Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE) has raised £1mln of new capital to support its plans in Utah’s Paradox basin.
Some £633,920 of the raise is conditional upon shareholder approval, at an general meeting that will now be convened on May 21.
The explorer highlighted that it had set out to confine the raise within its existing shareholder permissions before it encountered high demand from potential investors.
WATCH: Rose Petroleum assembles top team ahead of Paradox Basin drilling
A total of 30.7mln new shares will be issued, should the whole placing be approved, with the new shares priced at 3.25p each. The first £366,080 worth of shares will be admitted to AIM for trading on May 10, while the second tranche would close the day after the meeting.
"We are delighted by the level of support that investors have shown for the fundraise and we look forward to being able to accelerate activity on our Paradox project, where we are aiming to drill our first well before the end of this year,” said Matthew Idiens, Rose chief executive.
"We have made significant progress recently, improving greatly our technical understanding of the Paradox basin, and are more confident than ever in the future success of the project.
“We look forward to receiving the updated CPR to include the additional data and an independent valuation."
WATCH: Rose Petroleum brings in £1mln of new capital to support Paradox basin plans
The funding proceeds will be used to advance the group’s assets in the Paradox basin – it will support the completion of a new competent persons report, and, significantly, help advance key preparations to make its prospects ‘drill ready’ (such as an operator’s bond and insurance requirements).
Additionally, Rose highlighted that it strengthens the company’s negotiation position as it works to secure more substantial project funding.
Rose added that it may also use some of the new funds to support ertain business development activity. It highlighted that it has been approached by a number of third parties about potential partnering and investment opportunities in the region.