Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (LSE:COPL, CSE:XOP, OTC:VELXF) (COPL) appointed a new chief executive and said it is fully financed in to the first quarter of 2024 after securing a US$3.5 million equity injection.
The fundraising will see shares purchased at 4p apiece by Anavio Capital Partners, while circa US$5.0 million of liquidity is being released from hedge restructuring.
Completion of the financing is expected before the end of September and COPL said it is intended to provide sufficient funding “in to the first quarter of 2024 for production growth and to conclude the previously announced joint venture negotiations”.
In July, the company said a letter of intent (LOI) had been signed to start a period of exclusivity with the unnamed potential partner to develop COPL’s Cole Creek property in Wyoming.
CEO Arthur Millholland is being replaced by John Cowan, who has been a COPL director since 2015 and interim chair since June.
Cowan brings more than 40 years of experience as CEO or director of a number of private and publicly traded upstream oil and gas corporations.
Non-executive director Tom Richardson has been appointed chairman.
Millholland will become president of the company's affiliate, COPL America Inc.
Furthermore, on top of US$2.0 million of cost reductions achieved to date in 2023 and a further $1.0 million identified to be reduced prior to year-end 2023, another US$0.5 million cash saving has been agreed by directors agreeing to waive all cash compensation for 2023.
COPL has agreed to grant Anavio 69,721,116 warrants to purchase common shares at a price of 4p per share, expiring 26 August 2027.