase to establish whether there is 
a viable development for the field and realise 
the potential value that this will bring 
as part of the effort to focus within a 
particular area in italy a number of the 
pending applications have been withdrawn 
these include two in the southern adriatic 
where the potential for oil was not 
considered as good as the other application 
and permit areas
cygnus prospect showing resedimented carbonate “mound” isopach thickness m
giove discovery top carbonate structure map metres subsea northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 13
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
planned activity
italy has experienced a period of political 
transition culminating in a change in the 
prime minister and other government 
ministers including the environment minister 
and the minister for economic development 
the group view these changes as positive 
and along with some of the initiatives 
proposed and fully supported by northern 
petroleum believes that the new national 
energy strategy will have a positive impact 
on exploration and production in italy we 
look forward to the implementation of the 
plans that will enhance the ability of the 
group to grow its presence in the country 
by reducing the administrative hurdles
southern adriatic 
the permits containing the cygnus prospect 
and the giove discovery are the prime 
targets of the planned 3d seismic survey 
the survey will be acquired in 2014 
assuming that the appropriate environ
mental approval is obtained and a survey 
vessel can be contracted once acquired 
the seismic will be processed and 
interpreted as soon as possible in order to 
establish drilling locations both to test the 
cygnus prospect  and also appraise the 
giove discovery in conjunction with this 
work the farm out process will continue in 
order  to bring in additional experience 
and funding into the permits 
ionian sea 
three gas discoveries fedra florida and 
fiorenza and exploration prospects 
are   contained within the application 
d597frnp these are in deep water 
adjacent to the producing luna hera 
lacinia and linda gas fields operated by eni 
3d seismic coverage acquired by eni will  
be evaluated once this application has  
been awarded
southern adriatic permits and applications
sicily channel 
permit cr146np contains the vesta oil 
prospect interpreted as having the same 
age reservoir sequence as the on trend 
vega oil field the permit is currently 
suspended and is also subject to farm in 
interest closer to the sicily coast applica
tions are awaiting award and contain leads 
similar to the on trend palma oil discovery 
following the strategic change in the focus 
of the business historic exploration costs 
in the sicily channel in licences that have 
been relinquished have been written off
po valley 
cascina alberto is the only application 
onshore and contains a prospect similar to 
structures such as the villafortunatrecate 
oil field once the application is awarded 
the group will continue the technical work 
to establish a possible drill location to 
evaluate the prospect the longastrino 
permit contains additional leads not currently 
considered for further evaluation with no 
firm exploration efforts in this permit it has 
been decided to write off historic 
exploration costs northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 14
review of operations continued
french guiana 
2013 activity
the zaedyus oil discovery in 2011 was made 
with the first deepwater well in this basin 
that gave encouragement to execute an 
exploration programme comprising an 
extensive 3d seismic acquisition covering 
the deepwater margin and a four well 
drilling campaign to follow up on the initial 
success the 3d seismic has demonstrated 
that numerous deepwater fan systems exist 
with the potential for stratigraphic traps 
similar to zaedyus the drilling programme 
demonstrated that early success can be 
difficult to replicate however a great deal 
of information has been gained that will 
substantially derisk future exploration and 
make the acreage potentially attractive to a 
purchaser who can benefit from the 
knowledge gained from the previous five 
well exploration programme
the discovery well zaedyus1 gmes1 
encountered 72 meters of net oil pay in two 
turbidite sand sequences within a large fan 
system cingulata that contains multiple 
turbidite lobes the follow on four well 
exploration programme targeted three 
locations within the cingulata fan and one 
on a separate fan system cebus located on 
the first of two 3d seismic surveys acquired 
in 2012 these wells all encountered 
reservoir sequences some with oil shows 
but resulted in no commercial discovery
the shareholding held by the company in 
northpet investments limited “northpet” 
has increased resulting from an arrangement 
entered into in 2008 whereby each of the 
two shareholders northern petroleum and 
wessex exploration plc “wessex” had  
an option to elect not to fund its share of 
joint venture cash calls in return for the 
other shareholder receiving an increased 
share holding in northpet the jointly owned 
investment vehicle wessex elected to take 
advantage of this option in october 2013 
which resulted in the group now owning  
a net beneficial interest of 14 per cent in  
the licence this arrangement has been 
superceded and the equity held by 
shareholders in northpet is now fixed 
future cash calls will have to be honoured 
or the defaulting party will lose their equity 
in  northpet this change has resulted in 
the  consolidation of northpet onto the 
balance sheet as the group now owns  
559 per cent of the vehicle 
planned activity
shell and its joint venture partners have 
integrated the data from the five wells with 
the newly processed 3d seismic this data 
has been interpreted and mapped resulting 
in the identification of a portfolio of 
prospects and leads in the central slope 
area of the guyane maritime permit 
northern petroleum will decide on how 
best to proceed with its involvement in the 
acreage once the seismic interpretation is 
completed by the operator
the netherlands
2013 activity 
the netherlands provided the group with 
production revenue from six gas fields 
discoveries to be developed and exploration 
potential to fully realise the potential of the 
acreage funds were required beyond those 
available to the group production revenue 
was also expected to reduce as nederlandse 
aardoile maatscappij bv took a revenue 
share post development payback on four 
of the fields unless increased investment 
was applied to them therefore the decision 
was made to divest the portfolio while the 
opportunity existed for the purchaser to 
build on what northern petroleum had 
achieved and therefore pay a price that 
reflected the future potential that could be 
realised through a greater level of  investment
northern petroleum netherland bv was  
sold to vermilion oil  gas netherlands bv 
for €195  million while retaining a net  
profits interest in the undeveloped papekop 
oil and gas field and any development of  
the posidonia unconventional shale oil  
play the economic date for the transaction 
was 1  january 2013 however the sale 
completed on 10  october 2013 the net 
effect of the financial performance of 
the netherlands subsidiary for the period up 
to 10  october 2013 and the disposal is 
shown with the profit or loss account under 
discontinued operations
on site flow testing in the netherlands northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 15
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
the uk
2013 activity
the uk portfolio provided oil production 
from the horndean and avington oil fields 
during 2013 the primary reservoir play for 
the weald basin has historically been the 
great oolite carbonate a low permeability 
reservoir that can contain large volumes of 
oil in place recovery factors are low as are 
production rates which generally have 
a slow decline the majority of the fields 
in  the area produce from this reservoir 
including horndean and avington net 
production to the group from these fields 
during 2013 was approximately 20 barrels 
of oil per day
in conjunction with the operator of licence 
pedl233 containing the baxters copse 
discovery and following an internal exercise 
analysing the markwells wood discovery 
the group has decided to reclassify the 43 
million barrels of 2p reserves assigned to 
these assets as 2c contingent resource 
while both assets have the potential to be 
commercial discoveries further appraisal 
needs to be undertaken to confirm a viable 
development plan which would lead to 
commercial production
the group has also relinquished the 
onshore licences pedl256 and pedl155 
which contain the havant prospect after 
extensive consultation with the licence joint 
venture partners
the wider uk asset portfolio including the 
minority interests in the producing 
horndean and avington oil fields and the 
offshore isle of wight exploration licence is 
not a primary focus for the group these uk 
assets are being considered for sale and the 
group has invited expressions of interest 
however no acceptable offer has progressed 
to a final divestment with limited capital 
commitment forecast limited management 
time required on the assets and positive 
cashflow from the production management 
is prepared to wait to receive a fair offer for 
the assets
historical exploration and appraisal costs 
relating to the uk which have been 
previously capitalised in the balance sheet 
have now been written off in the profit or 
loss account
australia
2013 activity 
having recognised that unconventional 
resources are best developed where 
sufficient land access is available the group 
resolved to consider countries that would 
provide the opportunity to evaluate a large 
area australia was also recognised as 
providing extremely supportive state 
governments and free access to seismic and 
well data to evaluate the onshore acreage 
having learnt from evaluating shale 
sequences in the netherlands and the uk 
the group applied for what was considered 
to be an unexplored unconventional 
resource play concentrating on where this 
would have light oil  and liquid rich gas 
potential the otway basin licence covering 
14 million acres in  south australia was 
awarded in september 2013 and has a five 
year term
planned activity
the first year work programme is to 
undertake an integrated interpretation of all 
the previous seismic and drilling information 
concentrating on two formations the 
sawpit and casterton shale sequences 
known as good quality source rocks and the 
associated sandstone reservoirs new work 
includes seismic reprocessing geochemistry 
and regional studies to incorporate any 
results from new wells drilled on the 
adjoining acreage the group is also seeking 
to bring into the licence an experienced 
operator with current unconventional 
operations to assist with the planned work 
programme that envisages a first well in the 
third year of the licence recent drilling 
activity in the adjacent acreage operated by 
beach energy limited “beach energy” has 
further enhanced the potential of the licence 
the jolly1 well drilled to 4026 metres 
recovered core in the sawpit and casterton 
formations and had elevated mud gas 
readings over 340 metres of the lower 
sawpit shale including extensive sandstone 
intervals beach energy is drilling the 
bungaloo1 well to further evaluate 
the primary casterton formation with the 
lower sawpit shale now a secondary target 
beach energy considers that the well result 
indicates that a substantial deep basin gas 
play may be present in the penola trough 
part of the otway basin in   the group’s 
acreage within the otway basin three 
troughs are present the robe the st clair 
and rivolitantanoola all of which may have 
potential for unconventional resource plays northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 16
risk management and principal risks 
description mitigation
health safety environment
major incident 
kpi affected
health safety and 
environment
an incident or accident resulting in a fatality 
or fatalities environmental destruction andor 
pollution significant property damage
hse policy training procedures and competency 
are required throughout the organisation 
including the training of contractors if necessary 
operational procedures take account of any  
hse requirements there may be appropriate 
insurances are in place hse audits carried out as 
per the annual hse management plan
financial
company financing 
kpi affected
finding and 
development costs
significant capital resource is required for the 
exploration and production industry depending 
upon the rate of success the group may need to 
look to alternative sources of obtaining funds 
other than self generating activities capital must 
be deployed efficiently in the pursuit of 
production and reserves targets
through production led growth the group aims 
to create a sustainable revenue stream cost and 
overhead management is conducted through 
the budgeting and tracking process 
engagement with equity and debt communities 
is appropriately managed along with active 
management of the asset portfolio merger and 
acquisition activity is also considered as required 
each project is judged on its return on investment 
for the group
fiscal regime change 
kpi affected
finding and 
development costs
any change to the hydrocarbon fiscal regime in 
the countries where the group operates may 
have a negative effect on the value of the assets 
in that country
operating in countries with low fiscal change 
risk provides some certainty around the fiscal 
environment project economics are evaluated 
to ensure they are robust so that the project can 
withstand change at reasonable levels
commodity price change 
kpi affected
finding and 
development costs
hydrocarbon market prices are volatile and 
affect the economic value of the group’s 
production a prolonged period of low prices 
may impact the group’s ability to progress its 
planned investment programme
the robustness of projects is determined in the 
project economic evaluation to ensure suitable 
returns to the group price hedging arrangements 
are considered during this process and would be 
impl emented if deemed appropriate for financial 
planning and to mitigate such risks in the short 
to medium term
northern petroleum works in an industry that contains inherent 
areas of risk that need to be managed appropriately the group uses 
risk management to identify the specific risks that the group faces and 
ways to mitigate those risks risk reduction measures are then 
prioritised through the risk management strategy 
identifying and managing the key risks to the group are the 
responsibility of the senior management and executive board 
members the board is then charged with monitoring and reviewing 
the management of these risks northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 17
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
description mitigation
technical
subsurface
kpi affected
reserves and production
finding and  
development costs
there is a significant element of technical risk in 
exploring for and developing oil and gas fields 
the chance of a commercially successful 
exploration discovery is generally low and the 
capital costs are high
robust technical work processes are used along 
with technical peer reviews to ensure each 
opportunity has been thoroughly evaluated 
before investment decisions are made lessons 
learned are developed maintained and 
implemented and the group actively 
communicates the risk involved in projects
reserves and resources
kpi affected
reserves and production
finding and  
development costs
reserves or resources that are not evaluated and 
categorised appropriately can lead to an over 
evaluation of the asset disclosure of inaccurate 
numbers to stake holders can be misleading lead 
to write downs and does not comply with good 
business practice
robust technical work processes are used along 
with technical peer reviews reserves reviews 
are carried out as part of the annual reserves 
process reserve audits and verifications are 
conducted as necessary and for communication 
to stakeholders
operations and production
production target
kpi affected
reserves and production
the group is unable to meet its stated production 
targets for a variety of reasons including 
difficulties in or around the wells or facilities 
defects in the materials or a well or field not 
producing as expected
by ensuring an appropriate development plan is 
in place the group is able to optimise production 
from individual wells and facilities production 
forecasting is carried out by taking a portfolio 
view of the well stock and capacity allowing for 
planned operational downtime and an element 
of unplanned downtime operations processes 
are developed to maintain production
high operating cost 
kpi affected
finding and  
development costs
production operations incur excessive cost 
reducing the economic lifetime and value of the 
assets involved
operations team developed as fit for purpose 
appropriate processes are put in place to track 
operational expenditure analyse where 
improvements can be made and update the 
processes to reflect the improvement strict 
adherence to the budgetary controls in place  
is required
human resources
staff retentionrecruitment 
kpi affected
staff scorecard
key personnel and positions are required in order to 
implement the group strategy and run the business 
the industry is currently human resource 
constrained and the appropriate personnel are 
difficult to recruit and retain
the group identifies the key positions and 
personnel and ensures that the incentive package 
offered reflects the key needs of the business the 
working culture and environment is established 
such that personnel feel empowered to 
deliver their required work and that they can 
develop with the group
political risk
project schedule impact
kpi affected
reserves and production
northern petroleum operates in different 
countries around the  world and changes in 
political regime could affect the group’s ability 
to develop their assets regulatory and legislative 
alterations and delays in approvals impact 
negatively upon the group’s ability to commence 
with planned activities
when the group evaluates new business 
opportunities political risk is evaluated and 
priority is given to areas of lower risk time is 
taken to develop the appropriate relationships 
within the authorities and other industry support 
groups to ensure that the group is considered as 
a responsible and considerate operator where 
delay is encountered stakeholders are informed 
as to the impact on any project northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 18
summary
» financial performance of the 
netherlands up to the point of sale 
and net effect of the sale presented 
in discontinued operations
» impairment charge of €177 million to 
the profit or loss account following 
internal strategic review
» northpet now consolidated as a 
subsidiary in the balance sheet 
following change in ownership interest
» the reclassification of reserves to 
contingent resources in the southern 
adriatic has led to historic costs relating 
to the permits being moved to 
intangible assets
overview
the material changes in the primary financial statements year on 
year reflect the significant operational changes that the business has 
undergone during 2013 three key events have driven these 
changes the sale of the operating subsidiary in the netherlands a 
strategic exercise reviewing the direction of the business which has 
led to the impairment of certain assets and the consolidation as a 
subsidiary of the now controlled joint venture which owns the 
french guiana interest 
consolidated statement of profit or loss 
sale of the netherlands
on 10 october 2013 northern petroleum completed the sale of its 
dutch operating subsidiary which contributed 95 per cent of the 
group’s revenue in 2012 the financial performance of the 
netherlands for the period up to 10 october and the net financial 
effect of the sale have been presented within discontinued operations 
in the profit or loss account revenue and other items have been 
restated accordingly in respect of the prior year which has led to a 
significant fall in revenue and production costs when compared 
with 2012 the remaining net profits interests in any future 
development of the papekop field or the posidonia shale which 
were part of the consideration do have a value however the value 
of such interests is too uncertain at this stage to capitalise as an 
asset on the balance sheet
while the completion date of the dutch disposal was 10 october 
2013 the economic date for the transaction upon which the 
purchase consideration was calculated was 1 january 2013 the 
trading of the subsidiary throughout 2013 to the point of sale 
contributed to a final loss on sale of €43 million when compared 
with the consolidated book value of the assets within the group 
the subsidiary company within the group which owned the dutch 
business has not incurred a taxable gain on the disposal through the 
use of the substantial shareholdings exemption which will also 
require the reinvestment of the sale proceeds within three years of 
the transaction a full analysis of the financial impact of the 
dutch operations including its sale can be found within note 3 to 
the accounts 
impairment
following the changes of the board during 2013 and the disposal of 
the netherlands subsidiary an internal exercise was undertaken to 
determine the best strategic direction for the business and evaluate 
the group’s assets the results of the exercise and the relinquishment 
of certain licences meant that the focus of the business was no 
longer prioritised on certain areas and assets where the group had 
previously incurred and capitalised exploration and drilling costs 
these changes have led to the impairment of assets in certain areas 
including in the po valley and sicily in italy and in the wessex and 
weald basins in the uk where future material investment to progress 
exploration and appraisal opportunities is not currently deemed 
likely the total charge to the profit or loss account in 2013 for 
impairment was €177 million and further detail concerning these 
impairments can be found in notes 16 and 17 to the accounts
a further result of the strategic exercise is the decision to adjust the 
methodology behind testing the impairment of the group’s intangible 
oil and gas assets historically exploration costs have been 
capitalised and grouped in country pools and judged against the 
cash generating potential of the assets in that country taken as a 
whole in future the capital pools will be reduced to a regional basis 
mirroring the geological basins of a particular play this is not a change 
in the group’s accounting policy but a more focused approach in 
determining the likely future commercial viability of any project
group financial review northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 19
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
the licence offshore french guiana is regarded as one regional play 
and given the ongoing nature of the exploration campaign here and 
further drilling being considered by the operator and partners the 
exploration costs to date remain capitalised on the balance sheet in 
line with the group’s full cost accounting policy however if no 
further drilling activity is planned by the operator this cost will be 
written off through the profit or loss account when such an outcome 
is confirmed 
costs
following the board changes and the sale of the group’s key 
revenue generating subsidiary there is an ongoing focus on cost in 
prior years a significant amount of staff cost and associated 
overhead expenditure was capitalised as part of ongoing exploration 
and development projects or was directed to supporting production 
in the netherlands while there has been a significant reduction in 
these costs on an actual basis with less operational activity the 
balance and nature of these costs have resulted in more cost being 
expensed through the profit or loss account in 2013 further oneoff 
costs were incurred in the year due to the board changes and 
associated termination payments irrespective of whether staff costs 
and associated overheads can be capitalised there will continue to 
be a focus on ensuring the group’s cost base is in line with its 
operational activity
dividends
no dividend is proposed to be paid for the year ended 31 december 2013 
2012 €nil
consolidated statement of financial position
consolidation of french guiana 
during 2013 wessex northern petroleum’s joint venture partner 
in  northpet the french guiana licence vehicle exercised its 
right under the joint venture agreement to not meet its cash calls 
and dilute its equity interest in northpet as a result northern 
petroleum now owns 559 per cent of northpet and wessex owns 
441 per cent with this ownership change northpet is now deemed 
to be controlled by northern petroleum and is no longer equity 
accounted for as a joint venture but a fully consolidated subsidiary 
the mechanism through which this was achieved also crystallised 
a foreign exchange loss previously recognised in reserves
treatment of the southern adriatic 
in 2013 an independent reservoir evaluation specialist was 
mandated to review the group’s discoveries in the southern adriatic 
offshore italy the results of that exercise established that the 
reserves previously held by the group for the discoveries should be 
reclassified as contingent resources the capitalised costs relating 
to the acquisition of and ongoing work programme on these assets 
were shown under property plant and equipment following this 
reclassification these capitalised costs have been moved to intangible 
assets to reflect the change in certainty around the future development 
of the discoveries
cash and debt
cash at the year end was €260 million 2012 €225 million 
throughout the year the biggest individual investment for the group 
was the ongoing operations in french guiana which involved the 
drilling of three wells incurring a total investment of €84 million
the group has sufficient funds to not only meet its financial 
commitments as they currently stand but also undertake the 
planned operational activity set out in the review of operations 
however the optimum pace of development and investment to 
maximise returns in the group’s assets may require further external 
capital from equity or debt at some point in the future
during 2013 the group acquired a relatively small amount of debt 
totalling €15 million at the year end this relates to an italian 
government scheme which has since been withdrawn whereby 
seismic costs were partially refunded via a grant and long term 
government loans the loans are repaid over five years with an 
interest cost of 05 per cent per annum the below market interest 
rate element of this loan has been fair valued and recognised as 
a grant towards the cost of the italian assets
at the year end net current assets were €247 million 2012 €237 million 
and net assets were €745 million 2012 €917 million 
accounting policies
these financial statements have been prepared by the board using 
accounting policies consistent with 2012 there have been no  
new or revised international financial reporting standards  
adopted during the year which have had a material impact on the 
numbers reported details of the accounting policies used  
are included within the accounting policy notes starting on  
page 43 group and page 85 company
nick morgan
finance director
14 april 2014 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 20
corporate social responsibility 
approach
northern petroleum considers the core 
values of the group to be extremely 
important and as such they reflect the 
behaviours expected in all aspects of 
business the corporate social 
responsibility “csr” practices are 
intended to reflect the group values and 
provide clear sight of how the group 
manages key social issues systems to 
do this are being continuously developed 
to ensure the csr strategy is compliant 
with business aims and objectives 
whilst  providing all stakeholders with 
a  consistent and transparent overview 
of our csr performance 
northern petroleum’s key values are
»  maintaining the highest regard for 
health and safety in all our operations
» respect for the environment in which 
we work
»  integrity and accountability to all the 
stakeholders in the business
this strategic report comprises the chief executive 
officer’s statement the business model and strategy 
the review of operations the review of risk 
management and principal risks the group financial 
review and the review of corporate social 
responsibility collectively on pages 6 to 21 and is 
approved on behalf of the board by 
keith bush
chief executive officer
14 april 2014
business ethics
northern petroleum conducts its day to day business with 
transparency fairness and integrity and requires that all employees 
contractors and suppliers apply and maintain these standards in 
their  performance 
northern petroleum successfully mitigates disruptive impacts by 
pledging to develop responsible business policies in line with 
changing regulations develop and maintain systems which identify 
potential risks and instil a sense of accountability throughout the 
organisation 
the group conducts a robust assessment of antibribery and 
corruption in the areas in which we operate
health and safety
the ability to demonstrate a strong health and safety track record is 
an important factor in gaining stakeholder confidence it is also a 
prerequisite in not only our industry but throughout our 
organisation and forms part of the kpis by which we measure and 
monitor our performance
empowering people to intervene and stop a task or colleague if  
they believe the work to be unsafe requires northern petroleum 
employees to take responsibility for their personal safety and the 
safety of those around them managers and supervisors lead by 
example by demonstrating their personal commitment to the 
group’s health and safety policies 
the training of staff and contractors mitigate the risk of incidents 
in our operations a companywide hse management system is 
implemented across all of our operational sites through our regional 
administrative office locations northern petroleum has a corporate 
emergency response plan and undertakes training exercises that 
take into account the specific group operations in its locations this 
system prepares personnel for dealing with a variety of emergency 
response incidents with more than half of employees in head office 
and its subsidiaries trained to support the incident response team  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 21
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
personnel
human resource within the oil and gas industry is fundamental to 
the success of any exploration and production business recruiting 
and retaining the right people is core to this and as part of csr the 
group ensures that personnel are treated properly and given the 
professional development they require training programmes are 
adapted with the individual to allow focused development in the 
areas that will provide the most benefit both to the group and 
individual this ensures that the group creates an internal talent 
pool capable of realising the group’s strategy
the group also provides the appropriate hr support such that 
should employees have any issues or concerns they have easy 
access to the support they need to resolve them 
recruiting where possible from local communities and the 
countries in which we operate assists northern petroleum in 
developing committed and motivated employees this also provides 
a broad local knowledge base with a diversity that reflects the local 
communities we operate in and allows us to maintain strong 
stakeholder relationships
environment
northern petroleum is committed to setting a positive and 
responsible example to the protection of the environment in the 
areas in which we operate to minimise any adverse effects of our 
business a robust environmental performance is imperative to 
maintaining our solid reputation as a responsible operator and our 
ability to generate shareholder value
we are conscious of the impact to the environment that oil and gas 
activity can have and to mitigate the risk we conduct comprehensive 
environmental impact assessments “eia” before operational 
activity commences these ensure compliance with industry 
standards and applicable local and federal guidelines and regulations 
by identifying and planning possible issues before operations 
commence we are able to protect the environment during the 
works and restore the area as appropriate upon completion of our 
activities thus ensuring minimal impact on the local community
all personnel are responsible for improving the performance of 
the environmental policy objective of reducing our impact upon 
the environment
community
it is beneficial to consult with our stakeholders and become a 
trusted responsible neighbour by partnering with local and national 
governments and local communities we encourage an open and 
transparent dialogue with public consultations to aid and improve 
our operations minimise disruption to local residents and businesses 
whilst managing expectations carefully 
by seeking to gain access to lands through approaches that  
are sensitive to local landowners concerns and principles we 
maintain healthy relationships within the communities in which we 
operate whilst generating socioeconomic benefits that focus on 
local needs
northern petroleum develops policies in line with governmental 
legislation to mitigate disruptive impacts upon local communities 
and ensure that all employees and contractors are aware of their 
responsibilities instilling individual accountability
equal opportunity and diversity
northern petroleum value all of its employees whilst promoting and 
supporting the rights and opportunities of each individual we are 
committed to diversity and opportunities for advancement within 
the group with these factors not being influenced by any other 
factor than ability and performance 
every effort is made to provide a working environment where each 
individual is treated with respect free from bullying harassment 
discrimination or intimidation on the basis of nationality race sex 
religion beliefs sexual orientation or disability
northern petroleum is proud that its employees comprise 29 per 
cent women in the group ranging in departments from administrative 
to financial to technical we intend to remain focused upon advancing 
women within the oil and gas industry through mentorship 
leadership training and personal development plans northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 22
4 keith bush
chief executive officer
keith joined northern petroleum in may 
2012 as chief operating officer was 
appointed to the board in november the 
same year and was made chief executive 
officer in july 2013 keith gained a degree in 
physics and has over 20  years industry 
experience commencing his career with 
western atlas logging services keith 
progressed to hold managerial positions in 
amerada hess burlington resources and 
was most recently employed as general 
manager operations for eon ruhrgas in 
norway keith has extensive experience in 
the north sea north africa and norway
5 nick morgan
finance director
nick was appointed finance director in 
november 2012 before joining northern 
petroleum nick spent over 13 years in 
investment banking where he focused 
on advising the international ep industry 
he specialised in advising upon mergers 
and acquisitions and providing equity capital 
markets advice and services to a broad range 
of global oil and gas companies both public 
and private for the last six years he was 
employed by tristone capital the global 
energy investment bank and latterly gmp 
securities nick qualified as a chartered 
accountant at price waterhouse and is 
a  member of the institute of chartered 
accountants in england and wales
6 graham heard
exploration and technical director
graham was appointed as exploration and 
technical director in may 2007 having 
been the exploration manager of northern 
petroleum for the previous four and a half 
years he is a former chairman 1991 of the 
petroleum exploration society of great 
britain graham has over 35 years experience 
as a petroleum geologist beginning his 
career with arco and then gaining extensive 
international experience with independents 
siebens oil and quintana petroleum he 
subsequently held various executive 
positions with sovereign oil  gas plc 
neste production limited and sands oil  
gas plc
1 jon murphy
nonexecutive chairman
jon was appointed as chairman in 
september 2013 and has over 30 years 
of experience in the midcap exploration 
and production industry jon holds a bsc in 
geology from the university of london his 
career includes several years with lasmo plc 
where he held various positions in geology 
planning and new business and in  1999 
he  joined venture production plc as 
chief operating officer where he remained 
until venture’s sale in 2009 he is currently 
a  nonexecutive director of t rinity exploration 
and production plc
2 stewart gibson
nonexecutive director
stewart was appointed as a nonexecutive 
director in december 2013 most recently 
he was with sterling resources ltd from the 
early days of its growth until retiring from 
the position of ceo in may 2010 he has 
over 40 years experience in the oil industry 
encompassing all aspects of the upstream oil 
and gas business both onshore and offshore 
with extensive international involvement 
stewart has a bsc in geology from the 
university of aberdeen and an msc in 
petroleum reservoir engineering from 
imperial college
3 iain lanaghan
nonexecutive director
iain lanaghan was appointed as a 
nonexecutive director in february 2014 
iain is the nonexecutive chairman of met 
and was previously at faroe petroleum plc 
where he spent four years as group finance 
director he was also group finance 
director of ftse 250 firstgroup plc and was 
a founder of the german bus and rail group 
abellio gmbh he planned the floatation of 
3ibacked atlantic power group and then 
led its merger with the norwegian group 
petroleum geoservices he has advised a 
variety of financial investors in the transport 
and energy sectors iain is a chartered 
accountant having qualified with kpmg 
in london
1 2 3 4 5 6
 board of directors northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 23
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
dear shareholder
as newly appointed chairman of the board i will  
be working with the new board of northern petroleum 
to focus on the medium and long term growth of the 
group its  strategy and adherence to best practice 
standards in corporate governance where practicable
we will continue to review and address areas for 
improvement within our corporate governance 
especially during phases of operational growth
the board fosters a culture of accountability integrity 
honesty and hard work throughout the organisation 
as a whole
jon murphy
nonexecutive chairman
14 april 2014
corporate governance report
one of the tasks of the board is to ensure that northern petroleum 
maintains a high level of corporate governance throughout the 
organisation significant progress has been made during 2013 to 
bring the group in line with best practice 
governance was increased through the appointments of jon murphy 
as an independent nonexecutive chairman and stewart gibson 
and iain lanaghan as independent nonexecutive directors  
with stewart gibson appointed as senior independent director 
internal reviews were undertaken on the board committees 
identifying areas of improvement and developing improved 
processes and procedures
the group is not required to comply with the principles of good 
corporate governance and the recommendations of best practice 
as set out in the principles of the revised uk corporate governance 
code the “code” published in may 2010 by the financial reporting 
council and revised in september 2012  while the group does not 
comply with the code in so far as is practicable and appropriate for 
an aim quoted company of northern petroleum’s size the business 
seeks to follow the guidance set out in the code
the board
the role of the board
the board provides leadership and guidance to the group in its 
day to day and future operations whilst developing and protecting 
shareholder interests it is responsible for the sustainable financial 
performance and committing to the long term success of the business
board changes
in 2013 the board was fundamentally changed the executive 
directors maurice eaton chris foss and derek musgrove stepped 
down along with nonexecutive directors dr rex gaisford richard 
latham anthony brewer and jerry white 
keith bush was appointed as chief executive officer and jon murphy 
joined the board in september to assume the post of nonexecutive 
chairman stewart gibson joined as a nonexecutive director at the 
end of the year and subsequent to the year end iain lanaghan 
completed the board restructuring by joining as the final 
nonexecutive director
board composition
 executive directors 3
 nonexecutive directors 3 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 24
corporate governance report continued
key matters reserved for the board
the key matters reserved for the consideration and sanction by the 
board are
 » approval of the group’s overall direction strategy and annual 
business plan
 » approval of the group’s annual financial statements interim 
management statements and changes in the group’s 
accounting policies or practices
 » changes relating to the capital structure of the group 
material share issues and the group’s dividend policy
 » approval of the annual group budget and of individual 
project budgets as required by the group delegation 
of authority guideline
 » major changes in the nature of business operations 
including entering new countries licence applications 
and new business activities
 » material investments and divestments in the ordinary course 
of business 
 » adequacy of corporate governance internal control systems 
hedging policy and risk management
 » the creation and approval of terms of reference chairmanship 
membership and delegation of authority to all committees of 
the board
 » authorisation of potential conflicts of interest of directors and 
determining the independence of directors 
 » appointments to the board
 » succession planning for the board and senior management
 » the appointment and removal of the group’s external auditor 
corporate brokers and financial advisers
 » principal terms and conditions of employment of all directors 
 » changes in employee share schemes and other long term 
incentive schemes
 » decisions to prosecute or defend material litigation and
 » annual board committee and chairman appraisals
how the board functions
the board has six scheduled meetings per year and meets annually 
to discuss the group strategy the agenda for each meeting is set by 
the chairman in conjunction with the executive directors with 
board papers sent to members for consideration prior to  
the meeting
gender diversity 
northern petroleum support equal opportunities in the organisation 
and will always appoint senior management and board positions 
based on experience and aptitude regardless of gender 
communication with shareholders
as a publicly quoted company on the aim market of the london 
stock exchange northern petroleum must adhere to the aim rules 
with regard to shareholder and market communication the group’s 
management has recognised the need for improved communication 
with all its stakeholders and has prioritised the requirement for a 
clear and consistent message concerning the business’ performance 
and operations without which shareholder support is not possible
alongside the annual report and accounts and the interim report 
management undertakes investor roadshows throughout the 
year  to existing and potential new investors the group gives 
presentations at regular industry and investment community events 
and all presentations and webcasts are made available on the 
group’s website the group has also established a corporate 
account on twitter and linkedin both of which forms of social 
media are becoming additional channels for investor communication 
annual general meeting “agm”
shareholders are encouraged to attend and participate at the 
group agm the board as a whole will be present at the agm 
pursuant to unavoidable circumstances and will be available to 
answer questions or concerns raised by shareholders the secretary 
to the board will also be in attendance northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 25
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
dear shareholder
as chairman of the health safety and environment 
committee i am committed to maintaining the 
excellent safety standards northern petroleum has 
achieved for many years 
we will continue to make hse a priority throughout 
the organisation ensuring a top down culture of 
accountability and prompt action with new operations 
in canada we will ensure that the culture developed 
and embraced by northern petroleum continues in 
the new operating area
keith bush
chairman of the hse committee
14 april 2014
the health safety and environment committee 
the health safety and environment committee
the role of the health safety and environment committee
the health safety and environment committee ensure that 
appropriate measures policies and procedures are developed 
and implemented such that the group and contractors working for 
northern petroleum adhere to industry best practice with regard to 
ensuring safe operations and protecting the environment 
the group develops an hse scorecard on an annual basis which 
is used to capture and report the lagging and leading indicators 
in hse performance this is approved by the hse committee and 
performance against it is tracked throughout the year
the hse management system is reviewed updated and implemented 
regularly along with the group safety procedures and crisis 
management plans for each location risk registers and assessments 
are undertaken for each operational location with planned and 
spontaneous site visits being undertaken by senior management
the committee regularly reports to the board on any serious hse 
incidents including environmental incident spills and workplace 
accidents and incidents with prompt actions being taken to identify 
and improve any necessary areas and reports submitted after a 
thorough investigation
hse committee activities during 2013
 » monitored and reviewed the group operations in the netherlands 
and canada as necessary with specific hse reporting systems 
incident investigation systems and crisis management plans 
implemented at each site 
 » crisis management and incident response training was 
undertaken throughout the organisation with the assistance 
of rps group plc as independent instructors
 » relevant legislative and regulatory alterations were monitored 
and where applicable implemented after agreement from 
the board and
 » hse key performance indicators for 2014 reviewed amended 
and agreed by the board as part of a hse scorecard that will 
form part of the group performance evaluation at the end of 
the year northern petroleum petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 26
the audit committee 
dear shareholder
as newly appointed chairman of the audit committee 
i will be taking the lead in advising on the financial 
risks affecting the group and the industry overall
the committee is advised by our external auditor 
kpmg and in attendance by the finance director 
group financial controller and individual senior 
managers with budgetary responsibilities as and 
when necessary
i plan to ensure over the coming years that there is a 
strong adherence to corporate governance and 
best practice
iain m lanaghan
chairman of the audit committee
14 april 2014
the audit committee
the role of the audit committee
the audit committee monitors the integrity of the published 
financial information of the group including the financial statements 
presented in the annual and half yearly reports it reviews and 
assesses internal financial reporting and the effectiveness of internal 
controls and risk management processes in conjunction with the 
board the audit committee evaluates the security and detection of 
fraudulent activities including money laundering and bribery to 
ensure the compliance of northern petroleum employees
internal controls 
the board assigns to the audit committee the responsibility of 
monitoring and making suggestions to improve the group’s internal 
controls governing the finances of the business these controls are 
used to protect the group’s assets and ensure consistent financial 
information for internal and external use internal controls are 
reviewed operationally and financially with senior managers taking 
responsibility for their departments and implementing any changes 
that have been identified and recommended to the board by  
the audit committee
financial reporting 
financial statements are prepared under international financial 
reporting standards “ifrs” with the audit committee reviewing 
and approving the financial results for the annual report and 
accounts for the year ended 2013 the audit committee reviews 
and approves the external auditors’ scope of work to be undertaken 
for the next financial reporting year
whistle blowing and antibribery
northern petroleum encourages staff to use the whistle blowing 
policy in order to raise concerns which will be investigated and 
assessed with appropriate measures taking place whistle blowing 
episodes raised are taken very seriously by the board all concerns 
are raised confidentially and the group has recently introduced 
whistle blowing procedures through a third party provider to ensure 
further anonymity the audit committee is pleased to report that 
zero incidents were raised during 2013
the group whistle blowing procedure complies with the uk bribery 
act 2010 “the act” and forms part of the group’s anti bribery 
and corruption policy all employees agree to adhere to the policy 
and report any instances of bribery or other suspicious activities  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 27
report on directors’ remuneration
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
dear shareholder
as the newly appointed chairman of the remuneration 
committee my remit to the board via the committee 
is to ensure that the overall reward to the executive 
directors and senior management team are 
competitive performance driven and aligned with 
shareholder value creation 
basic salary levels and any bonus awards are 
compared annually to positions within peer 
companies and take into account individual 
performance against a set of preagreed objectives
stewart gibson
chairman of the remuneration committee
14 april 2014
this report sets out the details of the remuneration 
policy for the group’s directors describes its 
implementation and discloses the  amounts paid 
in 2013
the report meets statutory requirements in particular the relevant 
regulations on directors’ remuneration reports pursuant to the 
companies act 2006 and provisions of the code as prescribed for aim 
quoted companies additional remuneration details have been 
offered voluntarily
remuneration committee membership and process
the remuneration committee comprises the nonexecutive 
chairman jon murphy and the two nonexecutive directors 
stewart gibson and iain lanaghan it is chaired by stewart gibson 
during the year dr rex gaisford anthony brewer and derek 
musgrove resigned from the committee 
the committee met twice during 2013 to assist the board in 
determining the remuneration arrangements and contracts of the 
directors and senior employees no director plays a part in any 
discussion regarding his own remuneration
advisers
the committee has engaged pricewaterhousecoopers as its 
independent executive remuneration advisers 
activities during 2013 
during 2013 the committee discussed and decided upon
 » approval of executive salary levels for 2013 and
 » reviewed the application of current remuneration policies and 
examined whether these need to be amended in light of best 
practice guidelines and market circumstances
remuneration policy for 2014
the remuneration committee is currently working with 
pricewaterhousecoopers on a proposed long term incentive plan 
for 2014 in addition the group will enrol in a pension scheme in 
line with the uk workplace pension requirements the committee is 
planning no further changes to the operation of the remuneration 
policy in 2014  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 28
report on directors’ remuneration continued
remuneration policy
the group aims to ensure that total remuneration is set at an appropriate level for the group and its operations and relative to peer group 
comparator companies the comparator companies are ukbased oil and gas companies which are primarily quoted on the aim market 
the objectives of the remuneration policy are to
 » enable the group to recruit retain and motivate individuals with the skills capabilities and experience to achieve its stated objectives
 » strengthen teamwork by enabling all employees to share in the success of the business 
 » ensure remuneration levels support the group strategy and a sustainable business model whilst promoting capital discipline 
throughout the group and
 » ensure alignment of executive senior management and shareholder interests
the core principles of the remuneration policy are to
 » ensure that there is an appropriate link between performance and reward
 » pay an appropriate level of total remuneration relative to peer group companies
 » award annual bonuses which are linked to the delivery of targets including the achievement of strategic objectives 
and personal performance
 » ensure that longterm incentives are linked to shareholder return
 » review progress made against kpi targets and agree incentive awards
 » determine the remainder of the remuneration packages principally comprising salary for each executive director and
 » review and note the remuneration trends across the group
the philosophy of the remuneration committee is that the targets established for each element of the remuneration should be quantified 
wherever practicable
there are four elements of the remuneration package for executive directors and senior management 
 » basic annual salary or fees
 » benefits in kind
 » discretionary annual bonuses and
 » long term incentive plan “ltip”
basic annual salary or fees
an executive director’s basic salary and the other fixed elements of pay are determined by the remuneration committee at the beginning 
of each year with any changes taking effect from 1 january the individual salaries and benefits of executive directors are reviewed and 
adjusted taking into account individual performance market factors and sector conditions base salary of individuals undertaking similar 
roles in companies of comparable size and complexity are used as comparison measurements
although the remuneration committee does not formally consult employees on executive pay policy in setting the remuneration levels for 
executive directors the remuneration committee considers base salary in context of all employees as a whole details of the executive 
directors’ basic salary are shown on page 30 the role of ceo received a 15 per cent pay decrease in basic salary compared to an average 
increase of 33 per cent amongst employees
benefits in kind
benefits provided to executive directors include critical illness cover death in service cover private medical insurance critical illness cover 
death in service cover and pmi is offered to all group employees and provides medical cover for them and their dependents on a 
noncontributory basis no pension contributions were received by any of the directors in 2013
discretionary annual bonus
an executive director’s annual bonus is based on performance for the year and is determined at the discretion of the remuneration 
committee and granted in january the discretionary annual bonus for the directors for 2013 was approved by the remuneration committee 
and determined with reference to certain key events being completed in 2013 including the sale of the netherlands progress in canada the 
restructuring of the board and the refocusing of the business details of the executive director’s discretionary annual bonuses are shown on 
page 30 future bonus payments will be determined by the remuneration committee with reference to the achievement of annual goals 
and objectives set at a group and individual level northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 29
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
remuneration policy continued
ltip
the remuneration committee is in the process of reviewing the group’s remuneration policy for the executive directors and other 
employees to ensure that the arrangements act as an appropriate tool with which to attract retain and motivate key personnel who are 
critical to executing the business strategy as part of this review the remuneration committee is proposing to introduce two elements to the 
executive director and senior management remuneration policy 
1  a deferred bonus facility whereby participants will defer a proportion of their annual bonus into shares which will vest at the end of a three 
year period for 2013 it is being considered by the remuneration committee that the executive directors will receive an award under a 
deferred bonus facility in relation to their performance during the year 
2  a new long term incentive arrangement whereby participants will be incentivised to deliver superior returns to shareholders over the 
longer term through a structure which is palatable to shareholders 
for employees not participating in these arrangements the remuneration committee intends to grant discretionary long term incentive 
awards to aid the retention of highcalibre employees 
the remuneration committee will ensure to place an overall limit on the number of new issue shares that can be issued under any share 
scheme of 10 per cent of the issued share capital in any rolling 10 year period in line with best practice uk corporate governance guidelines 
nonexecutive directors’ fees
the nonexecutive directors are paid a base fee for carrying out their duties and responsibilities as directors in addition with effect  
from 1 january 2014 nonexecutive directors’ are entitled to receive £2000 and £1500 where applicable for chairmanship and membership 
of each of the remuneration hse and audit committees each of the nonexecutive directors has waived all membership fees for 2014 
nonexecutive directors are entitled to private medical insurance
directors’ service contracts
the notice period for keith bush and nicholas morgan is six months unless in the case of a change of control and the director is removed 
from office at which point the notice period will be extended to 12 months graham heard has a notice period of 18 months which was agreed 
in his original contract when he joined the board in 2007 the nonexecutive directors have a notice period of three months the directors’ 
contracts do not contain any further obligations on the group 
loss of office payments 
group policy for loss of office payments is to provide payment to cover contractual rights during 2013 former directors agreed to a 
compromise agreement and waived their contractual rights details of loss of office payments for previous directors who served during 2013 
are on page 30 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 30
remuneration tables
year ended 31 december 2013 year ended 31 december 2012
presented in eur
salary 
or fees 
€’000
taxable 
benefits 
€’000
bonus 
€’000
ltip 
€’000
pension 
€’000
loss 
of office 
payment 
€’000
total 
€’000
salary 
or fees 
€’000
taxable 
benefits 
€’000
bonus 
€’000
ltip 
€’000
pension 
€’000
loss 
of office 
payment 
€’000
total 
€’000
current executive 
directors salaries
k r bush 251 6 35 — — — 292 34 — — — — — 34
g l heard 260 8 23 — — — 291 272 14 — — — — 286
n t morgan 235 5 28 — — — 268 40 — — — — — 40
746 19 86 — — — 851 346 14 — — — — 360
current 
nonexecutive 
directors fees
s g gibson 1 — — — — — 1 — — — — — — —
j d murphy 16 — — — — — 16 — — — — — — —
17 — — — — — 17 — — — — — — —
total current 
directors 763 19 86 — — — 868 346 14 — — — — 360
 
former executive 
directors salaries
m l eaton 124 5 — — — 180 309 253 13 — — — — 266
c j foss 147 6 — — — 357 510 272 12 — 136 — — 420
d r musgrove

173 14 — — — 447 634 349 31 — 618 — — 998
444 25 — — — 984 1453 874 56 — 754 — — 1684
former 
nonexecutive 
directors fees
a n brewer 41 4 — — — 35 80 44 4 — — — — 48
r w gaisford

24 — — — — 24 48 40 — — — — — 40
r h r latham 37 6 — — — 63 106 74 9 — — — — 83
j m white 44 1 — — — 37 82 49 4 — 273 — — 326
146 11 — — — 159 316 207 17 — 273 — — 497
total former 
directors 590 36 — — — 1143 1769 1081 73 — 1027 — — 2181
total all directors 1353 55 86 — — 1143 2637 1427 87 — 1027 — — 2541
 the sum disclosed as ltip long term incentive plan is in respect of gains made on the exercise of warrants of the group’s shares in 2012
 fees paid to r w gaisford include £40000 €48000 paid to rcm consulting limited a company of which r w gaisford is a director
 after his resignation from the board d r musgrove remained an employee of northern petroleum until 5 december 2013 his salary for this period was £53816 €63365
the taxable benefits comprise medical insurance d r musgrove had the additional benefit of a company car the sums disclosed as bonus 
are in respect of payment given as discretionary bonuses as determined by the remuneration committee based on the 2013 performance 
of directors 
in 2012 the group implemented a structured bonus scheme for all employees and directors that is linked to its share price the value of the 
structured bonus was €nil as at 31 december 2013 
report on directors’ remuneration continued northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 31
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
remuneration tables continued
year ended 31 december 2013 year ended 31 december 2012
presented in gbp –
settlement currency
salary 
or fees 
£’000
taxable 
benefits 
£’000
bonus 
£’000
ltip 
£’000
pension 
£’000
loss 
of office 
payment 
£’000
total 
£’000
salary 
or fees 
£’000
taxable 
benefits 
£’000
bonus 
£’000
ltip 
£’000
pension 
£’000
loss 
of office 
payment 
£’000
total 
£’000
current executive 
directors salaries
k r bush 213 5 30 — — — 248 27 — — — — — 27
g l heard 221 7 20 — — — 248 221 12 — — — — 233
n t morgan 200 4 24 — — — 228 32 — — — — — 32
634 16 74 — — — 724 280 12 — — — — 292
current 
nonexecutive 
directors fees
s g gibson 1 — — — — — 1 — — — — — — —
j d murphy 14 — — — — — 14 — — — — — — —
15 — — — — — 15 — — — — — — —
total current 
directors 649 16 74 — — — 739 280 12 — — — — 292
 
former executive 
directors salaries
m l eaton 105 4 — — — 153 262 205 11 — — — — 216
c j foss 125 5 — — — 304 434 221 9 — 110 — — 340
d r musgrove 147 12 — — — 380 539 283 25 — 502 — — 810
377 21 — — — 837 1235 709 45 — 612 — — 1366
former 
nonexecutive 
directors fees
a n brewer 35 3 — — — 30 68 36 3 — — — — 39
r w gaisford 20 — — — — 20 40 33 — — — — — 33
r h r latham 32 5 — — — 54 91 60 8 — — — — 68
j m white 37 1 — — — 31 69 40 3 — 221 — — 264
124 9 — — — 135 268 169 14 — 221 — — 404
total former 
directors 501 30 — — — 972 1503 878 59 — 833 — — 1770
total all directors 1150 46 74 — — 972 2242 1158 71 — 833 — — 2062 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 32
payment for loss of office 
the payment for loss of office is made up of exgratia payments agreed with reference to any contractual rights waived and medical insurance 
cover a breakdown of the components of the payments for loss of office is set out in the table below
presented in gbp – settlement currency presented in eur
exgratia 
payment
£’000
taxable 
benefits
£’000
total
£’000
exgratia 
payment
€’000
taxable 
benefits
€’000
total
€’000
m l eaton 147 6 153 173 7 180
c j foss 294 10 304 346 11 357
d r musgrove 380 — 380 447 — 447
a n brewer 30 — 30 35 — 35
r w gaisford 20 — 20 24 — 24
r h r latham 47 7 54 55 8 63
j m white 31 — 31 37 — 37
total 949 23 972 1117 26 1143
percentage change in remuneration of director undertaking the role of chief executive officer
the percentage change in the remuneration of the chief executive officer compared to the group average percentage changes from 2012 
to 2013 in respect of the employees of the group continuing operations taken as a whole is detailed in the table below the bonus for the 
chief executive officer for 2012 was nil as it excludes the gains made on the exercise of warrants of the company shares during that year
salary benefit bonus
chief executive officer 15 80 100
average employees 3 60 18
relative importance of spend on pay
the table below shows the group’s actual spend on all employees relative to capital expenditure as shown on the cash flow statement
 2013 2012 change
employee cost €m 5 4 22
capital expenditure €m 12 7 71
warrants held by directors serving at 31 december 2013 were as follows
at 
1 january 
2012
‘000s
issued 
‘000s
exercised 
‘000s
lapsed 
‘000s
at 
1 january 
2013
‘000s
issued 
‘000s
exercised 
‘000s
lapsed 
‘000s
at 31 
december
2013 
‘000s
k r bush
at 850p  
exercisable by 31 december 2014 — 75 — — 75 — — — 75
at 1000p  
exercisable by 30 june 2016 — — — — — 100 — — 100
at 1000p  
exercisable by 30 june 2017 — — — — — 100 — — 100
— 75 — — 75 200 — — 275
g l heard
at 1385p  
exercisable by 31 december 2012 100 — — 100 — — — — —
at 685p  
exercisable by 31 december 2013 156 — — — 156 — — 156 —
256 — — 100 156 — — 156 —
total 256 75 — 100 231 200 — 156 275
the warrants to keith bush were granted as an incentive for joining northern petroleum and as a result of completing his probationary period
report on directors’ remuneration continued northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 33
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
the directors present their annual report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 december 2013
principal activity and review of the business
the principal activities of the group are the exploration appraisal production and development of oil and gas assets the principal 
geographic areas of activity during 2013 were canada italy french guiana the uk australia and the netherlands 
results and dividends
the group financial statements are set out in pages 37 to 82 and are presented in euros the group’s net loss for the year was 
€28533000 million 2012 €1567000 million the directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend for the year
going concern
the group’s business activities together with the factors likely to affect the future development performance and position of the 
business are set out in the review of operations the financial position of the group its net cash position and liabilities are described 
in the finance review and in notes 20 and 21 further information on the group’s exposure to financial risks and the management 
thereof is provided in note 27 taking into consideration the group’s current cash position of €260 million and future revenue from 
existing oil and gas fields the group has adequate financial resources and the directors believe that the group is well placed to meet 
the costs of the group’s commitments and manage its business risks successfully despite the current uncertain economic outlook 
however the optimum pace of development and investment to maximise returns in the group’s assets may require further external 
capital from equity or debt at some point in the future the board’s review of the accounts budgets and financial plan lead the 
directors to believe that the group has sufficient resources to continue in operation at least until the end of 2015 the financial 
statements are therefore prepared on a going concern basis
directors and their interests
the directors of the group who all served throughout the year except where otherwise stated are listed below there are no 
requirements for directors to hold shares the directors’ beneficial interests in the shares of the group as at the below dates were 
name
at 
31 march
2014
ordinary 
5p shares
at 
31 december 
2013
ordinary 
5p shares
at 
31 december 
2012
ordinary 
5p shares
current directors
k r bush 85000 — —
s g gibson appointed 20 december 2013 100000 — na
g l heard 617497 617497 587497
i m lanaghan appointed 13 february 2014 — na na
n t morgan 72924 72924 —
j d murphy appointed 27 september 2013 325200 — na
former directors
a n brewer resigned 19 december 2013 na na —
m l eaton resigned 17 june 2013 na na 48091
c j foss resigned 24 july 2013 na na 182565
r w gaisford resigned 2 july 2013 na na 73500
r h r latham resigned 10 july 2013 na na 967477
d r musgrove resigned 10 july 2013 na na 1442260
j m white resigned 19 december 2013 na na 313071
1200621 690421 3614461
directors have been granted warrants exercisable into shares of the group further details of these interests are shown in the report on 
directors’ remuneration
other than as shown above no director had any interest in the shares of the group or any of its subsidiaries at 31 december 2013 or at 
31 december 2012
graham heard retires from office in accordance with article 108 of the company’s articles and being eligible offers himself for 
reelection at the upcoming agm g heard currently is entitled to 18 months in his service contract
jon murphy stewart gibson and iain lanaghan retire from office in accordance with article 113 of the company’s articles and 
being eligible offer themselves for election at the upcoming agm each of these directors is entitled to three months notice in his 
letter of appointment
the group maintains directors’ and officers’ insurance for the benefit of directors and officers of all group companies and has also 
indemnified the directors to the fullest extent possible allowed under the companies act 2006 and the company’s memorandum 
and articles of association
directors’ report northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 34
directors’ report continued
directors’ interest in transactions
no director had during or at the end of the year a material interest in any other contract which was significant in relation to the 
group’s business except in respect of personal service agreements and warrants 
employees
the group seeks to keep employees informed and involved in the operations and progress of the business by means of monthly 
staff meetings open to all employees and directors
the group operates an equal opportunities policy the policy provides that full and fair consideration will be given to applications 
for employment from the disabled and people of any racial background gender or sexual orientation existing employees who 
become disabled to the extent that they are unable to perform the tasks they were employed to carry out will have the opportunity 
where practical to retrain and continue in employment wherever possible
substantial interests
the following interests appeared in the register as at 31 march 2014 
name shares
 of issued
 share capital
pershing nominees limited 11168827 1171 
nortrust nominees 8511749 893 
hargreaves lansdowne nominees limited 6694444 702 
td direct investing nominees europe limited 6503117 682 
barclayshare nominees limited 6154286 645 
hsdl nominees limited 4392607 461 
l r nominees limited 2997607 314 
in addition as at 31 march 2014 the group has been advised of the following beneficial holdings of 3 per cent or more of the 
issued share capital in accordance with the transparency obligations directive disclosure and transparency rules instrument 
2009 
name shares
 of issued
 share capital
barry james lonsdale 4767875 50
damille investments ii limited 3524329 37 
majedie asset management limited 3434266 36 
auditor
kpmg has instigated an orderly winddown of kpmg audit plc as a result of an internal reorganisation and requested that in the future 
the audit is instead undertaken by kpmg llp an intermediate parent of kpmg audit plc kpmg audit plc will not therefore be seeking 
reappointment as auditor of the company and in accordance with the companies act 2006 a resolution proposing the appointment of 
kpmg llp as our auditor will be put to the 2014 agm
by order of the board on 14 april 2014
james gordon 
secretary to the board northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 35
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
directors responsibilities in respect of the 
annual report and the financial statements
the directors are responsible for preparing the annual report the strategic report the directors’ report the remuneration report and the 
group and parent company financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations
company law requires the directors to prepare group and parent company financial statements for each financial year as required by the 
aim rules of the london stock exchange they are required to prepare the group financial statements in accordance with international 
financial reporting standards “ifrss” as adopted by the eu and applicable law and have elected to prepare the parent company financial 
statements in accordance with uk accounting standards and applicable law uk generally accepted accounting practice 
under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of 
the state of affairs of the group and parent company and of their profit or loss for that period in preparing each of the group and parent 
company financial statements the directors are required to
 » select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
 » make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
 » for the group financial statements state whether they have been prepared in accordance with ifrss as adopted by the eu
 » for the parent company financial statements state whether applicable uk accounting standards have been followed subject to any 
material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements and
 » prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the group and the parent 
company will continue in business
the directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the parent company’s 
transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the parent company and enable them to ensure that the 
financial statements comply with the companies act 2006 they have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to 
them to safeguard the assets of the group and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities
the directors have decided to prepare voluntarily a directors’ remuneration report in accordance with schedule 8 to the large and 
mediumsized companies and groups accounts and reports regulations 2008 made under the companies act 2006 as if those 
requirements were to apply to the company 
the directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the group’s website 
legislation in the united kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in 
other jurisdictions northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 36
independent auditor’s report 
to the members of northern petroleum plc
we have audited the financial statements of northern petroleum plc for the year ended 31 december 2013 set out on pages 37 
to 92 the financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the group financial statements is applicable 
law and international financial reporting standards “ifrss” as adopted by the eu the financial reporting framework that has 
been applied in the preparation of the parent company financial statements is applicable law and uk accounting standards 
uk generally accepted accounting practice 
this report is made solely to the group’s members as a body in accordance with chapter 3 of part 16 of the companies act 2006 
our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the group’s members those matters we are required to state to them 
in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose to the fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept or assume responsibility 
to anyone other than the group and the company’s members as a body for our audit work for this report or for the opinions we 
have formed 
respective responsibilities of directors and auditor 
as explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement set out on page 35 the directors are responsible for the preparation 
of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view our responsibility is to audit and express an 
opinion on the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and international standards on auditing uk and ireland 
those standards require us to comply with the auditing practices board’s ethical standards for auditors 
scope of the audit of the financial statements 
a description of the scope of an audit of financial statements is provided on the financial reporting council’s website  
at wwwfrcorgukauditscopeukprivate 
opinion on financial statements 
in our opinion 
 » the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 31 december 
2013 and of the group’s loss for the year then ended 
 » the group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with ifrss as adopted by the eu 
 » the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with uk generally accepted accounting 
practice and
 » the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the companies act 2006 
opinion on other matter prescribed by the companies act 2006 
in our opinion the information given in the strategic report and directors’ report for the financial year for which the financial 
statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements 
matters on which we are required to report by exception 
we have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the companies act 2006 requires us to report to you if 
in our opinion 
 » adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company or returns adequate for our audit have not been 
received from branches not visited by us or 
 » the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns or 
 » certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made or 
 » we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit 
nigel harker senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of kpmg audit plc statutory auditor 
chartered accountants 
15 canada square 
london  
e14 5gl
14 april 2014 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 37
financial statements information
notes
year ended
31 december
 2013
€’000
year ended
31 december
 2012 
€’000
restated
continuing operations
revenue 2 593 660
production costs 755 1013
cost of sales 2 755 1013
gross loss 162 353
prelicence costs 452 885 
administrative expenses 4 5766 4235 
profit on disposal of assets 5 10 —
other operating income 6 — 34
other operating expenses 7 1611 1184
impairment losses 16  17 17695 — 
loss from operations 2  4 25676 6623
finance costs 10 1569 1 
finance income 11 11 471
share of operating loss of joint ventures and associates 32 27 
loss before tax 27266 6180
tax credit 12 758 1363 
loss for the year from continuing operations 26508 4817
discontinued operations
lossprofit for the year from discontinued operation net of tax 3 2025 3250
continuing and discontinued operations 
loss for the year 28533 1567
attributable to
equity shareholders of the company 28519 1567
noncontrolling interests 14 —
28533 1567
earnings per share 
basic earnings per share on loss for the year 13 299 cents 16 cents
earnings per share – continuing operations
basic earnings per share on loss for the year 13 278 cents 50 cents
as the group is loss making there is no dilution of earnings from potential ordinary shares and diluted earnings per share has not 
been presented see note 13 for further information
 the comparative results for 2012 have been restated to show continuing and discontinued operations the overall loss for the year is unchanged
 
the notes on pages 43 to 82 form part of these financial statements 
consolidated statement of profit or loss
for the year ended 31 december 2013 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 38
year ended
31 december
 2013
€’000
year ended
31 december
 2012 
€’000
loss for the year 28533 1567
other comprehensive loss
items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations 414 317
other comprehensive loss for the year net of income tax 414 317
total comprehensive loss for the year 28947 1884
attributable to
equity shareholders of the group 28835 1884
noncontrolling interests 112 —
28947 1884
the notes on pages 43 to 82 form part of these financial statements 
consolidated statement of 
other comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 december 2013 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 39
financial statements information
notes
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
assets
noncurrent assets
intangible assets 16 52868 36962 
property plant and equipment 17 615 47527
investments in joint ventures 18 — 6621
investments in associates and others 18 133 90
53616 91200
current assets
inventories 19 32 99 
trade and other receivables 20 1706 9870
cash and cash equivalents 25989 22473
27727 32442
total assets 81343 123642
liabilities
current liabilities
trade and other payables 21 2559 4172 
provisions 22 364 —
corporation tax liability 21 105 4582
3028 8754
noncurrent liabilities
trade and other payables 905 19 
provisions 22 472 9434 
deferred tax liabilities 23 2417 13718
3794 23171
total liabilities 6822 31925
net assets 74521 91717
capital and reserves
share capital 24 5964 5964
share premium 12553 12553 
merger reserve 10289 10289 
special reserve distributable 28583 28583
share incentive plan reserve 624 1364
foreign currency translation reserve 449 135 
retained earnings 5542 33099
equity attributable to owners of the parent 63106 91717
noncontrolling interests 11415 —
total equity 74521 91717
the notes on pages 43 to 82 form part of these financial statements
these financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on 14 april 2014 and were signed on its 
behalf by
k r bush   n t morgan
director    director
registered no 02933545
consolidated statement of financial position
at 31 december 2013 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 40
year ended
31 december
 2013
€’000
year ended
31 december
 2012 
€’000
cash flows from operating activities
loss for the year 28533 1567
tax charge 1155 1042
depletion and amortisation 2365 2548
depreciation – nonoil and gas property plant and equipment 860 629
impairment losses on intangible assets 13370 —
impairment losses on property plant and equipment 4325 —
impairment losses on investments 14 —
provision for bad debts 35 —
profit on disposal of property plant and equipment 10 23
loss on disposal of discontinued operation net of tax 4296 —
foreign exchange lossgain 1069 190
finance income 48 138
finance charges 941 511
sharebased payments 283 25
share of operating loss in joint ventures 32 27
net cash inflow before movements in working capital 154 2864
increase in inventories 30 29 
decreaseincrease in trade and other receivables 4076 671 
decrease in trade and other payables 1916 2162 
net cash inflowoutflow from changes in working capital 2130 2862 
taxes paidrefunded 4610 — 
net cash outflowinflow from operating activities 2326 2 
cash flows from investing activities
interest received 48 138 
interest paid 18 87 
purchase of property plant and equipment 1864 3119 
expenditure on exploration and evaluation assets 6415 1735 
purchase of other intangible assets 1 815 
investment in joint venture company and others 5386 3155 
acquisition of former joint venture company cash acquired 8 —
acquisition of canadian subsidiary net of cash acquired 125 —
disposal of discontinued operation net of cash disposed of 17015 —
sale of property plant and equipment 22 1002 
net cash inflowoutflow from investing activities 3284 7771
cash flows from financing activities
proceeds from the exercise of equity warrants — 296 
proceeds of repayment of loans to joint ventures 139 —
proceeds from award of government grants and loans 3304 —
repayment of government loan 118 —
net cash inflow from financing activities 3325 296 
net increasedecrease in cash and cash equivalents 4283 7473 
cash and cash equivalents at start of year 22473 29794 
effect of exchange rate movements 767 152 
cash and cash equivalents at end of year 25989 22473 
there have been no significant noncash transactions during either year 
the notes on pages 43 to 82 form part of these financial statements
attributable to equity shareholders of the group
consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 december 2013 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 41
financial statements information
share 
capital
€’000
share 
premium 
account
€’000
 
merger 
reserve
€’000
distributable 
special 
reserve
€’000
share 
incentive 
plan 
reserve
€’000
foreign 
currency 
translation 
reserve
€’000
retained 
earnings
€’000
total
€’000
non
controlling 
interests
€’000
total 
equity
€’000
at 1 january 2012 5855 12366 10289 28583 3020 182 32985 93280 — 93280 
total comprehensive 
income for the year — — — — — 317 1567 1884 — 1884
contributions by and 
distributions to owners 
of the group
issue of shares during 
the year – warrants 
and staff bonus 109 187 — — — — — 296 — 296
equity share 
warrants exercised — — — — 1681 — 1681 — — —
sharebased payments — — — — 25 — — 25 — 25
total contributions by and 
distributions to owners of 
the company 109 187 — — 1656 — 1681 321 — 321
at 31 december 2012 5964 12553 10289 28583 1364 135 33099 91717 — 91717
attributable to equity shareholders of the group
share 
capital
€’000
share 
premium 
account
€’000
 
merger 
reserve
€’000
distributable 
special 
reserve
€’000
share 
incentive 
plan 
reserve
€’000
foreign 
currency 
translation 
reserve
€’000
retained 
earnings
€’000
total
€’000
non
controlling 
interests
€’000
total 
equity
€’000
at 31 december 2012 5964 12553 10289 28583 1364 135 33099 91717 — 91717
total comprehensive 
income for the year — — — — — 316 28519 28835 112 28947 
contributions by and 
distributions to owners 
of the group
equity share warrants 
lapsed or cancelled — — — — 1023 — 1023 — — —
sharebased payments — — — — 283 — — 283 — 283
total contributions by 
and distributions to 
owners of the group — — — — 740 — 1023 283 — 283
changes in ownership 
interests in subsidiaries 
acquisition of subsidiary 
with noncontrolling 
interests — — — — — — — — 11468 11468
acquisition of non 
controlling interests without 
a change in control — — — — — 2 61 59 59 —
total changes in ownership 
interests in subsidiaries — — — — — 2 61 59 11527 11468
at 31 december 2013 5964 12553 10289 28583 624 449 5542 63106 11415 74521
  initial acquisition of northpet investments limited french guiana
 subsequent increases in equity in northpet investments limited see note 15
consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 december 2013 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 42
the following describes the nature and background to each reserve within owners’ equity
share premium amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value 
other reserves
– merger reserve the notional “share premium” on the shares issued in consideration for the takeover of 
ati oil plc evaluated at the closing market price on the day of acquisition 24 june 2009 
less the nominal value of those shares issued 
– special reserve distributable the special reserve relates to the court sanctioned cancellation of the share premium 
account in july 2009 and the elimination of the previous deferred shares in issue and 
the cancellation of a proportion of the share premium account as at 31 december 2004 
in accordance with the court order dated 31 october 2005 
– share incentive plan reserve the share incentive plan reserve captures the equity related element of the expense 
recognised for the issue of warrants comprising the cumulative charge to the statement 
of profit or loss for ifrs 2 charges for sharebased payments less amounts released to 
retained earnings upon the exercise of warrants
foreign currency translation reserve exchange differences arising on consolidating the assets and liabilities of the group’s 
noneuro functional currency operations including comparatives are recognised 
through the consolidated statement of other comprehensive income
retained earnings cumulative net gains and losses recognised in the financial statements
noncontrolling interests amounts attributable to minority shareholders of fully consolidated subsidiaries 
this represents the equity of wessex exploration plc in northpet investments limited 
the group held 552 of the ordinary share capital of northpet investments limited 
at 31 december 2013 this is further described in note 15
consolidated statement of changes in equity continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 43
financial statements information
notes to the accounts
for the year ended 31 december 2013
1 accounting policies
the principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these consolidated financial statements are set out below these policies 
have been consistently applied to all the years presented unless otherwise stated
basis of preparation
the consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with international 
financial reporting standards “ifrs” as adopted by the european union eu and international financial reporting interpretations 
committee “ifric” interpretations issued by the international accounting standards board “iasb” and with those parts of the 
companies act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under ifrs the group has elected to prepare its parent company 
financial statements in accordance with uk generally accepted accounting principles “uk gaap” these are presented on 
pages 84 to 92 the group has adopted all of the standards and interpretations issued by the international accounting standards 
board and the international financial reporting interpretations committee that are relevant to its operations 
going concern basis of preparation 
the group’s business activities together with the factors likely to affect the future development performance and position of the 
business are set out in the review of operations the financial position of the group its net cash position and liabilities are 
described in the finance review and notes 20 and 21 further information on the group’s exposure to financial risks and the 
management thereof is provided in note 27 taking into consideration the group’s current cash position of €260 million and future 
revenue from existing oil and gas fields the group has adequate financial resources and the directors believe that the group is well 
placed to meet the costs of the group’s commitments and manage its business risks successfully despite the current uncertain 
economic outlook the board’s review of the accounts budgets and financial plan lead the directors to believe that the group has 
sufficient resources to continue in operation at least until the end of 2015 the financial statements are therefore prepared on a 
going concern basis
changes in accounting policies
adoption of new and revised standards
a  in the current year the following new and revised standards and interpretations are effective and have been adopted but have 
had no effect on the amounts reported in these financial statements
i standards affecting the reported results and financial position
there were no new or revised standards affecting the reported results and financial position
ii standards affecting presentation and disclosure
ias 1 – presentation of financial statements
amendments were made that require an entity to present separately the items of other comprehensive income that may be 
reclassified to profit or loss in the future from those that would never be reclassified to profit or loss they also preserve the 
existing option to present the profit or loss and other comprehensive income in two statements this was effective for annual 
periods beginning on or after 1 july 2012
ifrs 9 – financial instruments
this standard will replace ias 39 financial instruments recognition and measurement the standard contains two primary 
measurement categories for financial assets amortised cost and fair value financial assets are classified into one of these 
categories on initial recognition
ifrs 13 – fair value measurement
this is a new standard that will replace the existing guidance on fair value measurement in different ifrss with a single definition 
of fair value a framework for measuring fair values and disclosures about fair value measurements this was effective for annual 
periods beginning on or after 1 january 2013 and has been endorsed by the eu
ias 28 – investments in associates and joint ventures 
this standard was amended in 2011 and replaces ias 28 2008 the amendments were as follows
 » associates and joint ventures held for sale – ifrs 5 applies to an investment or a portion of an investment in an associate or a 
joint venture that meets the criteria to be classified as held for sale for any retained portion of the investment not classified as 
held for sale the equity method is applied until disposal of the portion held for sale after disposal any retained interest is 
accounted for using the equity method if the retained interest continues to be an associate or a joint venture
 » changes in interests held in associates and joint ventures – ias 28 2011 does not require remeasurement of the retained 
interest in the investment upon cessation of significant influence or joint control previously ias 28 2008 and ias 31 would have 
required remeasurement of any retained interest in all cases even if significant influence was succeeded by joint control
this is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2014 and has been endorsed by the eu northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 44
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
1 accounting policies continued
changes in accounting policies continued
adoption of new and revised standards continued
ii standards affecting presentation and disclosure continued
b   at the date of approval of these financial statements the following standards or interpretations were in issue but not  
yet effective
ifrs 10 – consolidated financial statements
this standard will replace the existing accounting for subsidiaries and joint ventures and make limited amendments in relation to 
associates ifrs 10 supersedes ias 27 consolidated and separate financial statements this is effective for annual periods beginning 
on or after 1 january 2014 and has been endorsed by the eu
ifrs 11 – joint arrangements
this standard will replace the existing accounting for subsidiaries and joint ventures and make limited amendments in relation to 
associates all parties to a joint arrangement are within the scope of ifrs 11 this is effective for annual periods beginning on or 
after 1 january 2014 and has been endorsed by the eu
ifrs 12 – disclosure of interests in other entities
this standard will replace the existing accounting for subsidiaries and joint ventures and will make limited amendments in relation 
to associates this is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2014 and has been endorsed by the eu
basis of consolidation
the consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the group its subsidiaries and interests in joint ventures 
and associates made up to 31 december 2013 
subsidiaries
subsidiaries are entities over whose financial and operating policies the group has the power to exercise control and through 
which it seeks to get benefits the group financial statements incorporate the assets liabilities and results of operations of the 
group and its subsidiaries the results of subsidiaries acquired and disposed of during a financial year are included from the 
effective dates of acquisition to the effective dates of disposal 
where necessary the accounting policies of the subsidiaries are changed to ensure consistency with the policies adopted by the 
group when presenting consolidated financial statements 
noncontrolling interests 
for each business combination the group elects to measure any noncontrolling interests in the acquiree either 
 » at fair value or 
 » at their proportionate share of the acquiree’s identifiable net assets which are generally at fair value 
changes in the group’s interest in a subsidiary that do not result in a loss of control are accounted for as transactions with owners 
in their capacity as owners adjustments to noncontrolling interests are based on a proportionate amount of the net assets of the 
subsidiary no adjustments are made to goodwill and no gain or loss is recognised in profit or loss 
associates
an associate undertaking “associate” is an enterprise over whose financial and operating policies the group has the power to 
exercise significant influence and which is neither a subsidiary nor a joint venture of the group the equity method of accounting 
for associates is adopted in the group financial statements such that they include the group’s share of operating profit or loss 
exceptional items interest taxation and net assets of associates “the equity method” in applying the equity method account is 
taken of the group’s share of accumulated retained earnings and movements in reserves from the effective date on which an 
enterprise becomes an associate and up to the effective date of disposal 
the share of associated retained earnings and reserves is generally determined from the associate’s latest interim or final financial 
statements where the group’s share of losses of an associate exceeds the carrying amount of the associate the associate is 
carried at nil additional losses are only recognised to the extent that the group has incurred obligations or made payments 
outside the course of ordinary business on behalf of the associate 
joint ventures
jointly controlled entities are those entities over whose activities the group has joint control established by contractual agreement 
and requiring the venturers’ consent for strategic financial and operating decisions the equity method of accounting is adopted 
for joint ventures such that the consolidated financial statements include the group’s proportionate share of the entities’ net 
assets and net profit after adjustments to align the accounting policies with those of the group from the date that joint control 
commences until the date that joint control ceases northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 45
financial statements information
1 accounting policies continued
basis of consolidation continued
jointly controlled assets
jointly controlled assets are arrangements in which the group holds an interest on a long term basis and which are jointly 
controlled by the group and one or more coventurers under a contractual arrangement the group’s exploration development 
and production activities are generally conducted jointly with other companies in this way since these arrangements do not 
constitute entities in their own right the consolidated financial statements reflect the relevant proportion of costs revenues 
assets and liabilities applicable to the group’s interests
intangible assets 
oil and gas assets exploration and evaluation
the group has continued to apply the full cost method of accounting for exploration and evaluation “ee” expenses having 
regard to the requirements of ifrs 6 “exploration for and evaluation of mineral resources” under the “modified” full cost method 
of accounting costs of exploring and evaluating oil and gas properties are accumulated and capitalised by reference to appropriate 
cashgenerating units 
following the disposal of the group’s main cashgenerating asset in the netherlands and the subsequent receipt of cash 
the directors undertook a strategic review and which has led to a change in focus of the business 
the group had previously concentrated on trying to create value in assets across the whole of the exploration and production 
“ep” value chain with a view to trading or monetising these assets following any successful progress to bring in cash for 
reinvestment allocation of costs across broader country pools was appropriate for this business model as was the approach the 
group had previously adopted
the primary change in focus for the group is to build production by focusing on development and production in regions where 
management have a greater expectation of success the working up of exploration and appraisal opportunities remains part of the 
group’s business strategy however it is recognised that the timing and certainty of realising a commercial return against the sunk 
costs on these types of projects is not easy to forecast
with this change the capitalising of costs from oil and gas activities is now grouped in smaller cost pools within each country the 
carrying value of such costs will be reviewed annually against the progress or otherwise of a particular project within each country 
the appropriate cash generating unit grouping is based on geological basins and play types this reassessment of the cost pools 
is considered to be a change in estimate as management continues to apply the modified full cost accounting policy management 
does not consider the adjustment to be a change in accounting policy but an adjustment of the calculation within the policy and 
one that should more closely reflect the true value of the group’s assets as they are developed and produced
the group now considers that zama – alberta canada south australia australia french guiana france southern adriatic sea 
italy italy excluding the southern adriatic and united kingdom are cost pools there has been no financial impact from this 
change in estimates as certain assets that might have been affected by the change were impaired during the year note 16
ee expenses are initially capitalised within “intangible assets” such ee expenses may include costs of licence acquisition 
technical services and studies seismic acquisition exploration drilling and testing but do not include costs incurred prior to having 
obtained the legal rights to explore an area which are expensed directly to the statement of profit or loss as they are incurred
intangible ee assets related to each exploration licence or prospect are not depreciated and are carried forward until the existence 
or otherwise of commercial reserves has been determined the group definition of commercial reserves for such purpose is 
proven and probable reserves on an entitlement basis
if commercial reserves have been discovered the related ee assets are assessed for impairment as set out below the carrying 
value after any impairment loss of the relevant ee assets is then reclassified as development and production “dp” assets 
within property plant and equipment
ee assets are assessed for impairment when facts and circumstances suggest that the carrying value of the ee cashgenerating 
unit to which they relate may exceed its future recoverable amount or when the group decides that it no longer has interest or 
activity in a specific region or basin such indicators include the point at which a determination is made as to whether or not 
commercial reserves exist
where the ee assets concerned fall within the scope of an established dp cashgenerating unit the ee assets are tested for 
impairment together with the established dp assets as a single cashgenerating unit the aggregate carrying value is compared 
against the expected recoverable amount of the cashgenerating unit generally by reference to the present value of the future net 
cash flows expected to be derived from production of commercial reserves these ceiling test values are calculated on the basis 
of expected future product prices or if applicable at prices specified in a sales contract and discounted at a rate of 10 
2012 between 10 and 15 per annum depending on risk considerations on an asset by asset basis intangible ee assets that 
relate to such ee activities remain capitalised as intangible ee assets at cost
where the ee assets to be tested fall outside the scope of any established dp cashgenerating unit and there are deemed to be 
no commercial reserves or no ongoing work programme the ee assets concerned will generally be written off in full
any material impairment loss is recognised in the statement of profit or loss and separately disclosed northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 46
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
1 accounting policies continued
property plant and equipment
oil and gas assets development and production
development and production assets are accumulated on a cashgenerating unit basis and represent the cost of developing the 
commercial reserves discovered and bringing them into production together with the ee expenditures incurred in finding 
commercial reserves transferred from intangible ee assets as outlined above
the net book values of producing assets are depreciated on a cashgenerating unit basis using the unit of production method 
based on entitlement to produce by reference to the ratio of production in the period to the related commercial reserves of the 
cashgenerating unit taking into account any estimated future development expenditures necessary to bring additional reserves 
into production
an impairment test is performed for dp assets whenever events and circumstances arise that indicate that the carrying value of 
development or production phase assets may exceed its recoverable amount the aggregate carrying value is compared against 
the expected recoverable amount of the cashgenerating unit generally by reference to the present value of the future net cash 
flows expected to be derived from production of commercial reserves 
these ceiling test values are calculated on the basis of expected future product prices or if applicable at prices specified in a sale 
contract and discounted at a rate of 10 2012 between 45 and 125 per annum depending on risk considerations on an asset 
by asset basis the cashgenerating unit applied for impairment test purposes is generally the field except that a number of field 
interests may be grouped as a single cashgenerating unit where the cash flows of each field are in some way interdependent
decommissioning
where a material liability for the removal of production facilities and site restoration at the end of the productive life of a field exists 
a provision for decommissioning is recognised the amount recognised is the present value of estimated future expenditure 
determined in accordance with local conditions and requirements a property plant and equipment asset of an amount equivalent 
to the provision is also created and depreciated on a unit of production basis 
changes in estimates are recognised prospectively with corresponding adjustments to the provision and the associated fixed  assets
nonoil and gas assets
property plant and equipment are included in the statement of financial position at cost less accumulated depreciation and any 
provisions for impairment
software implementation
the group has capitalised expenditure on the implementation of a computer software package in accordance with ias 38 
intangible assets the standard states that the product must be technically and commercially feasible future economic benefits 
probable the group must have the technical ability and sufficient resources to complete implementation and the group can 
measure reliably the expenditure attributable to the software during its implementation the expenditure capitalised includes 
certain consultancy costs and staff time costs capitalised implementation expenditure is stated at cost less accumulated 
amortisation and less accumulated impairment losses 
business combinations
the acquisition of subsidiaries is accounted for using the purchase method the consideration of the acquisition is measured at 
the aggregate of the fair values at the date of exchange of assets given liabilities incurred or assumed and equity instruments 
issued by the group in exchange for control of the acquiree acquisition costs incurred are expensed and included in other 
operating expenses the acquiree’s identifiable assets liabilities and contingent liabilities that meet the conditions for recognition 
under ifrs 3 are recognised at their fair value at the acquisition date except for noncurrent assets or disposal groups that are 
classified as held for sale in accordance with ifrs 5 noncurrent assets held for sale and discontinued operations which are 
recognised and measured at fair value less costs to sell goodwill arising on acquisition is recognised as an asset and initially 
measured at cost being the excess of the cost of the business combination over the group’s interest in the net fair value of the 
identifiable assets liabilities and contingent liabilities recognised if after reassessment the group’s interest in the net fair value of 
the acquiree’s identifiable assets liabilities and contingent liabilities exceeds the cost of the business combination the excess is 
recognised immediately in the consolidated statement of profit or loss
discontinued operations 
a discontinued operation is a component of the group’s business the operations and cash flows of which can be clearly 
distinguished from the rest of the group and which 
 » represents a separate major line of business or geographical area of operations or
 » is part of a single coordinated plan to dispose of a separate major line of business or geographical area of operations
classification as a discontinued operation occurs on disposal or when the operation meets the criteria to be classified as held for sale 
if earlier when an operation is classified as a discontinued operation the consolidated statement of profit or loss and the 
consolidated statement of other comprehensive income are represented as if the operation had been discontinued from the start 
of the comparative year  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 47
financial statements information
1 accounting policies continued
revenue
revenue comprises net invoiced sales of hydrocarbons to customers excluding value added and similar taxes income recognised 
excluding value added and similar taxes to other companies by the group comprises charges in respect of fees for acting as 
operator of both production and preproduction activities and fees for other related services are also disclosed within production 
and preproduction segment revenue 
income recognised excluding value added and similar taxes to other companies by the group in respect of fees for any other 
services are disclosed within other operating income revenue is recognised on an entitlement basis once the significant risks and 
rewards of ownership have passed to the customer and receipt of future economic benefits is probable revenue from services 
provided is recognised once the services have been performed
segment reporting
in the opinion of the directors the group has one class of business being the exploration for and development and production 
of oil and gas reserves and other related activities 
the group’s primary reporting format is determined to be the geographical segment according to the location of the oil and gas 
asset currently the activities of the group are disclosed within the following geographical segments canada the netherlands 
italy french guiana united kingdom and others during the year the netherlands business segment was sold and is classed as a 
discontinued operation in the year note 3
sharebased payments
the group has both equitysettled and cashsettled sharebased payment schemes
equitysettled sharebased payments
in accordance with ifrs 2 sharebased payments the group reflects the economic cost of awarding shares and share options to 
employees directors and key suppliers and consultants by recording an expense in the statement of profit or loss equal to the fair 
value of the benefit awarded the expense is recognised in the statement of profit or loss over the vesting period of the award 
fair value is measured by use of a black scholes model which takes into account conditions attached to the vesting and exercise 
of the equity instruments the expected life used in the model is adjusted based on management’s best estimate for the effects 
of nontransferability exercise restrictions and behavioural considerations 
if a warrant is cancelled before the end of its vesting period the remaining fair value expense not yet charged to the statement of 
profit or loss is immediately recognised in full upon cancellation of the warrant there will also be a transfer of the cumulative 
charge recognised in respect of the transferred warrants out of the share incentive reserve and into retained earnings 
cashsettled sharebased payments
in accordance with ifrs 2 sharebased payments for cashsettled sharebased payment transactions the group measures the 
goods or services acquired and the liability incurred at the fair value of the liability until the liability is settled the group remeasures 
the fair value of the liability at each reporting date and at the date of settlement with any changes in fair value recognised in profit 
or loss for the period
fair value is measured by use of a black scholes model which takes into account the terms and conditions on which the share 
appreciation rights were granted and the extent to which the employees have rendered service to date the expected life used in 
the model is adjusted based on management’s best estimate for the effects of nontransferability exercise restrictions and 
behavioural considerations 
an accrual for employers’ national insurance is made in respect of share warrants granted to employees that are in profit at the 
year end
pensions
a defined contribution plan is a postemployment benefit plan under which an entity pays fixed contributions into a separate entity 
and will have no legal or constructive obligation to pay further amounts obligations for contributions to defined contribution 
pension plans are recognised as an employee benefit expense in the statement of profit or loss when they are due prepaid 
contributions are recognised as an asset to the extent that a cash refund or a reduction in future payments is available northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 48
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
1 accounting policies continued
depreciation
the cost of property plant and equipment other than costs directly related to oil and gas assets is written off by equal annual 
instalments over the expected useful lives of the assets as follows
 » leasehold improvements – over the term of the lease
 » computer hardware and software – four to five years
 » office equipment – four years
 » motor vehicles – four years
the carrying values of property plant and equipment are reviewed for impairment if events or changes in circumstances indicate 
the carrying value may not be recoverable
inventories
inventories comprise oil and gas in tanks and field parts and supplies all of which are stated at the lower of cost and net 
realisable value 
net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less marketing costs
lease commitments
the annual rentals under operating leases are charged to the statement of profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term 
of the lease
financial instruments
financial assets
the group classifies its financial assets into one of the categories discussed below depending on the purpose for which the asset 
was required the group has not classified any of its financial assets as held to maturity 
the group’s accounting policy for each category is as follows
loans and receivables
these assets are nonderivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market  
they arise principally through the provision of goods and services to customers ie trade receivables but also incorporate other 
types of contractual monetary asset they are initially recognised at fair value plus transaction costs that are directly attributable 
to their acquisition or issue and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method less provision 
for impairment 
impairment provisions are recognised when there is objective evidence such as significant financial difficulties on the part of the 
counterparty or default or significant delay in payment that the group will be unable to collect all of the amounts due under the 
terms receivable the amount of such a provision being the difference between the net carrying amount and the present value of 
the future expected cash flows associated with the impaired receivable for trade receivables which are reported net such 
provisions are recorded in a separate allowance account with the loss being recognised within administrative expenses in the 
statement of profit or loss on confirmation that the trade receivable will not be collectable the gross carrying value of the asset 
is written off against the associated provision
from time to time the group may elect to renegotiate the terms of trade receivables due from customers with which it has 
previously had a good trading history such renegotiations may lead to changes in the timing of payments rather than changes to 
the amounts owed and in consequence the new expected cash flows are discounted at the original effective interest rate 
cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand and deposits held at call with banks
financial liabilities
the group currently classifies its financial liabilities into current and noncurrent liabilities the group has not classified any of its 
liabilities at fair value through the statement of profit or loss  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 49
financial statements information
1 accounting policies continued
financial instruments continued
government grants and disclosure of government assistance
a government grant is recognised only when there is reasonable assurance that a the entity will comply with any conditions 
attached to the grant and b the grant will be received government grants received in respect of intangible assets or property 
plant and equipment are offset against the costs of the related assets this accounting policy has been adopted for the first time 
by the group after receiving grants from the italian government in 2013 government loans received at below market rates of 
interest are fair valued at the date of inception the fair value discount element of the loan is offset against the cost of the asset to 
which it relates as it is treated as a grant the fair value of the loan is unwound as an implied interest cost over the life of the loan 
the market rate of interest is determined to be 10
share capital
financial instruments issued by the group are treated as equity only to the extent that they do not meet the definition of a financial 
liability the group’s ordinary shares and unclassified ordinary shares are classed as equity instruments 
foreign currencies
foreign currency transactions of individual companies within the group are translated in the individual companies’ functional 
currency at the rates ruling when the transactions occurred monetary assets and liabilities denominated in other currencies are 
retranslated at the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date all differences are taken to the statement of profit or loss
on consolidation assets and liabilities of subsidiaries associate undertakings and joint ventures which are denominated in other 
currencies are translated into euro at the rate ruling at the balance sheet date income and cash flow statements are translated at 
average rates of exchange prevailing during the year exchange differences resulting from the translation at closing rates of net 
investments in subsidiaries associate undertakings and joint ventures together with differences between earnings for the year 
translated at average and closing rates are dealt with in the foreign currency translation reserve details of the current and prior 
year exchange rates used in these accounts are disclosed in note 27
the functional currency of the parent company is considered to be the euro and the group financial statements have been 
presented in euro 
taxation
the tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and movements in deferred tax 
current tax including uk corporation and any overseas tax is provided for at amounts expected to be paid or recovered using 
the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantially enacted at the balance sheet date 
deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or recoverable on differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities 
in the financial statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation of taxable profit and is accounted for using 
the balance sheet liability method deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all taxable temporary differences and 
deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that taxable profits will be available against which deductible 
temporary differences can be utilised such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from goodwill 
or from the initial recognition other than in a business combination of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects 
neither the tax profit nor the accounting profit 
deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries and 
associates and interests in joint ventures except where the group is able to control the reversal of the temporary difference and 
it is probable that the temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future 
the carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each balance sheet date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer 
probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered 
deferred tax is calculated on an undiscounted basis at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is 
anticipated to be settled or the asset is anticipated to be realised based on tax rates and laws enacted or substantively enacted at 
the balance sheet date deferred tax is charged or credited in the statement of profit or loss except when it relates to items 
charged or credited directly to equity in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 50
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
1 accounting policies continued
cash and cash equivalents
cash for the purposes of the cash flow statement comprises cash in hand and deposits repayable on demand based on the 
relevant exchange rates at the balance sheet date
cash equivalents comprise funds held in term deposit accounts and investments in money market instruments based on the 
relevant exchange rates at the balance sheet date
critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
the preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions concerning 
the future that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates 
of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods the resulting 
accounting estimates may by definition differ from the related actual results
details of the group’s significant accounting judgements and critical accounting estimates are set out in these financial statements 
and include
carrying value of property plant and equipment note 17
carrying value of intangible exploration and evaluation assets note 16
valuation of petroleum and natural gas properties consideration of future cash flows used to assess impairment includes estimates 
relating to oil and gas reserves future production rates overall costs and oil and natural gas prices in addition the timing of 
regulatory approval the general economic environment and the ability to finance future activities through the issuance of debt or 
equity also impact the impairment analysis all these factors may impact the viability of future commercial production from 
developed and unproved properties including major development projects and therefore there may be a need to recognise an 
impairment
commercial reserves estimates
a number of critical accounting policies are dependent upon oil and gas reserve estimates these include intangible assets and 
property plant and equipment
oil and gas reserve estimates estimation of recoverable reserves include assumptions regarding commodity prices exchange 
rates discount rates production and transportation costs all of which impact future cash flows it also requires the interpretation 
of complex geological and geophysical models in order to make an assessment of the size shape depth and quality of reservoirs 
and their anticipated recoveries the economic geological and technical factors used to estimate reserves may change from 
period to period changes in estimated reserves can impact developed and undeveloped property carrying values asset retirement 
costs and the recognition of income tax assets due to changes in expected future cash flows management consults third party 
experts and obtains external audit assurance when making these judgements reserve estimates are also integral to the amount 
of depletion and depreciation charged to income
subsidiaries may report changes in their reserves from time to time only where such changes in a subsidiary’s reserves are 
material to the group or have a material impact on the group financial results does the group publish revised reserve data this 
prevents numerous immaterial changes to group reserves being announced 
decommissioning costs note 22
asset retirement obligations the amounts recorded for asset retirement obligations are based on each field’s operator’s best 
estimate of future costs and the remaining time to abandonment of the oil and gas properties which may also depend on commodity 
prices and any future changes to national regulations management consults third party experts when making these judgements
sharebased payments notes 4 and 24
the fair value of sharebased payments recognised in the statement of profit or loss is measured by use of a black scholes model 
which takes into account conditions attached to the vesting and exercise of the equity instruments the expected life used in the 
model is adjusted based on management’s best estimate for the effects of nontransferability exercise restrictions and behavioural 
considerations the share price volatility percentage factor used in the calculation is based on management’s best estimate of 
future share price behaviour and is selected based on past experience future expectations and benchmarked against peer 
companies in the industry northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 51
financial statements information
2 segmental information
during 2013 management has realigned its management reporting information provided to the chief operating decision maker 
“codm” with their new strategy resulting in six geographic reporting segments the united kingdom is involved in production 
development and exploration activity with the united kingdom also the home of the head office italy is involved in development 
and exploration operations canada is a new segment involved in development and exploration operations french guiana is 
involved in exploration operations and the “other” segment comprises exploration operations in australia plus some prelicence 
expenditure in respect of exploration possibilities in new countries the sixth segment the netherlands was involved in production 
development and exploration activity and was disposed of during the year discontinued operations
the segment disclosures are based on the components of the business that the chief operating decision maker “codm” and 
board monitor in making decisions about operating matters such components are identified on the basis of internal reports that 
the board reviews regularly 
exploration development and production
2013
united
kingdom
€’000
italy
€’000
netherlands
€’000
canada
€’000
french
guiana
€’000
other
€’000
total
€’000
discontinued
operations 
€’000
continuing 
operations 
€’000
revenue from external 
customers
gas and gas condensate — — 8364 — — — 8364 8364 —
tariffs — — 193 — — — 193 193 —
oil 561 — — — — — 561 — 561
project operator fees 30 2 76 — — — 108 76 32
591 2 8633 — — — 9226 8633 593
cost of sales
production costs 246 — 5445 — — — 5691 4936 755 
246 — 5445 — — — 5691 4936 755 
gross profitloss 345 2 3188 — — — 3535 3697 162
prelicence costs — 247 — — — 205 452 — 452
administrative expenses 4543 400 789 248 18 27 6025 259 5766
other operating expenses 198 371 5 131 — 906 1611 — 1611
other operating income — — 1150 — — — 1150 1150 —
profit on sale of tangible assets 10 — — — — — 10 — 10
impairment losses 9623 7986 — — — 86 17695 — 17695
lossprofit from operations 14009 9002 3544 379 18 1224 21088 4588 25676
finance charges 923 102 441 1 543 — 2010 441 1569
finance income 11 — 37 — — — 48 37 11
share of operating loss 
in joint ventures — — — — 32 — 32 — 32
lossprofit before tax 14921 9104 3140 380 593 1224 23082 4184 27266
income tax chargecredit 121 357 1391 — — — 1155 1913 758
net lossprofit for the financial 
year before loss on disposal of 
discontinued operation 15042 8747 1749 380 593 1224 24237 2271 26508
loss on disposal of 
discontinued operation 4296 4296
net loss for the financial year 28533 2025 26508
 note 3
the continuing costs of the netherlands segment represent uk staff costs and other overhead recharges based on hours worked 
on netherlands projects by uk staff these costs were redeployed in late 2013 and will be engaged in furthering other group 
projects in 2014 and beyond northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 52
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
2 segmental information continued
discontinued operation analysis by segment
netherlands
€’000
net segment profit for the financial period to 10 october 2013 1749
discontinued operation – northern petroleum nederland bv 2271
continuing central overheads 522
assets and liabilities at 31 december 2013
united
kingdom
€’000
italy
€’000
canada
€’000
french
guiana
€’000
other
€’000
total
continuing 
operations 
€’000
discontinued
operations 
€’000
 
total
€’000
segment assets 4061 22709 2095 26314 175 55354 — 55354
cash and cash equivalents 24567 762 606 17 37 25989 — 25989
total assets 28628 23471 2701 26331 212 81343 — 81343
segment liabilities 1766 1500 291 827 21 4405 — 4405
deferred tax liabilities — 2381 36 — — 2417 — 2417
total liabilities 1766 3881 327 827 21 6822 — 6822
noncontrolling interests — — — 11415 — 11415 — 11415
other segment items
capital expenditure 755 1344 2322 2964 185 7570 1430 9000
depreciation depletion and amortisation 885 — — — — 885 2340 3225
impairment losses 9623 7986 — — 86 17695 — 17695
exchange differences on translation 
of foreign operations 100 — 236 100 13 449 — 449
sharebased payments 283 — — — — 283 — 283
included in segment assets above
investment in associates and others — — — — 133 133 — 133 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 53
financial statements information
2 segmental information continued
exploration development and production
2012 comparative
united
kingdom
€’000
italy
€’000
netherlands
€’000
canada
€’000
french
guiana
€’000
other
€’000
total
€’000
discontinued
operations
 
€’000
continuing 
operations 
€’000
revenue from external 
customers
gas and gas condensate — — 11473 — — — 11473 11473 —
tariffs — — 162 — — — 162 162 —
oil 565 — — — — — 565 — 565
project operator fees 53 42 112 — — — 207 112 95
618 42 11747 — — — 12407 11747 660
cost of sales
production costs 164 — 4091 — — — 4255 3328 927
depletion and amortisation 86 — 2462 — — — 2548 2462 86
250 — 6553 — — — 6803 5790 1013
gross profit 368 42 5194 — — — 5604 5957 353
prelicence costs 192 340 13 — — 353 898 13 885
administrative expenses 3314 180 1418 — — — 4912 677 4235
other operating income — 34 1109 — — — 1143 1109 34
other operating expenses 228 21 92 583 — 351 1275 91 1184
profit on sale of tangible assets — — 23 — — — 23 23 —
lossprofit from operations 3366 465 4803 583 — 704 315 6308 6623
finance charges 1 — 510 — — — 511 510 1
finance income 544 73 143 — — — 328 143 471
share of operating loss 
in joint ventures — — — — 27 — 27 — 27
lossprofit from operations 2823 538 4150 583  27 704 525 5655 6180
income tax chargecredit 16 595 1653 — — — 1042 2405 1363
net lossprofit for 
the financial year 2807 57 2497 — — 1314 1567 3250 4817
   as a result of the disposal of the netherlands operations the group has changed its internal organisation of its reportable segments accordingly the group has restated the 
operating segment information for the year ended 31 december 2012
 note 3
the continuing costs of the netherlands segment represent uk staff costs and other overhead recharges based on hours worked 
on netherlands projects by uk staff these costs were redeployed in late 2013 and will be engaged in furthering other group 
projects in 2014 and beyond
discontinued operation 2012 analysis by segment
netherlands
€’000
net segment profitloss for the financial year 2497
discontinued operation – northern petroleum nederland bv 3250
continuing segment costs 753 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 54
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
2 segmental information continued
assets and liabilities at 31 december 2012
united
kingdom
€’000
italy
€’000
netherlands
€’000
french
guiana
€’000
other
€’000
total
 €’000
segment assets 13896 31835 48498 6752 188 101169
cash and cash equivalents 7811 1563 13099 — — 22473
total assets 21707 33398 61597 6752 188 123642
segment liabilities 1989 825 10811 — — 13625
current tax liabilities — — 4582 — — 4582 
deferred tax liabilities — 2738 10980 — — 13718
total liabilities 1989 3563 26373 — — 31925
other segment items
capital expenditure 2047 816 2797 52 — 5712
depreciation depletion and amortisation 676 — 2501 — — 3177
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations 58 — — 77 — 135
sharebased payments 25 — — — — 25
other noncash expenses — — — — — —
included in segment assets above
investment in joint venture and associates 15 — — 6621 75 6711
 discontinued operation
3 discontinued operation
on 11 october 2013 the group announced that it had satisfied the terms of a binding sale and purchase agreement with vermilion 
oil  gas netherlands bv “vermilion” a wholly owned subsidiary of vermilion energy inc for the sale of northern petroleum 
nederland bv “npn” the group’s wholly owned netherlands operating subsidiary the consideration for the sale was satisfied as 
follows cdn275 million paid in cash on completion a net profit interest in the papekop production licence “papekop npi” and a net 
profit interest over any future production from unconventional reservoirs “posidonia npi” the netherlands segment was not 
previously classified as held for sale or as a discontinued operation the comparative consolidated statement of profit or loss and 
consolidated statement of other comprehensive income have been restated to show the discontinued operation separately from 
continuing operations the economic effective date for the transaction was 1 january 2013
rationale for sale
the group acquired the majority of its netherlands portfolio in 2005 from nederlandse aardolie maatschappij bv “nam” 
the netherlands based joint venture between exxon and shell the agreements allowed northern petroleum to bring into 
production undeveloped discoveries and pursue exploration opportunities since that time the assets in the netherlands have 
provided valuable cash inflow for the group from production and partial asset sales the portfolio consisted of five producing gas 
fields onshore one gas field offshore for which northern petroleum received deemed production compensation and two further 
discoveries which were awaiting appraisal and development 
the npn portfolio as a whole required significant levels of capital to develop and increase production to more material levels 
without these levels of required investment which were beyond the capacity of the group the net economic benefits to the 
group had been reducing and therefore it was the right time to conclude a sale
net profit interests
the papekop npi grants northern petroleum a 20 interest in any net operating profit generated from the papekop oil and gas 
discovery if it is developed and brought into production this is calculated after the deduction of operating expenditure and the 
recovery of development expenditure if the interest in the licence is sold within one year northern petroleum will receive 80 of 
the proceeds after vermilion has recovered its expenditure to that point if the interest is sold by vermilion after one year but 
before a field development plan is approved northern petroleum will receive 20 of the proceeds after cost recovery by vermilion 
and keep a 20 net profit interest
the posidonia npi grants northern petroleum a 10 interest in any net operating profit generated from the production of oil or 
gas from unconventional reservoirs which is primarily the posidonia shale sequence this payment will be calculated net of 
operating and development capital expenditure
as the timing and magnitude of future cash flows from the papekop and posidonia npis are uncertain the group has not recognised 
any contingent consideration in respect of either npi northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 55
financial statements information
3 discontinued operation continued
results of discontinued operation
period ended 10 october 2013 year ended 31 december 2012
continuing
costs
€’000
discontinued
operations
€’000
northern 
petroleum
nederland bv
€’000
continuing 
costs
€’000
discontinued 
operations
€’000
northern 
petroleum 
nederland bv
€’000
revenue — 8633 8633 — 11747 11747
production costs 509 2640 3149 763 3328 4091
depletion and amortisation — 2296 2296 — 2 462  2 462  
prelicence costs — — — — 13 13
administrative expenses 535 254 789 741 677 1418
other operating expenses — 5 5 1 91 92
other operating income — 1150 1150 — 1109 1109
profit on sale of tangible assets — — — — 23 23
finance income — 37 37 — 100 100
finance charges — 441 441 — 753 753
tax charge 522 1913 1391 752 2405 1653
results from operating activities net of tax 522 2271 1749 753 3250 2497
loss on sale of discontinued operation 4296 —
lossprofit for the year 2025 3250 
all amounts are attributable to equity shareholders of the parent
no tax charge or credit arises on the disposal of npn substantial shareholdings exemption is available to offset the taxable gain 
on sale of npn shares in the books of its immediate parent company np netherlands limited provided that the proceeds for the 
sale are reinvested by the group in oil and gas assets within an appropriate time scale
a results of discontinued operations
the results have been presented together with comparatives in note 2
b earningsloss per share in respect of discontinued operations
period ended 
10 october
2013
€’000
year ended 
31 december
2012
€’000
lossprofit for the year 2025 3250
basic lossearnings per share on loss for the year 21 cents 34 cents
see note 13 for details of the average number of shares in issue and the calculation of earnings per share
as the group is loss making there is no dilution of earnings from potential ordinary shares and diluted earnings per share has not 
been presented
c cash flows used infrom discontinued operation
period ended 
10 october
2013
€’000
year ended 
31 december
2012
€’000
net cash used infrom operating activities 832 7980
net cash used in investing activities 1412 1674
net cash used in financing activities 80 87
net cash flows for the year 2324 6219 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 56
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
3 discontinued operation continued
results of discontinued operation continued
d effect of disposal on the financial position of the group 
10 october 
2013 
€’000
intangibles 17391 
property plant and equipment 23824 
inventories 97 
trade and other receivables 2195 
cash and cash equivalents 2391 
trade and other payables 854 
corporation tax liabilities 1044
provisions 9651
deferred tax liabilities 10647 
net assets and liabilities 23702
consideration received satisfied in cash 19511
cash and cash equivalents disposed of 2391
disposal expenses 105
net cash inflow 17015
consideration received satisfied in cash 19511
net assets and liabilities 23702
disposal expenses 105
loss on sale of discontinued operation 4296
the consideration of €19511000 was received as 27500000 canadian dollars and has been retranslated at 141 to €1 
no consideration has been recognised in respect of the net profit interests due to the uncertainty of their monetisation
4 profitloss from continuing operations
this is stated after charging
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
depreciation of it systems note 16b 600 450
depreciation of nonoil and gas property plant and equipment note 17b 260 140
operating lease rentals – land and buildings 611 444
operating lease rentals – other 73 77
equity settled sharebased payments – national insurance 31 185 
equity settled sharebased payments – ifrs 2 283 25
administrative expenses – share incentives 314 160
auditor’s remuneration
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
audit fees payable to the group’s auditor for the audit of the group’s financial statements 64 65
fees payable to the group’s auditor and its associates for other services
– the audit of the company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation 36 40 
– audit related assurance services 11 9
– taxation services — —
the group has borne the auditor’s remuneration of its nontrading uk subsidiary undertakings  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 57
financial statements information
5 profit on disposal of assets 
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
sale proceeds 22 —
net book value of assets disposed of 12 —
profit on disposal of property plant and equipment 10 —
the profit on disposal represents the book profit on disposal of nonoil and gas property plant and equipment in the year
6 other operating income
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
other — 34
7 other operating expenses
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
new business expenses 1076 1099
farm out expenses 341 —
business acquisition expenses 10 85
business disposal costs 184 —
other operating expenses 1611 1184
other operating expenses comprise new business expenditure farm out expenditure incurred to attract partners to help progress 
projects and business acquisition and disposal expenses this includes allocated payroll and other overhead costs incurred during 
the screening of new opportunities including canada business disposal costs comprise professional fees allocated payroll and 
other overhead costs incurred to complete the disposal of northern petroleum nederland bv
8 directors’ remuneration
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
executive salaries 1190 1220
nonexecutive fees 163 207
bonus 86 —
benefits in kind 55 87
emoluments 1494 1514
compensation for loss of office 1143 —
total 2637 1514 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 58
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
8 directors’ remuneration continued
details for each director of remuneration and interests in warrants exercisable into the group’s shares are set out in the tables 
below and overleaf the total remuneration of the highest paid director was €634000 2012 €998000
year ended 31 december 2013
presented in eur
salary 
or fees 
€’000
taxable 
benefits 
€’000
bonus 
€’000
loss 
of office 
payment 
€’000
total 
€’000
current executive directors salaries
k r bush 251 6 35 — 292
g l heard 260 8 23 — 291
n t morgan 235 5 28 — 268
746 19 86 — 851
current nonexecutive directors fees
s g gibson 1 — — — 1
j d murphy 16 — — — 16
17 — — — 17
total current directors 763 19 86 — 868
former executive directors salaries
m l eaton 124 5 — 180 309
c j foss 147 6 — 357 510
d r musgrove 173 14 — 447 634
444 25 — 984 1453
former nonexecutive directors fees
a n brewer 41 4 — 35 80
r w gaisford 24 — — 24 48
r h r latham 37 6 — 63 106
j m white 44 1 — 37 82
146 11 — 159 316
total former directors 590 36 — 1143 1769
total all directors 1353 55 86 1143 2637
 fees paid to r w gaisford include £40000 €48000 paid to rcm consulting limited a company of which r w gaisford is a director northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 59
financial statements information
8 directors’ remuneration continued
year ended 31 december 2012
presented in eur
salary 
or fees 
€’000
taxable 
benefits 
€’000
ltip 
€’000
total 
€’000
current executive directors salaries
k r bush 34 — — 34
g l heard 272 14 — 286
n t morgan 40 — — 40
346 14 — 360
current nonexecutive directors fees
s g gibson — — — —
j d murphy — — — —
— — — —
total current directors 346 14 — 360
former executive directors salaries
m l eaton 253 13 — 266
c j foss 272 12 136 420
d r musgrove 349 31 618 998
874 56 754 1684
former nonexecutive directors fees
a n brewer 44 4 — 48
r w gaisford 40 — — 40
r h r latham 74 9 — 83
j m white 49 4 273 326
207 17 273 497
total former directors 1081 73 1027 2181
total all directors 1427 87 1027 2541
 the sum disclosed as ltip long term share incentive plan is in respect of gains made on the exercise of warrants of the group’s shares in 2012
on the exercise of the group’s warrants during the year the directors made aggregate notional gains of £nil €nil 2012 £833023 
€1027320 the highest single gain made by an individual director was £nil €nil 2012 £502367 €619540  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 60
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
9 staff costs and numbers continuing operations – including directors 
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
salaries 3773 4104
compensation for loss of office 1143 26
social security costs 637 654
defined contribution pension costs 9 4
other benefits in kind 187 160
5749 4948
charge for sharebased payments note 4 283 25
national insurance accrual release on sharebased payments 31 185
6063 4788
based on time writing a certain element of salaries is capitalised predominantly at the subsidiary level to reflect the time spent 
on capital projects the amounts shown above include net salary cost to northern petroleum capitalised in the year of €1344000 
2012 €716000
the group operates a defined contribution stakeholder pension scheme for one uk employee the pension cost charge for the period 
represents contributions payable by the group to the scheme and amounted to €9000 2012 €4000 there were no outstanding 
or prepaid contributions at either the beginning or end of the financial year excluding the directors there were 27 2012 32 full time 
members of staff at the end of the year 
the average number of persons employed by the group during the year including executive directors was made up as follows
2013 2012 
technical 8 8
professional 8 6
operations 4 4
administration 12 12
32 30
10 finance charges
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
loan interest 7 —
unwinding of discount on decommissioning provisions 2 1 
unwinding of discount on below market interest rate government loans 79 —
realised loss on the disposal of joint venture 527 —
foreign exchange loss 954 —
1569 1
during the year the group received rebates and loans totalling €3304000 from the italian government see note 16 the loans 
are repayable in five annual instalments and interest is charged at 05 per annum the loans have been recorded in the statement 
of financial position at fair value calculated using a commercial discount rate of 10 see note 27 the unwinding of the fair value 
discount over the life of the loan is shown above as “unwinding of discount on below market interest rate government loans” and 
the actual interest paid is shown as “loan interest”
the realised loss on disposal of joint venture was previously recognised in the consolidated statement of other comprehensive 
income as an exchange difference on translation of a foreign operation on change of control of the group’s joint venture 
northpet investments limited the loss on translation of this us dollar investment was realised and transferred to finance charges 
above for more information see note 15
the foreign exchange loss reflects the effect of the movement in the canadian dollar against the euro with respect to the proceeds 
from the disposal of northern petroleum nederland bv cdn275 million which are being held in the expectation of their 
investment in exploration and development in canada northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 61
financial statements information
11 finance income and other finance gains
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
interest receivable 11 37
foreign exchange gains — 434
11 471
12 tax credit 
a analysis of tax credit 
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
current tax
uk tax – current year 105 —
tax on overseas operations on profits for the year – current year 522 752
current tax – adjustment in respect of prior years 16 16
401 768
deferred tax
uk tax — — 
overseas tax – origination and reversal of temporary differences 357 595
total tax credit note 12b 758 1363
the group has made taxable losses in its other countries of operation but has not recognised deferred tax credits for these losses 
as they are not expected to be recovered in the foreseeable future – for analysis of the tax charge by country of operation please 
see note 2 “segmental information” for more information see note 23
b factors affecting tax credit
the tax expense for the year is higher than the standard rate of corporation tax in the uk of 2325 2012 245 the difference 
is explained below
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
group loss before taxation 27266 6180
tax on group loss before taxation at an effective rate of 2325 2012 245 6339 1514
effects of
expenses not deductible for corporate income tax purposes 525 154 
impact of net movements in deferred tax not recognised 7346 1344 
utilisation of brought forward losses 18 —
effects of higher supplementary charges to corporation tax 105 324
effects of different corporate tax rates on uk and overseas earnings 2072 104 
adjustment in respect of prior years – current tax 16 16 
effects of overseas deferred tax – origination and reversal of temporary differences 357 595 
total current tax expense for year 758 1363 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 62
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
12 tax credit continued
c factors that may affect future tax expense
the group has gross corporate income tax and supplementary hydrocarbon tax losses of €465 million 2012 €398 million and 
gross uncrystallised capital allowances of approximately €303 million 2012 €13 million that are available for offset against future 
taxable profits the main increase in uncrystallised capital allowances in the year is in relation to the full consolidation of french 
guiana other increases in the year are in relation to canada and australia losses that are available for offset against future taxable 
profits have been recognised as deferred tax assets to the extent that they will be used to offset taxable profits in the following year 
corporate tax amendments
uk
a reduction in the uk corporation tax rate from 24 to 23 effective from 1 april 2013 was substantively enacted on 3 july 2012 
and further reductions to 21 effective from 1 april 2014 and 20 effective from 1 april 2015 were substantively enacted on 
2 july 2013 respectively this will reduce the group’s future tax charge 
other countries of operation
since the issue of the last annual report there have been no significant changes enacted to tax legislation in the group’s 
other countries of operation that are currently anticipated to have in the near term a material effect on the group’s tax position in 
those jurisdictions 
13 basic lossearnings per share
basic earnings or losses per share amounts are calculated by dividing the profit or loss for the period attributable to ordinary equity 
holders of the parent by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year
diluted earnings per share amounts are calculated by dividing profit for the period attributable to ordinary equity holders of the 
parent by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year plus the weighted average number of 
shares that would be issued on the conversion of dilutive potential ordinary shares into ordinary shares the calculation of the 
dilutive potential ordinary shares related to employee and director share option plans includes only those warrants with exercise 
prices below the average share trading price for each period
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
net loss attributable to equity holders used in basic calculation 28519 1567
net loss attributable to equity holders used in dilutive calculation 28519 1567
number
’000
number
’000
basic weighted average number of shares 95366 95067
dilutive potential of ordinary shares
warrants exercisable under group schemes — —
diluted weighted average number of shares 95366 95067
at 31 december 2013 and 31 december 2012 there were no warrants with exercise prices below the average share trading price 
for those years hence the number of potential dilutive ordinary shares is nil 2012 nil the calculation of the diluted eps assumes 
all criteria giving rise to the dilution of the eps are achieved 
2013 2012
earnings per share 
basic earnings per share on loss for the year cents 299 cents 16 cents
diluted earnings per share on loss for the year cents 299 cents 16 cents
earnings per share – continuing operations
basic earnings per share on loss for the year cents 278 cents 50 cents
diluted earnings per share on loss for the year cents 278 cents 50 cents
as the group is loss making there is no dilution of earnings from potential ordinary shares northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 63
financial statements information
14 canadian acquisition
on 31 january 2013 the group acquired 100 of the ordinary share capital of ouro preto resources inc “ouro preto” a company 
incorporated in canada
the acquisition of ouro preto has enabled the group to establish itself quickly in canada and acquire petroleum and natural gas 
rights from the crown drilling operations commenced in february 2014
the acquisition consideration below is considered equal to the aggregate of the fair values of the assets and liabilities acquired with 
no goodwill arising the only fair value adjustments considered to be required are in respect of the exploration and evaluation 
intangible assets and these have been recorded as shown further below 
effect of the acquisition
consideration
31 january 
2013
 €’000
cash 209
the canadian dollar consideration was settled for 279000 which equates to €209000 at the prevailing exchange rate of 
131 canadian dollars to €1 euro
identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed
31 january 
2013 
pre
acquisition 
carrying 
amount 
€’000
31 january 
2013 
fair 
value
adjustments 
€’000
 
31 january 
2013 
recognised 
values on 
acquisition 
€’000
intangible assets 54 204 258
property plant and equipment – oil and gas assets 27 — 27
trade and other receivables 33 — 33
cash and cash equivalents 84 — 84
trade and other payables 126 — 126
provisions 27 — 27
45 204 249
deferred tax liability — 40 40
45 164 209
the intangible assets acquired comprise petroleum and natural gas rights in alberta province canada 
the uplift on acquisition of “intangible assets” of €204000 equates to the fair value of possible oil reserves the directors consider 
that this was and remains an appropriate valuation given the early stages of development of the zama fields
no goodwill has been recognised as a result of the acquisition and no significant acquisition related costs have been incurred
the revenue generated and expenses incurred by this operation since the date of acquisition 31 january 2013 were €nil and 
€379000 respectively of the €379000 expenses €140000 relates to staff and office costs €108000 relates to administration 
and management time recharged by northern petroleum plc and €131000 relates to evaluation costs of new business opportunities 
in canada cash outflow from the operation post acquisition was €2485000 and comprised the expenses and investments in oil 
and gas assets if the acquisition had occurred on 1 january 2013 management estimates that consolidated revenue would have 
been unchanged and the consolidated costs for the year would have been €31000 higher northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 64
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
15 french guiana acquisition
on 18 october 2013 the group acquired control of northpet investments limited “northpet” northpet is the owner of a 25 
interest in the guyane maritime licence offshore french guiana the acquisition of northpet was a consequence of the group 
ensuring that northpet did not default under the french guiana joint venture agreement following wessex exploration plc’s 
“wessex” decision not to meet its share of a joint venture cash call by preventing the default the group maintained northpet’s 
participation in the licence
prior to 18 october 2013 northpet had been a 50 owned joint venture with wessex and had been accounted for using the equity 
method under the terms of the northpet shareholder agreement shareholders agreed to fund the working capital of northpet 
on an equal basis by subscribing for new ordinary shares if one shareholder declined to meet a funding call the other shareholder 
could subscribe for both sets of new ordinary shares thus increasing their percentage ownership wessex formally notified 
northern petroleum on 15 october 2013 that it intended not to fund future cash calls until wessex’s investment contribution in the 
work programme had reduced by “up to £1500000” on 18 october 2013 northern petroleum took up the share subscription for 
the cash call increasing its share to 521 triggering the change in control
the change in control requires the disposal of the equity accounted investment as it no longer represents a joint venture the control 
then requires the subsidiary to be acquired and consolidated from the date of change in control under ifrs 3 “business combinations” 
resulting in the disposal and acquisition
effect of the acquisition
consideration
18 october
2013
 €’000
investment in joint venture at cost net of cumulative losses 11995
realised loss on disposal of joint venture note 10 527
investment in joint venture at fair value note 18 11468
identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed
18 october
2013
pre
acquisition 
carrying 
amount 
€’000
18 october
2013
fair 
value
adjustments 
€’000
 18 october
2013
recognised 
values on 
acquisition 
€’000
intangible assets 23586 — 23586
cash and cash equivalents 8 — 8
trade and other payables 658 — 658
22936 — 22936
non controlling interest 11468 — 11468
11468 — 11468
in accordance with ifrs 3 “business combinations” assets and liabilities which have been acquired with northpet have been 
measured at its acquisition date fair value
the intangible assets acquired comprise exploration costs offshore french guiana 
no goodwill has been recognised as a result of the acquisition and no significant acquisition related costs have been incurred
for the purposes of these financial statements the directors consider the fair value to reflect the value that is recorded in northpet’s 
financial statements the directors considered a number of factors to support this judgement including
 » there is no readily available “fair market value” as the assets have not been sold externally
 » the valuation of exploration and evaluation assets is highly subjective and could range from nil to hundreds of millions of euro and
 » the net value presented minus the minority interest is consistent with the value that would have been presented had the french 
guiana asset continued to be recorded using a full cost accounting methodology
on disposal €527000 previously unrealised foreign exchange losses on the translation of foreign joint ventures included in the 
consolidated statement of other comprehensive income have been recognised as realised losses and transferred to the 
consolidated statement of profit or loss northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 65
financial statements information
15 french guiana acquisition continued
the revenue generated and expenses incurred by this operation since the date of acquisition 18 october 2013 were €nil and 
€31000 respectively of the €31000 expenses €15000 relates to administration costs and €16000 relates to foreign exchange 
losses cash outflow from the operation post acquisition was €2813000 and comprised the administration costs and investments 
in oil and gas assets if the acquisition had occurred on 1 january 2013 management estimates that consolidated revenue would 
have been unchanged and the consolidated costs for the year would have been €32000 higher
following the change in control the group fully consolidated northpet post change of control northern petroleum subscribed for 
additional ordinary shares in northpet increasing its percentage ownership to 552 at year end and 559 post year end
16 intangible assets
a exploration and evaluation assets
intangible assets consist of the group’s exploration projects which are pending determination of technical feasibility and 
commercial viability of extracting a mineral resource 
notes
netherlands 
€’000
united 
kingdom 
€’000
italy 
€’000
canada 
€’000
french 
guiana 
€’000
other 
€’000
total 
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2013 17282 5522 11538 — 131 114 34587
additions 208 207 950 2322 2964 185 6836
business acquisitions 14  15 — — — 258 23586 — 23844
government grants and assistance 21 — — 2069 — — — 2069
disposals 3 17490 — — — — — 17490
transfers 17  20 — — 19247 — — — 19247
exchange movement — 145 — 243 192 12 592
at 31 december 2013 — 5584 29666 2337 26489 287 64363
exploration expenditure written off
at 1 january 2013 99 46 — — — 28 173
impairment losses — 5298 7986 — — 86 13370
disposals 99 — — — — — 99
exchange movement — — — — — — — 
at 31 december 2013 — 5344 7986 — — 114 13444
net book value
at 31 december 2013 — 240 21680 2337 26489 173 50919
during the year the group received rebates and discounted loans from the italian government as part of a scheme to encourage 
the acquisition of seismic surveys the group successfully applied using the scheme in respect of the seismic surveys acquired in 
2009 and 2010 over licences in the sicily channel government grants relating to intangibles and property plant and equipment 
are recognised as a reduction in the costs of the related assets government loans advanced at below market interest rates are 
measured in accordance with ias 39 “financial instruments recognition  measurement” the benefits of the below market rate 
of interest shall be measured as the difference between the initial carrying value of the loan determined in accordance with ias 39 
and the proceeds received the benefit is also treated as a government grant and recognised as a reduction in the cost of the asset
during the year the reserves in respect of the southern adriatic have been reclassified from 2p proven plus probable to 2c 
proven plus probable contingent on development as a result of this change in assessment management has reclassified the 
undeveloped italian contingent resources as intangible assets a transfer of €18208000 from plant property and equipment
included in transfers in italy for the year is €1039000 in respect of some of the costs of the savio 1x well owing from avobone italy 
despite obtaining a uk high court judgement and european enforcement order to recover the debt the group has still to obtain 
settlement and the directors have decided to transfer this part of the cost from trade and other receivables to intangible assets
the group tests intangible assets for impairment when there is an indication that the assets might be impaired the directors have 
undertaken an impairment review to assess the carrying value of intangible assets in relation to the value of prospective resources by 
cost pool following the disposal of the netherlands in october 2013 the board has reassessed the strategic priorities of the group 
as a result of this decision certain assets have been impaired as they no longer have an active exploration or development programme 
impairments of €5298000 have been recognised in the uk in respect of the sandhills and bouldnor copse wells drilled in 2005 
the havant prospect and past and current exploration licences an impairment of €7986000 has been recognised in italy for po 
valley exploration including the savio and la tosca wells the sicily channel “thrust belt” and other onshore exploration licences  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 66
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
16 intangible assets continued
a exploration and evaluation assets continued
at the year end the contractual commitments for capital expenditure in respect of intangible assets was €1573000 2012  €763000 
of which the group’s share was €1545000 2012 €444000 of the €1545000 €218000 is expected to be paid by wessex 
exploration plc the non controlling interest in respect of french guiana
at 31 december 2013 the group had fully impaired its investment in and share of the exploration and evaluation assets of 
associate companies
the comparative tables for 2012 are detailed below
netherlands 
€’000
united 
kingdom 
€’000
italy 
€’000
canada 
€’000
french 
guiana 
€’000
other 
€’000
total 
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2012 15986 5270 11230 — 81 114 32681
additions 1296 122 308 — 52 — 1778
exchange movement — 130 — — 2 — 128
at 31 december 2012 17282 5522 11538 — 131 114 34587
exploration expenditure written off
at 1 january 2012 99 43 — — — 28 170
exchange movement — 3 — — — — 3
at 31 december 2012 99 46 — — — 28 173
net book value
at 31 december 2012 17183 5476 11538 — 131 86 34414 
 the group’s investment in french guiana via its holding in northpet investments limited was included in investments at 31 december 2012 see note 18 for more details
b it systems
computer
software
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2013 2998
additions 1
at 31 december 2013 2999
amortisation
at 1 january 2013 450
charge for the year 600
at 31 december 2013 1050
net book value
at 31 december 2013 1949
the comparative tables for 2012 are detailed below
computer
software
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2012 2183
additions 815
at 31 december 2012 2998
amortisation
at 1 january 2012 —
charge for the year 450
at 31 december 2012 450
net book value
at 31 december 2012 2548
  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 67
financial statements information
17 property plant and equipment
a oil and gas assets
netherlands united kingdom italy canada
developed 
€’000
undeveloped 
€’000
developed 
€’000
undeveloped 
€’000
undeveloped 
€’000
undeveloped 
€’000
total 
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2013 36621 7616 874 3983 17814 — 66908
additions 1092 89 3 423 394 — 2001
business acquisitions — — — — — 27 27
disposals

37713 7705 — — — — 45418 
transfers — — — — 18208 — 18208
exchange movement — — 41 81 — 3 125
at 31 december 2013 — — 836 4325 — 24 5185
depletion and amortisation
at 1 january 2013 19432 — 724 — — — 20156
charge for the year 2296 — 69 — — — 2365
impairment losses — — — 4325 — — 4325
disposals 21728 — — — — — 21728
exchange movement — — 17 — — — 17
at 31 december 2013 — — 776 4325 — — 5101
net book value
at 31 december 2013 — — 60 — — 24 84
 note 3
at the year end the contractual commitments for capital expenditure in respect of property plant and equipment was €nil 
2012 €1783000 of which the group’s share was €nil 2012 €666000
during the year the reserves in respect of the southern adriatic have been reclassified from 2p proven plus probable to 2c 
proven plus probable contingent on development as a result of this change in assessment management has reclassified the 
undeveloped italian contingent resources as intangible assets
the carrying value of proven developed oil and gas assets in the uk includes
 » a 10 interest in the producing horndean field owned by the group’s wholly owned subsidiaries northern petroleum gb limited 
northern petroleum uk limited and np oil  gas holdings limited and
 » a 5 interest in the producing avington field owned by the group’s wholly owned subsidiary northern petroleum gb limited
the carrying value of proven developed oil and gas assets in canada represents cost incurred in respect of the bow island gas 
discovery which is awaiting assessment of options for development
impairment
on 9 april 2014 the group announced that following an operating committee meeting with the operator of licence pedl233 
containing the baxters copse discovery and subsequent to an internal exercise analysing the markwells wood discovery in 
pedl126 the 43 million barrels of 2p reserves assigned to these assets had been reclassified as 2c contingent resource while both 
assets have the potential to be commercial discoveries the group believes that further appraisal needs to be undertaken to produce 
a viable development plan which would lead to commercial production the uk undeveloped oil and gas assets have been fully 
impaired resulting in a charge of €4325000 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 68
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
17 property plant and equipment continued
a oil and gas assets continued
the comparative tables for 2012 are detailed below
netherlands united kingdom italy
developed 
€’000
undeveloped 
€’000
developed 
€’000
undeveloped 
€’000
undeveloped 
€’000
total 
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2012 35130 8194 849 3319 17306 64798
additions 1096 299 4 565 508 2472
disposals 12 — — — — 12
transfers 877 877 — — — —
adjustments 470 — — — — 470
exchange movement — — 21 99 — 120
at 31 december 2012 36621 7616 874 3983 17814 66908
depletion and amortisation
at 1 january 2012 16970 — 622 — — 17592
charge for the year 2462 — 86 — — 2548
exchange movement — — 16 — — 16
at 31 december 2012 19432 — 724 — — 20156
net book value
at 31 december 2012 17189 7616 150 3983 17814 46752
b nonoil and gas assets 
leasehold 
improvements 
€’000
computer 
and office 
equipment 
€’000
motor 
vehicles 
€’000
total 
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2013 323 1525 36 1884
additions 72 90 — 162
disposals — 343 36 379
at 31 december 2013 395 1272 — 1667
depreciation
at 1 january 2013 309 779 21 1109
charge for the year 10 244 6 260
disposals — 206 27 233
at 31 december 2013 319 817 — 1136
net book value
at 31 december 2013 76 455 — 531 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 69
financial statements information
17 property plant and equipment continued
b nonoil and gas assets continued
the comparative table for 2012 is detailed below
leasehold 
improvements 
€’000
computer 
and office 
equipment 
€’000
motor 
vehicles 
€’000
total 
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2012 303 898 36 1237
additions 20 627 — 647
disposals — — — — 
at 31 december 2012 323 1525 36 1884
depreciation
at 1 january 2012 302 616 12 930
charge for the year 7 163 9 179
disposals — — — — 
at 31 december 2012 309 779 21 1109
net book value
at 31 december 2012 14 746 15 775
18 investments
unlisted
investments 
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2013 6711
additions 5386 
share of losses of joint ventures up to the date of disposal 32
impairment losses 14 
disposal note 15 11468
exchange movement 450
at 31 december 2013 133
included in the above are the group’s interests at the year end in the following associated undertakings and unlisted investments 
country of  
incorporationregistration principal activity
principal country 
of operation
description and 
proportion of shares held
oil  gas investments limited england  wales oil and gas exploration uk ordinary shares of £1–4132
liberty gtl inc usa research and development south africa ordinary shares of 1–500
summary of financial statements of associates and joint ventures
reporting date
assets 
€’000
liabilities 
€’000
equity 
€’000
revenue 
€’000
12 months
 loss 
after tax 
€’000
2013
oil  gas investments limited 31 march 2013 68 34 34 — — 
2012
northpet investments limited 31 december 2012 14881 1638 13243 — 54 
oil  gas investments limited 31 march 2012 60 38 22 — — 
the group’s investment in oil  gas investments limited “ogi” an associate undertaking has been accounted for using the 
equity method which has been applied to that group’s management accounts as at 31 december 2013 at 31 december 2013 
the group owned 4132 of ogi derek musgrove and graham heard are also directors and shareholders of ogi ogi holds 
interests between 125 and 5 in two of the uk onshore licences and one uk offshore licence operated by the group as part of 
the impairment review of certain uk assets the group has made a full provision against the value of its investment in ogi as it is 
deemed irrecoverable northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 70
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
18 investments continued
northpet investments limited formerly a 50 owned joint venture with wessex exploration plc was accounted for using the 
equity method on 18 october 2013 the group acquired control of northpet investments limited note 15 at this time the group 
effectively disposed of its joint venture investment and acquired a subsidiary following the change in control the group has fully 
consolidated northpet’s assets and liabilities with the noncontrolling wessex interest included in equity prior to its acquisition 
and consolidation in the group accounts northpet had made a loss of €64000 of which the group’s share was €32000
the aggregate amounts relating to the group’s interest in the joint venture northpet investments limited are current assets €nil 
2011 €76000 noncurrent assets €nil 2012 €7364000 current liabilities €nil 2012 €819000 and noncurrent liabilities 
€nil 2012 €nil
liberty gtl inc is a company researching and developing small scale gas to liquids technology the group has a 5 equity 
investment in the company the group was previously interested in this technology to support the development of oil fields where 
small amounts of gas are present as an alternative to flaring
the group’s material subsidiary undertakings which are included within these consolidated accounts are
country of  
incorporationregistration principal activity
principal country 
of operation
description and 
proportion of shares held
northern petroleum gb limited england  wales oil and gas exploration  
and production
uk ordinary shares of £1–100
northern petroleum uk limited england  wales oil and gas exploration  
and production
italy ordinary shares of £0001–100
np netherlands limited england  wales holding company uk ordinary shares of £1–100
np offshore holdings  
uk limited
england  wales holding company and  
oil and gas exploration
uk ordinary shares of £1–100
np oil  gas holdings limited england  wales holding company and  
oil and gas exploration  
and production 
uk ordinary shares of £1–100
np solent limited england  wales oil and gas exploration uk ordinary shares of £1–100
np weald limited england  wales oil and gas exploration uk ordinary shares of £1–100
northern petroleum  
ep holdings limited 
england  wales holding company uk ordinary shares of £00025–100 
ati oil onshore limited england  wales holding company uk ordinary shares of £1–100
northpet investments limited england  wales oil and gas exploration france  
french guiana
ordinary shares of £1–5522
ouro preto resources inc canada oil and gas exploration canada 
alberta
ordinary shares of 1–100
ouro preto resources  
pty limited
australia oil and gas exploration australia 
south australia
ordinary shares of 1–100
  these investments were acquired during 2013 see notes 12  13 for details
 the subsidiary was formed during 2013
the comparative table for 2012 is detailed below
unlisted
 investments
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2012 3583
additions 3155
share of losses of joint ventures 27 
at 31 december 2012 6711 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 71
financial statements information
19 inventories
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
crude oil 1 2
condensate — 31
spare parts 31 66
32 99
there is no material difference between the replacement cost of inventories and the amount stated above
the amount of inventory which has been recognised as an expense during the year is €nil 2012 €nil
20 trade and other receivables
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
current assets
trade receivables 357 2947
other receivables 28 74
loans — 139
corporation tax — 628
vat recoverable 944 1388
prepayments and accrued income 377 4694
total trade and other receivables 1706 9870
current trade and other receivables and loans have a fair value that approximates to their book value at both balance sheet dates 
despite obtaining a high court judgement and a european enforcement order the group has still to receive payment from the 
avobone group for monies owing from the drilling of the savio 1x well €1239000 €1039000 of the sum owing has been 
transferred to intangible assets as this sum comprises costs incurred by the group in exploring for reserves in the po valley and is 
capital in nature these costs have subsequently been impaired as per note 16 the group continues to pursue a settlement with 
the avobone group but the timing of any cash receipts is uncertain and could take a number of years the group has provided 
€35000 against the outstanding debt of its associate company oil  gas investments limited 2012 €nil and no amounts have 
been written off during the year 2012 €nil
the carrying values of the group’s trade and other receivables are denominated in the following currencies
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
euro 1050 7134
uk sterling 537 819
us dollars 73 1917
canadian dollars 45 — 
australian dollars 1 — 
total trade and other receivables 1706 9870
of the €1706000 owing at 31 december 2013 €295000 was overdue 2012 €2187000
the ageing analysis of the overdue amount is as follows
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
0–3 months 93 615
4–6 months — 258
6–12 months — 52
1 year or more 202 1262
overdue trade and other receivables 295 2187 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 72
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
21 trade and other payables
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
noncurrent liabilities
italian government loans 891 — 
accruals and deferred income 14 19
905 19
current liabilities
trade payables 250 1323
corporation tax liability 105 4582
taxation and social security 137 352
italian government loans 305 — 
other payables — 567
accruals and deferred income 1867 1930
total trade and other payables 2664 8773
trade and other payables except for italian government loans which are held at fair value are measured at amortised cost and 
their book value approximates to fair value at 31 december 2013 and 2012
during the year the group received rebates and loans from the italian government as part of a scheme to encourage the acquisition 
of seismic surveys in italy the group benefited from the scheme in respect of the seismic surveys acquired in 2009 and 2010 over 
licences in the sicily channel the loans are repayable in five annual instalments at the end of the year starting in the year following 
the year of receipt and interest is charged at 05 per annum the loans are recorded in the statement of financial position at fair 
value using a discount rate of 10 see note 27 at 31 december the gross value of the italian government loans totalled €1534000 
2012 €nil and are repayable between four to five years 
the carrying values of the group’s trade and other payables are denominated in the following currencies
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
euro 1674 8402
uk sterling 1319 296
us dollar 291 —
canadian dollar 265 75
australian dollar 20 —
total trade and other payables 3569 8773
all current liability trade and other payables are considered due within three months apart from the italian government loans 
which are repayable in twelve months noncurrent government loans are repayable over four to five years noncurrent accruals 
are payable over three years
22 provisions
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
at 1 january 9434 9437
additions 756 43
acquisitions note 14 27 — 
disposals discontinued operations – note 3 9651 — 
utilised 36 — 
adjustments — 470 
unwinding of timing discount 317 424
exchange movement 11 — 
at 31 december 836 9434
the amount provided at 31 december 2013 represents the group’s share of decommissioning liabilities in respect of the producing 
horndean and avington fields and the markwell’s wood and havant drilling sites in the uk the supply bases in cayenne and 
trinidad for french guiana exploration and the suspended bow island well in canada 
additions in the year relate to decommissioning liabilities in respect of the suspended bow island well in canada the supply bases 
in cayenne and trinidad for french guiana exploration and markwell’s wood and havant drilling sites in the uk northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 73
financial statements information
22 provisions continued
the most recent estimate received from the operator of horndean is that this provision will become payable in thirtyfour years’ 
time the decommissioning liability for the avington field is estimated to fall due in eight years’ time the provisions for markwell’s 
wood and havant drilling sites are expected to become payable within twelve months’ time the decommissioning date for the 
canada bow island well will be determined following a development study during 2014 but is not mandated to take place until 
after the group decides to surrender the mineral lease the decommissioning of the supply bases in cayenne and trinidad was 
completed in the first quarter of 2014
disposals in the year are in respect of the netherlands assets see note 3 for further details
the estimated timing of utilisation of decommissioning provisions is analysed as follows
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
1 year 364 —
1 to 2 years 390 66
3 to 5 years — 3671
6 to 10 years 24 2922
11 to 20 years — 1854
20 years 32 921
awaiting determination 26 —
total decommissioning provisions 836 9434
the carrying values of the group’s decommissioning provisions are denominated in the following currencies
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
euro 7 9379
uk sterling 446 55
us dollar 357 —
canadian dollar 26 —
total decommissioning provisions 836 9434
23 deferred taxation
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
balance at start of year 13718 14352
deferred tax liability recognised in statement of profit or loss 332 39
deferred tax asset recognised in statement of profit or loss — — 
movement in overseas tax liability 357 595
additions 40 —
disposals 10647 — 
exchange movement 5 — 
balance at end of year 2417 13718 
comprising
other temporary differences 2417 13718 
movements in deferred tax not recognised 2417 13718 
of the €2417000 other temporary differences €2381000 2012 €2738000 arises on the fair value adjustment for the assets 
acquired in italy as part of the ati acquisition €36000 2012 €nil arises on the fair value adjustment for the assets acquired in 
canada and €nil 2012 €10980000 arises on accelerated allowances received for oil and gas asset expenditure still held at cost 
within fixed assets plus some other minor timing differences while these deferred tax adjustments arising on exploration 
expenditure and the fair value of ati’s assets are not expected to be settled in cash and will unwind over time as new discoveries 
are made and together with existing discoveries are brought into production
deferred tax assets have not been recognised in respect of those losses and allowances that are not considered usable to offset 
taxable profits in the following year as they may not be used to offset taxable profits elsewhere in the group and they may have 
arisen in subsidiaries that may be loss making for some time the gross unrecognised temporary differences comprise 
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
other timing differences 624 1364
tax losses 38866 13709
gross unrecognised temporary differences 39490 15073 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 74
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
24 share capital
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
allotted issued called up and fully paid
95365660 2012 95365660 ordinary shares of 5p each 5964 5964
the ordinary shares above all hold the same voting rights and there are no restrictions on the distribution of dividends
the group’s capital management policy is explained in note 27
warrants
disclosures concerning contingent rights to the allotment of shares in respect of outstanding warrants held by the board are given 
in the report on directors’ remuneration details of warrants issued extended and exercised during the year together with 
warrants outstanding at 31 december 2013 are as follows
issue date final exercise date
exercised 
price
pence
at 
1 january
2013
‘000s
new 
issues
’000s
exercised 
‘000s
lapsed or
cancelled
‘000s
at 
31 december
2013
‘000s
12 december 2008 30 june 2013 670p 45 — — 45 — 
12 december 2008 31 july 2013 670p 75 — — 75 — 
12 december 2008 30 june 2014 670p 45 — — — 45
31 december 2008 30 june 2013 685p 118 — — 118 — 
31 december 2008 31 december 2013 685p 9439 — — 9439 — 
31 december 2008 30 june 2014 685p 168 — — — 168
12 january 2009 30 june 2013 775p 100 — — 100 — 
20 february 2009 30 september 2013 735p 30 — — 30 — 
24 june 2009 30 april 2013 800p 140 — — 140 — 
24 june 2009 16 june 2013 2520p 1563 — — 1563 — 
24 june 2009 1 july 2014 2520p 313 — — — 313
24 june 2009 1 july 2015 2520p 313 — — — 313
6 october 2009 31 december 2013 1520p 10 — — 10 — 
6 october 2009 31 december 2014 1520p 10 — — — 10
11 january 2010 31 december 2013 1480p 70 — — 70 — 
11 january 2010 31 december 2013 1500p 35 — — 35 — 
12 april 2010 31 october 2013 1275p 175 — — 175 — 
12 april 2010 31 december 2014 1275p 175 — — — 175
4 january 2011 31 december 2015 10888p 30 — — — 30
4 january 2011 30 june 2016 10888p 30 — — — 30
15 august 2011 30 june 2015 6988p 50 — — 50 — 
15 august 2011 31 december 2014 6988p 50 — — — 50
21 may 2012 31 december 2014 850p 75 — — — 75
18 september 2012 15 july 2016 675p 375 — — — 375
18 september 2012 15 july 2017 675p 375 — — — 375
18 september 2012 15 july 2016 675p 375 — — 375 — 
18 september 2012 15 july 2017 675p 375 — — 375 — 
14 november 2012 15 july 2016 660p 375 — — — 375
14 november 2012 15 july 2016 660p 375 — — — 375
21 may 2013 30 june 2016 1000p — 100 — — 100
21 may 2013 30 june 2017 1000p — 100 — — 100
28188 200 — 20232 9956
the ifrs 2 fair values of awards granted under the group’s warrant schemes have been calculated using a variation of the binomial 
black scholes option pricing model that takes into account factors specific to share incentive plans such as the vesting periods 
the expected dividend yield on the group’s shares and expected exercise of share warrants the volatility used in the calculations 
is based on past share price movements and is estimated at 55 2012 55 risk free investment rates between 057 and 078 
2012 035 and 083 have also been assumed in the calculations the weighted average exercise price of all the warrants 
outstanding as at 31 december 2013 was 10097p 2012 9573p the weighted average remaining contractual life of all the 
warrants outstanding as at 31 december 2013 was one year eight months northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 75
financial statements information
24 share capital continued
warrants continued
other than as described below there are no outstanding conditions attached to the exercise of the warrants issued during the year 
and remaining in issue at year end 
i of the warrants above granted on 21 may 2013 100000 are not exercisable before 1 october 2014
the comparative table for 2012 is detailed below
issue date final exercise date
exercised 
price
pence
at 
1 january
2012
‘000s
new 
issues
’000s
exercised 
‘000s
lapsed or
cancelled
‘000s
at 
31 december
2012
‘000s
13 november 2001 29 february 2012 15625p 370 — 370 — — 
1 october 2002 29 february 2012 1125p 1040 — 1040 — — 
22 may 2003 29 february 2012 125p 400 — 400 — — 
27 july 2006 29 february 2012 1300p 975 — — 975 — 
3 november 2006 29 february 2012 1170p 150 — — 150 — 
19 december 2007 31 december 2012 1385p 100 — — 100 — 
12 december 2008 29 february 2012 670p 375 — 375 — — 
12 december 2008 30 june 2012 670p 25 — — 25 — 
12 december 2008 31 july 2012 670p 50 — — 50 — 
12 december 2008 31 december 2012 670p 150 — — 150 — 
12 december 2008 30 june 2013 670p 45 — — — 45
12 december 2008 31 july 2013 670p 75 — — — 75
12 december 2008 30 june 2014 670p 45 — — — 45
31 december 2008 30 june 2012 685p 79 — — 79 — 
31 december 2008 30 june 2013 685p 118 — — — 118
31 december 2008 31 december 2013 685p 9439 — — — 9439
31 december 2008 30 june 2014 685p 168 — — — 168
12 january 2009 30 june 2013 775p 100 — — — 100
20 february 2009 30 september 2012 735p 40 — — 40 — 
20 february 2009 30 september 2013 735p 30 — — — 30
27 april 2009 31 december 2012 1180p 25 — — 25 — 
24 june 2009 30 april 2013 800p 140 — — — 140
24 june 2009 16 june 2013 2520p 1563 — — — 1563
24 june 2009 1 july 2014 2520p 313 — — — 313
24 june 2009 1 july 2015 2520p 313 — — — 313
6 october 2009 30 june 2012 1520p 10 — — 10 — 
6 october 2009 31 december 2012 1520p 10 — — 10 — 
6 october 2009 31 december 2013 1520p 10 — — — 10
6 october 2009 31 december 2014 1520p 10 — — — 10
11 january 2010 31 december 2013 1480p 70 — — — 70
11 january 2010 31 december 2013 1500p 35 — — — 35
12 april 2010 31 october 2013 1275p 175 — — — 175
12 april 2010 31 december 2014 1275p 175 — — — 175
4 january 2011 31 december 2015 10888p 30 — — — 30
4 january 2011 30 june 2016 10888p 30 — — — 30
15 august 2011 30 june 2015 6988p 50 — — — 50
15 august 2011 31 december 2014 6988p 50 — — — 50
21 may 2012 31 december 2014 850p — 75 — — 75
18 september 2012 15 july 2016 675p — 375 — — 375
18 september 2012 15 july 2017 675p — 375 — — 375
18 september 2012 15 july 2016 675p — 375 — — 375
18 september 2012 15 july 2017 675p — 375 — — 375
14 november 2012 15 july 2016 660p — 375 — — 375
14 november 2012 15 july 2016 660p — 375 — — 375
59803 300 18475 1614 28188 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 76
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
24 share capital continued
warrants continued
analysis of changes in share capital during the year
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
at 1 january 5964 5855
shares issued for cash as a result of exercise of warrants — 109
at 31 december 5964 5964
25 commitments
operating leases
the group’s commitments for rental payments under noncancellable operating leases payable during the year to 31 december 2013 
are as follows
2013 2012
other 
operating 
leases 
€’000
land and 
buildings 
€’000
other 
operating 
leases 
€’000
land and 
buildings 
€’000
payable
within one year 30 604 106 673
between one and five years 119 1464 126 2126
after five years — — — — 
149 2068 232 2799
all leases are “operating leases” and the relevant annual rentals are charged to the statement of profit or loss on a straight line basis 
over the lease term
the group has one leased office in the uk and an equipment storage site in the uk general renewal clauses exist on all leases 
apart from the uk storage site which is held on a rolling three month basis 
the uk office lease was signed in 2007 and was subject to review every five years to take account of any changes in the economic climate 
there were two break clauses one for the group and one for the landlord following negotiations in 2012 the agreement will now 
run its full term until 2017 no restrictions were imposed by the lease agreement other than a break clause after five years
the uk office lease is in respect of two floors of martin house the group’s registered office one floor is currently occupied by the 
group head office in march 2014 the lease on the other floor was assigned to a third party the third party will incur all associated 
costs of the floor they occupy until the end of the lease term with northern petroleum acting as a guarantor €257000 payable 
within one year and €642000 payable between one and five years of the lease commitment shown in the table above has 
passed to the third party in 2014
the group leases an office in canada the agreement for which expires on 29 february 2016 the group’s offices in rome and 
australia are rented from month to month northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 77
financial statements information
26 related party transactions
details of transactions and year end balances with directors and senior management of the group or with companies that were 
at some stage during 2013 nonwholly owned subsidiaries or joint ventures or associates are as follows
rcm 
consulting 
limited 
€’000
northpet 
investments 
limited 
€’000
oil  gas 
investments
 limited
 group 
€’000
receivablespayables balance at 31 december 2013 — — 35
receivablespayables balance at 31 december 2012 — 139 26
amounts invoiced to northern petroleum group in 2013
– billings for services 48 — — 
amounts invoiced by northern petroleum group in 2013
– project billings under joint operating agreements — — 8
– other billings — 450 — 
amounts invoiced to northern petroleum group in 2012
– billings for services 25 — — 
amounts invoiced by northern petroleum group in 2012 
– project billings under joint operating agreements — — 2
– other billings — 308 — 
there were no terms or conditions attached to the outstanding balances above and none of the balances are secured
the directors consider that related party transactions during the year were conducted on terms equivalent to those that prevail in 
arms lengths transactions a summary of the group’s related parties can be found in “investments” note 18 
no director or member of senior management had during or at the end of the year a material interest in any other contract which 
was significant in relation to the group’s business except in respect of personal service agreements and warrants
rcm consulting limited is a company of which r w gaisford is a director r w gaisford resigned as a director on 2 july 2013
northpet investments limited was fully consolidated in the group accounts from 18 october 2013 the 2013 figures in the table 
above show the related party transactions for northpet investments limited that occurred up to the point of consolidation 
the comparative figures for northpet investments limited are for the full year
at 31 december 2013 the group had fully provided for amounts receivable from oil  gas investments limited
27 financial instruments
financial instruments – risk management
the group is exposed through its operations to the following financial risks
 » credit risk
 » cash flow interest rate risk
 » foreign exchange risk
 » liquidity risk and
 » price risk
this note describes the group’s objectives policies and processes for managing those risks and the methods used to measure them
there have been no substantive changes in the group’s exposure to financial instrument risks its objectives policies and processes 
for managing those risks or the methods used to measure them from previous periods unless otherwise stated in this note 
principal financial instruments
the principal financial instruments used by the group from which financial instrument risk can arise are as follows
 » loans and receivables
 » trade and other receivables
 » cash and cash equivalents
 » short term investments and
 » trade and other payables northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 78
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
27 financial instruments continued
general objectives policies and processes
the board has overall responsibility for the determination of the group’s risk management objectives and policies and while 
retaining responsibility for them it has delegated the authority for designing and operating processes that ensure the effective 
implementation of the objectives and policies to the group’s finance function the board receive regular updates from the finance 
director through which it reviews the effectiveness of the processes put in place and the appropriateness of the objectives and 
policies it sets the overall objective of the board is to set policies that seek to reduce risk as far as possible without unduly 
affecting the group’s competitiveness and flexibility further details regarding these policies are set out below
credit risk
credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the group if a customer or a counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its 
contractual obligations the group is mainly exposed to credit risk from credit sales it is group policy implemented locally to 
assess the credit risk of new customers before entering contracts in accordance with best local business practices and seek 
external credit ratings where applicable and when available potential customers that fail to meet the group’s benchmark 
creditworthiness may transact with the business on a prepayment basis only credit risk of existing customers is assessed when 
deemed necessary
credit risk also arises from cash and cash equivalents and deposits with banks and financial institutions for banks and financial 
institutions only independently rated parties with an acceptable credit rating are accepted
the group does not currently enter into derivatives to manage credit risk although in certain isolated cases may take steps to 
mitigate such risks if it is sufficiently concentrated 
quantitative disclosures of the credit risk exposure in relation to trade and other receivables are disclosed in note 20 
in the event of any disputes with customers the group will always attempt to resolve these in accordance with contractual default 
procedures but if ultimately unsuccessful would then resort to legal proceedings 
despite obtaining a high court judgement and a european enforcement order the group has still to receive payment from the 
avobone group for monies owing from the drilling of the savio 1x well €1239000 €1039000 of the sum owing has been 
transferred to intangible assets and subsequently impaired the group continues to pursue a settlement but the timing of any cash 
receipts is uncertain and could take a number of years the group has provided €33000 against the outstanding debt of its 
associate company oil  gas investments limited 2012 €nil and no amounts have been written off during the year 2012 €nil
the group from time to time reviews whether a greater utilisation of credit ratings would be appropriate however given that much 
of the group’s trade receivables are effectively secured under joint venture agreements against the group’s oil and gas assets it 
remains satisfied that this adequately mitigates any risk of default or significant losses at the reporting date the group envisages 
losses from nonperformance of counterparties at the lower end of the range between €33000 and €1072000
the maximum exposure to credit risk at the balance sheet date was €27727000 2012 €32442000
cash flow interest rate risk
the group is exposed to cash flow interest rate risk from its deposits of cash and cash equivalents with banks the cash balances 
maintained by the group have historically been proactively managed in order to ensure that the maximum level of interest is 
received for the available funds but without affecting the working capital flexibility the group requires however in response to the 
2008 banking crisis and given significant reductions in interest rates the focus switched more towards preservation of capital 
credit risk see above
the group is not at present exposed to cash flow interest rate risk on borrowings as it only has fixed interest debt at a rate of 
05 per annum from the italian government no subsidiary company of the group is permitted to enter into any borrowing facility 
or lease agreement without the prior consent of the group  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 79
financial statements information
27 financial instruments continued
general objectives policies and processes continued
interest rates on financial assets and liabilities
the group’s financial assets consist of cash and cash equivalents loans trade and other receivables the interest rate profile at 
31 december of these assets was as follows
financial assets 
on which
 floating 
rate interest 
is earned 
€’000
financial 
assets 
on which 
no interest 
is earned 
€’000
total 
€’000
2013
euro 6334 1055 7389
uk sterling 4301 568 4869
us dollar 1370 76 1446
canadian dollar 13938 47 13985
australian dollar 36 2 38
25979 1748 27727
2012
euro 11485 7424 18909
uk sterling 2476 717 3193
us dollar 8185 1837 10022
canadian dollar 318 — 318
22464 9978 32442
the uk sterling assets largely comprise cash on call accounts and placed on money markets on call and short term debtors the us 
and canadian dollar assets largely represent cash on call accounts and the euro assets comprise cash on call accounts and placed 
on money markets on call and short term debtors the group earned interest on its interest bearing financial assets at rates 
between 0 and 06 2012 0 and 13 during the year all financial assets on which no interest is earned are considered 
immediately available to turn into cash on demand 
if average interest rates approximately 025 in 2013 had been 100 higher ie 05 the group’s finance income of €11000 
would have been €22000 had average interest rates in 2013 been 50 lower the group’s finance income would have been 
€6000 lower
it is considered that there have been no significant changes in cash flow interest rate risk at the reporting date compared to the 
previous year end and that therefore this risk has had no material impact on earnings or shareholders’ equity 
foreign exchange risk
foreign exchange risk arises because the group has operations located in various parts of the world whose functional currency is 
not the same as the functional currency in which other group companies are operating although its geographical spread reduces 
the group’s operational risk the group’s net assets arising from such overseas operations are exposed to currency risk resulting in 
gains and losses on retranslation into euro only in exceptional circumstances will the group consider hedging its net investments 
in noneuro operations as generally it does not consider that the reduction in foreign currency exposure warrants the cash flow 
risk created from such hedging techniques it is the group’s policy to ensure that individual group entities enter into local 
transactions in their functional currency wherever possible and that only surplus funds over and above working capital requirements 
should be transferred to the treasury of the parent company the group considers this policy minimises any unnecessary foreign 
exchange exposure 
in order to monitor the continuing effectiveness of this policy the board through its approval of both corporate and capital 
expenditure budgets and review of the currency profile of cash balances and management accounts considers the effectiveness 
of the policy on an ongoing basis 
the following table discloses the exchange rates of the major currencies utilised by the group
canadian 
dollar
us 
dollar
uk 
sterling
foreign currency units to €1 euro rounded to two decimal places
average for 2013 137 133 085
at 31 december 2013 147 138 083
average for 2012 na 128 081
at 31 december 2012 na 132 082 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 80
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
27 financial instruments continued
general objectives policies and processes continued
currency exposures 
the monetary assets and liabilities of the group that are not denominated in euro are therefore exposed to currency fluctuations 
and are shown below the amounts shown represent the euro equivalent of local currency balances 
uk 
sterling
€’000
us 
dollar
€’000
canadian 
dollar
€’000
australian 
dollar
€’000
total
€’000
euro equivalent of exposed net monetary assets and liabilities 
at 31 december 2013 4301 1370 13938 36 19645
at 31 december 2012 2476 8185 318 — 10979
during the year the euro strengthened in value against sterling 24 the canadian dollar 122 and the us dollar 20 
resulting in an overall foreign exchange loss for the year of €954000 and exchange differences on translation of foreign operations 
of €941000 loss in addition a loss of €527000 on the translation of foreign operations in respect of northpet investments 
limited was recognised on the disposal and acquisition of that entity and was transferred from unrealised foreign exchange losses 
in the statement of other comprehensive income to realised foreign exchange losses in the consolidated statement of profit 
or loss
 » had the euro risen in value against sterling by 5 the overall foreign exchange loss would have been €444000 higher had the 
euro fallen in value against sterling by 5 the overall foreign exchange loss would have been €1263000 lower
 » had the euro risen in value against the canadian dollar by 5 the overall foreign exchange loss would have been €489000 
lower had the euro fallen in value against the canadian dollar by 5 the overall foreign exchange loss would have been 
€1168000 lower
 » had the euro risen in value against the us dollar by 5 the overall foreign exchange loss would have been €937000 higher had 
the euro fallen in value against the us dollar by 5 the overall foreign exchange loss would have been €2186000 lower
a number of the group’s subsidiaries use sterling canadian dollars or us dollars as their functional currency so movements in the 
eurosterling eurocanadian dollar and eurous dollar exchange rates most significantly affect the group’s statement of financial 
position with exchange differences that arise on consolidation being taken to reserves there is the likelihood that future canadian 
oil revenues will be denominated in us dollars while the majority of costs incurred on the canadian assets will be in canadian 
dollars in addition the ongoing exploration programme in french guiana is expected to have us dollar capital expenditure 
requirements going forward as a consequence of all of the above exchange gains or losses will continue to be reported within 
future statements of profit or loss
during 2013 following the disposal of northern petroleum nederland bv for 275 million canadian dollars and in anticipation 
of sterling and us dollar spending requirements the group exchanged a significant amount of euro and canadian dollars into 
us dollars and to a lesser extent sterling most of the sale proceeds of npn were not transferred into other currencies but were 
retained in anticipation of significant capital expenditure in canada during 2014 and 2015 the group will have a continued 
requirement to exchange currency on a more regular basis but is holding cash in currencies matched to anticipated expenditure 
in 2014 and early 2015
liquidity risk 
liquidity risk arises from the group’s management of working capital and the finance charges and principal repayments on its debt 
instruments it is the risk that the group will encounter difficulty in meeting its financial obligations as they fall due 
the group’s policy is to ensure that it will always have sufficient cash to allow it to meet its liabilities when they become due 
to achieve this aim it seeks to maintain readily available cash balances or agreed facilities to meet expected requirements for a 
period of at least 60 days the group currently has no long term borrowings other than the loans from the italian government 
forwarded under the scheme to encourage oil and gas exploration in italy
while the group has low levels of external debt and cash resources of approximately €260 million 2012 €225 million at the year 
end the board recognises that the cost base and structure of the business must be appropriately positioned for efficient use of 
these funds and the directors have implemented overhead reduction measures these will bring some immediate cash savings 
during 2014 all long term commitments continue to be monitored in order to make sure that no expenditure is incurred which 
would take the group’s cash balance below a level necessary to maintain ongoing operations costs and commitments are 
monitored on a frequent basis and more so while the group is going through the current phase of change having considered the 
group’s current activities and projected cashflow requirements for the period of at least twelve months from the date of approving 
these financial statements the directors believe that the group is well placed to manage its business risks successfully and finance 
its current commitments it also recognises that new funds may be needed to fully progress its current projects pursue new 
opportunities and secure new production revenues northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 81
financial statements information
27 financial instruments continued
general objectives policies and processes continued
price risk
oil revenue is subject to energy market price risk had average oil prices in 2013 been 20 higher the group’s oil revenue of 
€561000 would have been €112000 higher had average oil prices in 2013 been 20 lower the group’s gas revenue would have 
been €112000 lower 
given current production levels it is currently not considered appropriate for the group to enter into any hedging activities or trade 
in any financial instruments such as derivatives this strategy will be subject to continued review through 2014 and beyond given 
the group’s current cash flow
financial liabilities
the group’s financial liabilities consist of trade and other payables the interest rate profile at 31 december of these liabilities was 
as follows
financial 
liabilities on 
which 
interest 
is paid 
€’000
financial 
liabilities on 
which no
 interest 
is paid 
€’000
2013
euro 1196 478
uk sterling — 1319
us dollar — 291
canadian dollar — 265
australian dollar — 20
1196 2373
2012
euro 4582 3792
uk sterling — 293
canadian dollar — 87
4582 4172
the group’s short term creditors are considered payable on demand with the exception of the supply base in french guiana the group’s 
decommissioning liabilities are considered likely to be payable in greater than one year from the balance sheet date
the estimated timing of utilisation of decommissioning provisions is analysed as follows
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
1 year 364 —
1 to 2 years 390 66
3 to 5 years — 3671
6 to 10 years 24 2922
11 to 20 years — 1854
20 years 32 921
awaiting determination 26 —
total decommissioning provisions 836 9434
the carrying values of the group’s decommissioning provisions are denominated in the following currencies
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
euro 7 9379
uk sterling 446 55
us dollar 357 —
canadian dollar 26 —
total decommissioning provisions 836 9434
further details on the decommissioning liabilities are set out in note 22 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 82
notes to the accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013
27 financial instruments continued
fair value hierarchy
ifrs 7 requires the classification of fair value measurements using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the inputs 
used to determine those fair values other than the italian government loans at below market interest rates the group has no 
financial instruments whose fair value has been determined using a valuation technique required to be discussed by ifrs 7 no fair 
values have been prepared for short term debtors cash and cash equivalents as their carrying amount is considered by the 
directors to be a reasonable approximation of their fair value
the interest rate of 10 used to discount estimated cash flows is based on the cost of recent comparable development finance 
facilities obtained by other listed resource companies of a similar size to the group
the table below analyses financial instruments carried at fair value by the levels in the fair value hierarchy the different levels have 
been defined as follows
 » level 1 quoted prices unadjusted in active markets for identical assets or liabilities 
 » level 2 inputs other than quoted prices included within level 1 that are unobservable for the asset or liability either directly ie 
as prices or indirectly ie derived from prices and
 » level 3 inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data unobservable inputs 
level 1
€’000
level 2
€’000
level 3
€’000
total
€’000
2013
liabilities
italian government loans — — 1196 1196
as required by ifrs 3 “fair value measurement” the following sets out the valuation technique and inputs used
 » the gross value of the italian government loan has been discounted over the life of the loan of five years at a discount rate of 
10 being the beneficial interest not charged on the loan
 » the beneficial interest is deemed to be the difference between the observable arms length interest which would be charged to 
the group by a third party lender of 105 and the actual interest accruing at 05 and
 » the inputs used are not observable market data but indicative financing estimates for commensurate levels of funding to an aim 
listed group of comparable size
the effect on the income statement is to increase the interest charge by €79000 2012 €nil
capital management policies 
the group considers its capital to comprise of its ordinary share capital share premium distributable reserves and accumulated 
retained earnings 
in managing its capital the group’s primary objective is to ensure its continued ability to provide a consistent return for its equity 
shareholders principally though capital growth in order to achieve and seek to maximise this return objective the group may 
seek to maintain a gearing ratio that balances risks and returns at an acceptable level while also maintaining a sufficient funding 
base to enable the group to meet its working capital and strategic investment needs in making decisions to adjust its capital 
structure to achieve these aims either through new share issues or increases or reductions in debt the group considers not only 
its short term position but also its medium and longer term operational and strategic objectives
there have been no other significant changes to the group’s capital management objectives policies and processes during the 
year nor has there been any change in what the group considers to be its capital 
28 post balance sheet events 
since the balance sheet date 31 december 2013 and the date that these financial statements have been signed the following 
developments have been announced which have a material impact on or the understanding of these financial statements
canadian operations update
on 2 april 2014 the group issued an update of its canadian operations details of which are included in the review of operations on 
pages 10 to 11
uk asset update
on 9 april 2014 the group issued an update of its uk operations details of which are included in the review of operations on 
page 15 and in note 17 “property plant and equipment”  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 83
financial statements information
unaudited statement of net commercial oil  gas 
reserve quantities – proven and probable reserves
at 31 december 2013
volumes – group excluding netherlands
petroleum 
million boe
at 31 december 2012 5750
changes during the period
revisions of previous estimates 5743 
production 001
at 31 december 2013 006
notes
1  the reserve estimates shown in this report are based upon the joint reserve and resource definitions of the society of petroleum 
engineers the world petroleum congress and the american association of petroleum geologists
2  horndean pl211 and avington pedl 070 proven and probable reserves are the operator’s igas energy’s most recent 
estimates as determined during 2013 in an independent review by senergy limited
3  during the year the group disposed of its netherlands subsidiary the reserves of the netherlands subsidiary at 31 december 
2012 were 1223 million boe these reserves were presented as part of the prior year total reserves of 6973 million barrels 
given that the netherlands is presented as a discontinued operation in these financial statements it has been excluded from 
the brought forward figure presented above
4  during the year erce were contracted to review the giove and rovesti discoveries in italy and the new work performed by the 
group erce reclassified both giove and rovesti as contingent resource volumes for more information see the review of 
operations on pages 12 and 13 and notes 16 and 17
5  in conjunction with the operator of licence pedl233 containing the baxters copse discovery and following an internal exercise 
analysing the markwells wood discovery the group decided to reclassify the reserves assigned to these assets as 2c contingent 
resource while both assets have the potential to be commercial discoveries further appraisal needs to be undertaken to 
confirm a viable development plan which would lead to commercial production for more information see the review of 
operations on page 15 and note 17 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 84
notes
2013 
€’000
2012
€’000
fixed assets
intangible assets 3 1949 2548
tangible assets 4 526 635
investments 5 47478 33742
total fixed assets 49953 36925
current assets
debtors – due within one year 6 15457 21410
cash at bank and in hand 11599 6247
27056 27657
creditors amounts falling due within one year 7 3326 1728 
net current assets 23730 25929
total assets less current liabilities 73683 62854
creditors amounts falling due after more than one year 7 14 19
net assets 73669 62835
capital and reserves
called up share capital 8 5964 5964
share premium 9 12553 12553
merger reserve 9 10289 10289
special reserve distributable 9 28583 28583
share incentive plan reserve 9 624 1364
profit and loss account 9 15656 4082
shareholders’ funds 10 73669 62835
the notes on pages 85 to 92 form part of these financial statements
these financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on 14 april 2014 and were signed on its 
behalf by
k r bush   n t morgan
director    director
registered no 02933545
company balance sheet
at 31 december 2013 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 85
financial statements information
notes to the company accounts
for the year ended 31 december 2013 
1 accounting policies
the principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below these policies have 
been consistently applied to all the years presented unless otherwise stated
basis of preparation
the financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with applicable uk 
accounting standards
the company has taken advantage of section 4084 of the companies act 2006 in not presenting its own profit and loss account 
the company’s profit for the year was €10551000 2012 loss of €2365000
in accordance with the exemptions available under frs 1 cash flow statements the company has not presented a cash flow 
statement as the cash flow of the company has been included in the consolidated cash flow statement of northern petroleum plc
the company has taken advantage of the exemption contained in frs 8 related party disclosures and has therefore not disclosed 
transactions or balances with wholly owned subsidiary entities in addition the company has also taken advantage of the exemption 
in frs 29 “financial instruments disclosures” not to present company only information as the disclosures provided in the notes 
to the group consolidated financial statements comply with the requirements of this standard see note 27 to the group 
financial statements
going concern basis of preparation
after making appropriate enquiries the directors have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to 
meet all of its commitments and to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future accordingly the board continue 
to believe that it is appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual report and accounts 
for further details of the going concern basis of preparation see note 1 to the group financial statements 
turnover
turnover comprises income charged excluding value added and similar taxes to other companies by the company in respect of 
fees for acting as operator of both production and preproduction activities and fees for other related services 
income charged excluding value added and similar taxes to other companies by the company in respect of fees for any other 
services are disclosed within other operating income 
turnover and income is recognised on an entitlement basis once the significant risks and rewards of ownership have passed to the 
customer and receipt of future economic benefits is probable 
sharebased payments
the group has both equitysettled and cashsettled sharebased payment schemes
equitysettled sharebased payments
in accordance with frs 20 “sharebased payments” the company reflects the economic cost of awarding shares and share 
options to employees directors and key suppliers and consultants by recording an expense in the profit and loss account equal to 
the fair value of the benefit awarded the expense is recognised in the profit and loss account over the vesting period of the award
fair value is measured by use of a black scholes model which takes into account conditions attached to the vesting and exercise 
of the equity instruments the expected life used in the model is adjusted based on management’s best estimate for the effects 
of nontransferability exercise restrictions and behavioural considerations 
cashsettled sharebased payments
in accordance with frs 20 “sharebased payments” for cashsettled sharebased payment transactions the group measures the 
goods or services acquired and the liability incurred at the fair value of the liability until the liability is settled the group remeasures 
the fair value of the liability at each reporting date and at the date of settlement with any changes in fair value recognised in profit 
or loss for the period
fair value is measured by use of a black scholes model which takes into account the terms and conditions on which the share 
appreciation rights were granted and the extent to which the employees have rendered service to date the expected life used in 
the model is adjusted based on management’s best estimate for the effects of nontransferability exercise restrictions and 
behavioural considerations northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 86
notes to the company accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013 
1 accounting policies continued
depreciation
the cost of fixed assets is written off by equal annual instalments over their expected useful lives as follows
 » leasehold improvements – over the term of the lease
 » computer hardware and software – four or five years
 » office equipment – four years and
 » motor vehicles – four years
the carrying values of tangible fixed assets are reviewed for impairment if events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying 
value may not be recoverable
tangible fixed assets
tangible fixed assets are included in the statement of financial position at cost less accumulated depreciation and any provisions 
for impairment
intangible fixed assets
intangible fixed assets are included in the statement of financial position at cost less accumulated depreciation and any provisions 
for impairment
investments
fixed asset investments are included in the statement of financial position at cost less any amounts written off
current asset investments are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value
lease commitments
the annual rentals under operating leases are charged to the profit and loss account on a straight line basis over the term of  
the lease
foreign currencies
foreign currency transactions of the company are translated into its functional currency at the rates ruling when the transactions 
occurred monetary assets and liabilities denominated in other currencies are retranslated at the rate of exchange ruling at the 
balance sheet date all differences are taken to the profit and loss account
the exchange rates of the major currencies utilised by the company are disclosed in note 27 of the group financial statements
deferred taxation
deferred tax is recognised in respect of all timing differences that have originated but not reversed at the balance sheet date where 
transactions or events have occurred at that date that will result in an obligation to pay more or a right to pay less or to receive 
more tax with the following exceptions
 » provision is made for deferred tax that would arise on remittance of the retained earnings of overseas subsidiaries associates and 
joint ventures only to the extent that at the balance sheet date dividends have been accrued as receivable and
 » deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that the directors consider that it is more likely than not that there will be 
suitable taxable profits from which the future reversal of the underlying timing differences can be deducted
deferred tax is measured on an undiscounted basis at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the periods in which timing 
differences reverse based on tax rates and laws enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 87
financial statements information
2 directors’ remuneration 
year ended 
31 december 
2013 
€’000
year ended 
31 december 
2012 
€’000
executive salaries 1190 1220
nonexecutive fees 163 207
bonus 86 — 
benefits in kind 55 87
emoluments 1494 1514
compensation for loss of office 1143 — 
total remuneration 2637 1514
details for each director of remuneration and interests in warrants exercisable into the group’s shares are set out in the tables below 
the total remuneration of the highest paid director was €634000 2012 €998000
year ended 31 december 2013
presented in eur
salary 
or fees 
€’000
taxable 
benefits 
€’000
bonus 
€’000
loss 
of office 
payment 
€’000
total 
€’000
current executive directors salaries
k r bush 251 6 35 — 292
g l heard 260 8 23 — 291
n t morgan 235 5 28 — 268
746 19 86 — 851
current nonexecutive directors fees
s g gibson 1 — — — 1
j d murphy 16 — — — 16
17 — — — 17
total current directors 763 19 86 — 868
 
former executive directors salaries
m l eaton 124 5 — 180 309
c j foss 147 6 — 357 510
d r musgrove 173 14 — 447 634
444 25 — 984 1453
former nonexecutive directors fees
a n brewer 41 4 — 35 80
r w gaisford 24 — — 24 48
r h r latham 37 6 — 63 106
j m white 44 1 — 37 82
146 11 — 159 316
total former directors 590 36 — 1143 1769
 
total all directors 1353 55 86 1143 2637
 fees paid to r w gaisford include £40000 €48000 paid to rcm consulting limited a company of which r w gaisford is a director northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 88
notes to the company accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013 
2 directors’ remuneration continued
year ended 31 december 2012
presented in eur
salary 
or fees 
€’000
taxable 
benefits 
€’000
ltip 
€’000
total 
€’000
current executive directors salaries
k r bush 34 — — 34
g l heard 272 14 — 286
n t morgan 40 — — 40
346 14 — 360
current nonexecutive directors fees
s g gibson — — — —
j d murphy — — — —
— — — —
total current directors 346 14 — 360
 
former executive directors salaries
m l eaton 253 13 — 266
c j foss 272 12 136 420
d r musgrove 349 31 618 998
874 56 754 1684
former nonexecutive directors fees
a n brewer 44 4 — 48
r w gaisford 40 — — 40
r h r latham 74 9 — 83
j m white 49 4 273 326
207 17 273 497
total former directors 1081 73 1027 2181
 
total all directors 1427 87 1027 2541
 the sum disclosed as ltip long term share incentive plan is in respect of gains made on the exercise of warrants of the group’s shares in 2012
on the exercise of the company’s warrants during the year the directors made aggregate notional gains of £nil €nil 2012  £833023 
€1027320 the highest single gain made by an individual director was £nil €nil 2012 £502367 €619540 
3 intangible fixed assets
computer 
software
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2013 2998
additions 1
at 31 december 2013 2999
depreciation
at 1 january 2013 450
charge for the year 600
at 31 december 2013 1050
net book value
at 31 december 2013 1949 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 89
financial statements information
4 tangible fixed assets
leasehold 
improvements
€’000
computer 
and office 
equipment
€’000
motor 
vehicles 
€’000
total
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2013 323 1268 36 1627
additions 72 45 — 117
disposals — 46 36 82
at 31 december 2013 395 1267 — 1662
depreciation
at 1 january 2013 309 662 21 992
charge for the year 10 199 6 215
disposals — 44 27 71
at 31 december 2013 319 817 — 1136
net book value
at 31 december 2013 76 450 — 526
at 31 december 2012 14 606 15 635
5 investments
unlisted 
investments
€’000
investments
 in subsidiaries 
€’000
total 
investments 
€’000
cost
at 1 january 2013 15 33727 33742
additions — 23868 23868
at 31 december 2013 15 57595 57610
impairment
at 1 january 2013 — — — 
impairment charge 15 10117 10132
at 31 december 2013 15 10117 10132
carrying value at 31 december 2013 — 47478 47478
carrying value at 31 december 2012 15 33727 33742
during 2013 further investments were made in subsidiaries to provide working capital clear intercompany balances and in the 
case of np offshore holdings uk limited to ultimately fund the continuing drilling campaign offshore french guiana 
impairments of investments were recognised in respect of northern petroleum gb limited €6316000 northern petroleum ep 
holdings limited €2182000 np oil  gas holdings limited €1324000 and np offshore holdings uk limited €295000 
where oil and gas assets or subsidiaries that these companies own have been impaired during the year northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 90
notes to the company accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013 
5 investments continued
included in the previous page are the company’s interests at the year end in the following material subsidiary undertakings which 
are included in the consolidated accounts
country of  
incorporationregistration principal activity
principal country 
of operation
description and 
proportion of shares held
northern petroleum gb limited england  wales oil and gas exploration  
and production
uk ordinary shares of £1–100
northern petroleum uk limited england  wales oil and gas exploration  
and production
italy ordinary shares of £0001–100
np offshore holdings  
uk limited
england  wales holding company and  
oil and gas exploration
uk ordinary shares of £1–100
np oil  gas holdings limited england  wales holding company and  
oil and gas exploration  
and production 
uk ordinary shares of £1–100
northpet investments limited

england  wales oil and gas exploration france 
french guiana
ordinary shares of £1–5522
ouro preto resources inc

canada oil and gas exploration canada alberta ordinary shares of 1–100
  shares held indirectly through its ownership of np offshore holdings uk limited
  shares held indirectly through its ownership of np oil  gas holdings limited
 these investments were acquired during 2013 see notes 12  13 for details
the company has accounted for its investments in subsidiaries at cost less any amounts written off
included in the above are the company’s interests at the year end in the following associated undertakings 
country of  
incorporationregistration principal activity
principal country 
of operation
description and 
proportion of shares held
oil  gas investments limited england  wales oil and gas exploration uk ordinary shares of £1–4132
the company has accounted for its investments in associate undertakings at cost less any amounts written off the company fully 
impaired its investment in its associated undertaking during the year
6 debtors
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
amounts falling due within one year
trade debtors — — 
other debtors 154 55
vat recoverable 116 187
amounts due from subsidiary undertakings 14855 20560
prepayments and accrued income 332 608
total debtors 15457 21410 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 91
information
7 creditors
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
amounts falling due within one year
trade creditors 59 562
taxation and social security 126 264
other creditors — 14
amounts due to subsidiary undertakings 2377 — 
accruals and deferred income 764 888
3326 1728
amounts falling due after one year
accruals and deferred income 14 19
3340 1747
8 share capital
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
allotted issued called up and fully paid
95365660 2012 95365660 ordinary shares of 5p each 5964 5964
warrants
disclosures concerning contingent rights to the allotment of shares in respect of outstanding warrants held by the board are given 
in the report on directors’ remuneration details of warrants issued extended and exercised during the year together with warrants 
outstanding at 31 december 2013 are as disclosed in note 24 of the group financial statements 
analysis of changes in share capital during the year
2013
€’000
2012
€’000
at 1 january 5964 5855
shares issued for cash as a result of exercise of warrants — 109
at 31 december 5964 5964
9 reserves
share 
premium 
account
€’000
merger 
reserve
€’000
special 
reserve 
distributable
€’000
share 
incentive 
plan reserve
€’000
profit 
and loss 
account
€’000
at 1 january 2013 12553 10289 28583 1364 4082
sharebased payments — — — 283 — 
transfer between reserves for share warrants exercised during the year — — — 1023 1023
profit for the year — — — — 10551
at 31 december 2013 12553 10289 28583 624 15656
the merger reserve is explained in the text below the statement of changes in equity within the group financial statements northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 92
notes to the company accounts continued
for the year ended 31 december 2013 
10 reconciliation of movement in shareholders’ funds
€’000
shareholders’ funds at 1 january 2012 64879
issue of shares during the year 296
loss for the year 2365 
sharebased payments 25
shareholders’ funds at 1 january 2013 62835
profit for the year 10551
sharebased payments 283
shareholders’ funds at 31 december 2013 73669
11 commitments
operating leases
the company’s annual commitments for rental payments under noncancellable operating leases payable are as follows
2013 2012
other 
operating 
leases 
€’000
land and 
buildings 
€’000
other 
operating 
leases 
€’000
land and 
buildings 
€’000
leases expiring
within one year — — — — 
within the second to fifth years inclusive 30 570 56 581
in more than five years — — — — 
30 570 56 581
all leases are “operating leases” and the relevant annual rentals are charged to the profit and loss account on a straight line basis 
over the lease term
the uk office lease was signed in 2007 and was subject to review every five years to take account of any changes in the economic 
climate there were two break clauses one for the group and one for the landlord neither party exercised their break clauses 
falling in 2012 and following negotiations in 2013 the agreement will now run its full term until 2017 no restrictions were imposed 
by the lease agreement other than a break clause after five years in march 2014 the lease of one floor was assigned to a third party 
the third party will incur all associated costs of the floor they occupy until the end of the lease term with northern petroleum 
acting as a guarantor €257000 of the lease commitment shown in the table above has passed to the third party
12 related party transactions
during the year £40000 €44000 was paid to rcm consulting limited 2012 €25000 a company of which r w gaisford is a 
director there were no other transactions with the group’s related parties
13 post balance sheet events 
since the balance sheet date 31 december 2013 and the date that these financial statements have been signed there have been 
no developments announced which have a material impact on or the understanding of these financial statements
further details of the group post balance sheet events can be found in note 28 to the group financial statements 
further details of these post balance sheet events are disclosed in the chairman’s statement on pages 4 and 5 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 93
information
notice of annual general meeting
notice is hereby given that the annual general meeting of the group will be held at the wren suite st paul’s cathedral ec4m 
8ad on 22 may 2014 at 930am for the following purposes 
to consider and if thought fit pass the following resolutions to be proposed as ordinary resolutions 
1  to receive the annual report and audited consolidated financial statements of the group for the year ended 31  december  2013 
2  to appoint kpmg llp as auditors of the company to hold office from the conclusion of this annual general meeting until the 
conclusion of the next annual general meeting and to authorise the directors to fix their remunerations 
3  to reelect g l heard who retires from office in accordance with article 108 of the group’s articles as a director of the group 
4  to reelect j d murphy who retires from office in accordance with article 113 of the group’s articles as a director of the  group 
5  to reelect s g gibson who retires from office in accordance with article 113 of the group’s articles as a director of the group 
6  to reelect i m lanaghan who retires from office in accordance with article 113 of the group’s articles as a director of 
the group 
7  to authorise the directors pursuant to and in accordance with section 551 of the companies act 2006 the “act” to exercise 
all powers of the group to allot ordinary shares in the capital of the group and grant rights to subscribe for or convert any 
security into ordinary shares up to a maximum aggregate nominal value of £1192075 being approximately 25 of the group’s 
issued share capital as at the date of this notice provided that such authority shall expire at the conclusion of the next annual 
general meeting of the group except that the directors may before such expiry make offers or agreements which would or 
might require ordinary shares to be allotted or rights to be granted after such expiry and allot ordinary shares or grant rights in 
pursuance of such offers or agreements
to consider and if thought fit pass the following resolutions to be proposed as special resolutions
8  to authorise the directors pursuant to and in accordance with section 570 and 573 of the act to allot equity securities 
as defined in section 560 of the act for cash as if subsection 561 of the act did not apply to the allotment of equity securities 
pursuant to the authority conferred on them under section 551 of the act up to the aggregate nominal value of £476830 being 
approximately 10 of the group’s issued share capital as at the date of this notice such power to expire on the earlier of the 
conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the group and 15 months after the date of the resolution but so as to enable 
the group before the expiry of such power to make offers or agreements which would or might require equity securities to 
be allotted after such expiry and to enable them to allot equity securities for cash pursuant to such offers or agreements as if 
the power conferred thereby had not expired
9  to amend the articles of association of the group by the deletion of i article 103 and ii the words “other than that of chief 
executive” in article 104
10  to authorise the group generally and unconditionally to make market purchases within the meaning of section 6934 of the 
act pursuant to and in accordance with section 701 of the act of fully paid ordinary shares in the capital of the group upon 
and subject to the following conditions but otherwise unconditionally 
 a  the maximum number of ordinary shares hereby authorized to be purchased in 4768300 which is approximately 5 of the 
ordinary share capital of the group as at the date of this notice
 b  the maximum price which may be paid for each ordinary share shall be an amount no more than 105 of the average of the 
middle market quotations for an ordinary share as derived from the alternative investment market of the london stock 
exchange for the five business days immediately preceding the day on which such ordinary share is contracted to be 
purchased excluding expenses and the minimum price which may be paid for such ordinary share shall be the nominal 
value of such ordinary share at the time of such purchase excluding expenses and
 c  unless previously varied revoked or renewed the authority conferred by this resolution shall expire on the earlier of the date 
15 months after the passing of this resolution and at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the group after 
the date on which the resolution is passed provided that the group may before such expiry date enter into a contract to 
purchase ordinary shares under this authority which will or may be completed or executed wholly or partly after the expiration 
of such authority and may make a purchase of ordinary shares in pursuance of such contract
by order of the board
james gordon
secretary
registered office 
martin house
5 martin lane
london ec4r 0dp
dated 14 april 2014 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 94
notice of annual general meeting continued
notes 
1  a member of the group entitled to attend and vote at the meeting convened by this notice may appoint a proxy to attend and 
vote on a poll in his stead a proxy need not be a member of the group a member may appoint more than one proxy provided 
that such appointment is in respect of voting rights attaching to different shares 
2  to be valid the enclosed form of proxy must be completed and lodged together with the power of attorney or any other 
authority if any under which it is signed or a notarially certified copy thereof at the offices of the group’s registrars neville 
registrars limited neville house 18 laurel lane halesowen west midlands b63 3da not less than 48 hours before the time 
appointed for holding the meeting 
3 completion of the proxy does not preclude a member from attending and voting at the meeting if they so wish 
4  the group pursuant to regulation 41 of the uncertificated securities regulations 2001 hereby specifies that only those 
shareholders registered on the register of members of the group at 930am on 20 may 2014 shall be entitled to attend or vote 
at the meeting in respect of shares registered in their name at the time changes to entries on the relevant register of members 
after this time shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend or vote at the meeting  notwithstanding 
any provisions in any enactment the articles of association of the group or other instrument to the contrary  northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 95
information
glossary
2d 3d
twothree dimensional in relation 
to seismic surveys
2p
proven plus probable reserves
3p
proven probable plus possible 
reserves
€ctnm3
euro cents per normal metre 
cubed

us dollar
agm
annual general meeting
aim
alternative investment market 
of the london stock exchange
api
american petroleum institute
aquila
an oil field located in the 
adriatic sea
b b – defined as 10
9
billion
barrels of oil equivalent “boe”
a term used to summarise the 
amount of energy that is equivalent 
to the amount of energy found in 
a barrel of crude oil there are 
42 gallons approximately 159 litres 
in one barrel of oil which will 
contain approximately 58 million 
british thermal units “mbtus” or 
1700 kilowatt hours kwh”
bbl
barrels
bcm
billion standard cubic metres
blackwatch
blackwatch petroleum services ltd
boe
barrels of oil equivalent 
boepd
barrels of oil equivalent per day
bopd
barrels of oil per day
bscf
billion standard cubic feet
cdn
canadian dollar
casterton formation
the basal sedimentary unit of the 
otway basin
cingulata
a large fan system
csr
corporate social responsibility
early cretaceous
the early cretaceous or the lower 
cretaceous is the earlier or lower 
of two major divisions of the 
cretaceous  
it is usually considered to stretch 
from 146100 million years ago
ebitda
earnings before interest taxes 
depreciation and amortisation
eia
environmental impact assessment
eni
eni spa
erce
erc equipoise limited
eu
european union
fca
financial conduct authority
fgs
fellow of the geographical society
fpso
floating production and storage 
offloading vessel
frs
financial reporting standard
gaap
generally accepted accounting 
practice
guyane eel
guyane maritime permit
hse
health safety and the environment
ias
international accounting standards
ifrs
international financial reporting 
standards 
igas energy
igas energy group plc
isin
international securities 
identification number
keg river
carbonate reef formation
km km
2
kilometre squared
kpi
key performance indicator
kpmg
kpmg audit plc
late jurassic
the late jurassic is the third epoch 
of the jurassic period and its 
spans the geological time from 
160145 million years ago which 
is preserved in upper jurassic strata
licensing round
these reports provide indepth 
analysis of all the latest oil and gas 
bidding rounds across the world
m – m is used at 10
3
metres
magellan petroleum corporation
an independent upstream oil and 
gas company
million stb
million stock tank barrels
mmbbl
million barrels
mmbo
million barrels of oil
mmboe
million barrels of oil equivalent
mmcfd
millions of cubic feet per day of gas
montrose industries
montrose industries limited
muskeg formation
a stratigraphical unit of givetian 
age in the western canadian 
sedimentary basin
muskwa formation
a stratigraphical unit of frasnian 
age in the western canadian 
sedimentary basin
net to northern
northern petroleum’s share
normal cubic metre nm
3
metric expression of gas volume 
at european standard conditions 
for temperature and pressure
northern or the group
the company and its subsidiaries
np solent
np solent limited
orca exploration
orca exploration group inc
otway basin
south australia’s second most 
prospective onshore oil and 
gas province
p50
reserves are with those with a 50 
probability – “reasonably probable” 
of being produced using current or 
likely technology at current prices 
with current commercial terms and 
government consent
pedl
petroleum exploration 
development licence
ppe
personal protective equipment
probable
probable reserves are those 
unproved reserves which analysis 
of geological and engineering data 
suggests are more likely than not to 
be recoverable in this context and 
when probabilistic methods are 
used there should be at least 
50 probability that the quantities 
actually recovered will equal or 
exceed the sum of estimated 
proved plus probable reserves
prospect
potential or actual drilling target 
that is well defined by seismic data
proved
proved reserves are those quantities 
of petroleum which by analysis of 
geological and engineering data 
can be estimated with reasonable 
certainty to be commercially 
recoverable from a given date 
forward from known reservoirs and 
under current economic conditions 
rps
rps energy
sawpit
shale formation
scf
standard cubic feet
scfd
standard cubic feet per day 
shell
shell ep france sas
spudded
the process of beginning to drill 
a well
stratigraphic trap
oil and gas trap resulting from 
lateral and vertical variations in the 
stratigraphy of the reservoir rocks in 
terms of thickness texture lithology 
and porosity 
stratigraphy
the layering of different rock types
t t
trillion 1012
the group
northern petroleum plc
total and its subsidiaries
total ep guyane francaise sas
tullow
tullow oil plc
weald basin
a major topographic feature of the 
area that is now southern england 
and northern france from the 
triassic to the late cretaceous
wellbore
any hole drilled for the purpose of 
exploration or extraction of natural 
resources such as water gas or oil
wessex
wessex exploration plc
working interest
refers to investment in oil and 
gas drilling operations in which 
the owner is directly liable for 
a portion of the ongoing costs 
associated with exploration 
drilling and licensee production 
and participates on an agreed 
basis in the profits of ant 
successful wells
zaedyus
an oil discovery made during 
the drilling of well gmes1 
in french guiana northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 96
directors offices and advisers
directors
j d murphy
nonexecutive chairman
k r bush
chief executive officer
n t morgan
finance director
g l heard
exploration and technical director
s g gibson 
nonexecutive director
i m lanaghan 
nonexecutive director
company secretary
j gordon
registered office
martin house 
5 martin lane 
london ec4r 0dp
telephone 44020 7469 2900 
facsimile 44020 7469 2901 
email infonorthpetcom
registered number
02933545
legal form
public limited company
country of incorporation of parent company
england
office locations
northern petroleum london office
martin house 
5 martin lane 
london ec4r 0dp
regional office australia
ouro preto resources pty ltd 
24 victoria street 
midland 
western australia 6056 
australia
regional office canada
ouro preto resources inc 
1000 640 – 8th avenue sw 
calgary alberta t2p 1g7
regional office italy
viale trastevre 249 
00153 
rome 
italy
independent auditor
kpmg audit plc
15 canada square  
london e14 5gl
bankers
hsbc bank plc
8 canada square 
london e14 5gl
lloyds banking group
10 gresham street 
london ec2v 7ae
barclays bank plc
one churchill place 
london e14 5hp
unicredit banca
piazza cavour b 
roma italy
nominated adviser and broker
westhouse securities limited 
the heron tower  
110 bishopsgate 
london ec2n 4ay
solicitors
gordons partnership llp
22 great james street 
london wc1n 3es
registrars
neville registrars
neville house 
laurel lane halesowen 
west midlands b63 3da
financial public relations
fti consulting
200 aldersgate 
aldersgate street 
london ec1a 4hd  northern petroleum plc annual report and accounts 2013
northern petroleum plc
martin house 
5 martin lane 
london ec4r 0dp 
telephone 44 020 7469 2900 
facsimile 44 020 7469 2901 
email infonorthpetcom 
website wwwnorthernpetroleumcom


Summary:
 northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 06
summary
» change in primary operational focus to 
north west alberta canada
» rationalisation of the italian portfolio to 
focus on the southern adriatic 
» relationship building undertaken in italy 
to mitigate against external events 
which hindered progress
» clear corporate communication required 
to set transparent objectives to the 
market and deliver against these
» update on the group’s resource 
position critical to understanding 
where the true value lies
» group well positioned for production 
led growth
 chief executive officer’s statement
a transformational year
2013 was a year of significant change for northern petroleum the 
group said farewell to the chairman and managing director who 
had been with the group for 18 years and 14 years respectively 
further significant board changes were made during the year with 
the board reduced from 10 members at the start of the year to the 
final complement of six members in  early 2014 the  incoming 
nonexecutive directors have brought in a wealth of experience and 
expertise from industry and financing that will provide the necessary 
guidance and governance to support the management team and 
staff as the business grows
operationally the group refocused from the netherlands to canada 
with the acquisition of petroleum and natural gas leases in  north  west 
alberta during the first quarter followed by the completion of the 
sale of the netherlands operating subsidiary in the last quarter 
much work was conducted on the canadian assets during the year 
with both subsurface and operational preparative work performed 
to allow drilling operations to commence in the first quarter of 2014
a consolidation of the italian portfolio was also conducted during 
the year with a number of permits and applications relinquished in 
order to allow a more focused approach to the remaining interests 
the key area in italy is now the permits and applications held in the 
southern adriatic where significant progress has been made 
throughout the year in understanding the potential of the area this 
has been done in conjunction with a concerted effort to develop 
relationships within italy to allow progress through the approvals 
process we believe that the group’s objectives and the value that 
could be realised by the development of the discoveries are now 
fully recognised within the italian government in particular in the 
southern adriatic independent assessment of the giove discovery 
has estimated a recoverable contingent resource of 26 million 
barrels of oil 
in addition to the core areas in canada and italy the group 
also gained an exploration licence in south australia where there 
is shale oil condensate and gas potential the work programme 
for  the first year will assess this potential and the group will  determine 
the forward plan from this in french guiana the operator completed 
the exploration drilling programme without commercial success 
a  large desktop study consolidating the seismic and well data 
gathered to date has now been undertaken by the partnership to 
establish future exploration targets in the licence finally in the uk 
the group is looking at the best way to maximise the value of the 
licences through a sale or farm out 
the need for change
the need for change at northern petroleum has become clear over 
a number of years the producing fields in the netherlands did not 
perform as expected leading to reserve write downs and the capital 
cost of developing the fields was too great for the group in an 
investment environment where raising money for small companies 
was very challenging progress in italy stalled with the changes in 
legislation after the gulf of mexico spill and the decision by shell not 
to drill a farm in well offshore west of sicily further the need for 
good corporate governance required a shake up of the board 
all these issues and a number of others contributed to the operational 
and board changes that were effected during 2013 the spirit of change 
engendered by this has been captured well by the management and 
staff and everyone is very motivated to work towards a new era for 
the business these events have provided the first steps to position 
northern petroleum for the future northern petroleum plc
annual report and accounts 2013 07
introduction governance strategic report financial statements information
positioning for growth
much of the work performed in 2013 and continued in early 2014 
has been to enable growth when the new management team came 
together in july a review with investors concluded that the group 
needed to be clear in communication with shareholders and deliver 
on promises made
three short term operational goals were set by the team the sale of 
the netherlands subsidiary the startup of operations in canada 
and making progress with the italian southern adriatic permits two 
of those three objectives have now been met with the sale of the 
netherlands subsidiary concluding in october and operations in 
canada commencing in february 2014 the third objective is still 
of great importance to the growth of the business and much effort 
has been made to move the work programme in italy forward 
this has included running through a tender process with seismic 
acquisition companies to have a vessel available to conduct the 3d 
seismic survey in the fourth quarter of 2013 unfortunately 
the environmental approval process is still pending within the italian 
government and it has not yet been possible to conduct the survey 
something that has had a direct affect not only on northern 
petroleum but also on the service suppliers many other companies 
and industries have been impacted by the impasse within the italian 
environment ministry however we continue to work hard with the 
italian authorities to allow the survey to progress as planned in 2014 
with  the recent changes in the italian administration and government 
viewed as positive to the industry
along with the operational goals and essential to positioning  
the group appropriately the management team also endeavoured 
to increase the standards of corporate governance within the 
business key to corporate governance is the composition of the 
board and particularly the nonexecutive directors with the three 
new nonexecutive directors in place i  believe that the group  
has an exceptionally strong board for its size with the right  
skill set to complement challenge and ultimately support the 
executive members 
to further enhance the capacity to grow the business from a strong 
and credible foundation gaining an up to date picture of the reserve 
and resource base of the business was critical this has been 
achieved through third party review and while the change in 
categorisation and reduction of the southern adriatic resource was 
a material change it has given the management team a clear picture 
of where the true value lies 
the changes in the primary financial statements this year reflect the 
significant operational changes that the business has undergone 
during 2013 three key events have driven these changes the sale  
of the operating subsidiary in the netherlands the strategic  
exercise reviewing the direction of the business which has led  
to the impairment of certain assets and the consolidation of  
the now controlled joint venture which owns the french guiana 
interest while these changes have produced significant noncash 
losses in the profit or loss account for 2013 with the focus in the 
future being towards production the primary financial statements 
will be more closely aligned with measuring the performance of the 
business across each year as opposed to  across a multiyear 
exploration campaign 
the management and staff have been working hard to establish the 
asset status and optimum route forward in both surface and 
subsurface work programmes together with building relationships 
with all stakeholders this and the work discussed above allows the 
group to go forward with optimism and focus on the fundamental 
issues of growth in both value and reputation
looking forward
northern petroleum is now moving into a new era where the 
strategy of production led growth will be a significant component of 
future success in a market where the appetite for risk has reduced 
the companies that show focused use of capital to create sustainable 
growth offer more to investors 
this new strategy for the group is already making progress with the 
start up of operations to grow production in north west alberta 
the  positive results of the proof of concept project where all 
three of the wells encountered economically recoverable light oil now 
support plans for the full redevelopment of these lands to be 
finalised and implemented this will be a key focus for the group 
over the coming year 
to enhance the group’s production capability further opportunities 
will be evaluated with a view to establishing an additional core area 
this will reduce the risk of reliance on one area and allow technical 
skills proven in north west alberta to be utilised elsewhere
in addition to production led growth we recognise that growth 
through a sensible exploration and appraisal strategy is also required 
to provide the potential for very large returns on investment 
the opportunity that the southern adriatic presents is world class 
and we will continue to pursue this through working together with 
the italian authorities to gain approval to shoot the 3d seismic 
there will also be a sustained effort to demonstrate the value to 
other industry players such that we can develop an appropriate joint 
venture to fully evaluate the cygnus prospect and giove discovery 
through the drill bit
further to the italian opportunities a review of exploration potential 
is being conducted to identify the key focus areas that the group 
may enter in the future this will identify exploration opportunities at 
an early stage to ensure that we are able to keep our exploration 
portfolio in the right shape to generate new opportunities without 
significant capital commitment
in summary
northern petroleum has been through a transformational year 
during 2013 the new strategic approach to focus on production led 
growth will be very important for the future as the new board and 
management team aim to deliver an exploration and production 
company that provides investors the value that they expect i look 
forward to updating existing and new shareholders regularly as our 
group develops in this exciting new environment
keith bush
chief executive officer
14 april 2014