88 Energy (LON:88E) has confirmed an active petroleum system across its Project Icewine acreage in Alaska in its shallower secondary target.
The firm, which is currently drilling its first well to a depth of 11,600 feet, encountered higher than expected levels of gas at between 10,011 and 10,121 feet.
Sector peer Falcon Oil & Gas (LON:FOG) is to receive US$3.7mln from former partner Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS).
NIS, which is part owned by Gazprom, agreed to pay the money in fulfilment of its contractual obligations to a project in Hungary’s Mako Trough, Falcon said in a statement.
Providence Resources (LON:PVR) has secured access to a potential extension of the Barryroe oil field, in the Celtic Sea, off Ireland’s south coast.
Via a deal with Kinsale Energy, the Irish subsidiary of Petronas, Malaysia’s national oil company, Providence will have the right to earn a 60% working interest in southern portion of Offshore Petroleum Lease 1.
To acquire the stake Providence will have to drill an exploration well, to test he resource potential of the basal Wealden reservoir interval. The option deal gives Providence three years to complete the proposed programme.
Range Resources (LON:RRL) has spudded the third of a 22 well development programme on its acreage in Trinidad.
GY 161 S, the second development well on the Beach Marcelle field, is drilling to a total depth of 2,000 ft.
The well may be used as part of a water-flood pattern in the future depending on results, Range said.
Nostra Terra (LON:NTOG) is to section out and consolidate the “most highly prospective” 1,280 acres of the Paw Paw prospect, in Wyoming, into a single exploratory unit.
The company said it has been given approval by the US Bureau of Land Management for this plan.
In the minerals sector, Vast Resources (LON:VAST) said it will push to obtain the right to operate the Baita Plai polymetallic mine in Romania through regulatory means after receiving legal advice.
It follows the acceptance of the proposed merger between two of its Romanian subsidiaries by the Appeal Court of Cluj.
Sunrise Resources (LON:SRES) has leased out its County Line Diatomite claims to EP Minerals for 25 years.
The terms of the deal will see Sunrise receive a revenue-based royalty every six months from the start of production.
DiamondCorp (LON:DCP) has agreed a debt rescheduling with main lender IDC and will launch a placing to raise a further £4mln., with the money earmarked to ramp up production at the Lace diamond mine in South Africa.
Kibo Mining (LON:KIBO) will have to wait a further two months to receive money outstanding from the share issue carried out for it by bust stockbroker Hume Capital.
The junior is owed £526,000, but has received confirmation from Hume’s administrators that it will get the money in January with no further delays expected.
Louis Coetzee, Kibo’s chief executive, said: "A further delay in the receipt of company funds from Hume was always expected as a very real possibility but will not impact on the company's cash and/or cash flow position.”
Elsewhere, shareholders of NASDAQ-listed DARA Biosciences have voted in favour of being acquired by Midatech Pharma (LON:MTPH), the latter told investors Thursday.
Finally, mobile phone security software supplier Defenx celebrated its first day on the London market.
Defenx (LON:DFX) has listed on AIM and raised £2.1mln before costs by placing about 1.4mln shares at 148p apiece, valuing it at £9mln.
The group plans to use the cash to fund the development of its Windows Phone 10 app and continue developing its mobile security suite for Android and Apple iOS.