I3 Energy Plc (LON:I3E) is working towards what chief executive Neill Carson expects will be “an eventful 2019”.
The company, which this morning released half-yearly results, is advancing the Liberator field in the North Sea. In the six months to June 30, the company secured an important new piece of acreage adjacent to Liberator adding an estimated 47mln barrels.
"The pinnacle of H1 2018 was the OGA's award of Liberator West to i3,” Carson said.
READ: i3 Energy confident of securing approval for Liberator blocks
“The addition of these high-quality resources to i3's Liberator reserves has seen our team expanding the scope of our development and appraisal plans for the region, and we're excited about progressing towards planned field development sanctioning in early 2019.”
Carson added: “The low-risk nature of our 100% owned and operated Liberator oil discovery and meaningful upside potential of Liberator West continues to attract investment interest and we're confident that our funding requirements will be met in advance of FDP [field development plan] approval.”
A partnering process was also progressed and in June the company opened a 90-day period of exclusivity to advance negotiations with one potential farm-in partner.
In terms of financials, the company raised £2.57mln of new capital during the period and $2.5mln of loan notes were converted, giving James Caird Asset Management 5.22mln new shares in the company. The pre-revenue field developer reported a £622,012 loss for the six month period, and, it ended the half with £1.58mln of cash and equivalents.
"The pinnacle of H1 2018 was the OGA's award of Liberator West to i3.
The addition of these high-quality resources to i3's Liberator reserves has seen our team expanding the scope of our development and appraisal plans for the region, and we're excited about progressing towards planned field development sanctioning in early 2019."
"The low-risk nature of our 100% owned and operated Liberator oil discovery and meaningful upside potential of Liberator West continues to attract investment interest and we're confident that our funding requirements will be met in advance of FDP approval."