Alaskan oil explorer 88 Energy (LON:88E) expects to finalise the finance arrangements for its first well on the Project Icewine project this quarter.
A A$12mln (£5.6mln) placing announced last week will fund the bulk of the A$22.5mln cost, with the remainder to come from a funding facility with Bank of America.
Completion of Bank of America’s US$50mln (A$68mln) funding is one of 88’s expected milestones this quarter, along with the rig contract and completion of switching title and operatorship to subsidiary Accumulate Energy Alaska.
In the quarter to June, exploration and evaluation expenditure amounted to A$4.38mln, most of which went on Icewine.
Overall, there was a cash outflow of A$4.9mln with cash at the end of June of A$1.2mln.
88 Energy acquired an 87.5% working interest and operatorship in Icewine, 98,182 acres onshore the prolific North Slope of Alaska, late in 2014.
The North Slope also hosts the BP–operated Prudhoe Bay oilfield, the largest conventional field in North America.
Shares in 88 jumped 14% to 0.63p.