88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) on Friday told investors that it has successfully completed a £5.56mln share placing to fund the next phase of conventional exploration in Alaska.
The Winx-1 well is due to be drilled in the first quarter of 2019 to test a ‘high-impact’ 400mln barrel prospect.
Cash from the fundraising is earmarked for 88 Energy’s share of drilling costs for the Winx-1 well, ongoing lease rent payments, continuing geologic evaluation, debt interest payments and ongoing working capital.
Mosman Oil And Gas Limited (LON:MSMN)
Mosman told investors that it intends to continue the rapid development of its US projects, as it proposes drilling up to five new wells.
Following on from the successful Stanley-1 well, it is now planned that three additional wells will be drilled at the Stanley project, meanwhile, one well will each be drilled at the Champion and Challenger projects.
The company noted that the Stanley-2 well is already funded, as are the other Stanley wells.
And it is raising around £500,000 of new capital with new shares being sold to investors through a placing.
Tower Resources PLC (LON:TRP)
Tower inked a new petroleum Agreement ("PA") with the Government of the Republic of Namibia, giving the explorer an 80% interest in prospective offshore acreage.
The three exploration areas (blocks 1910A, 1911 and 1912B) cover a total of 23,297 square kilometres in the Walvis Basin and Dolphin Graben.
An initial four year exploration period requires a minimum spend of $5mln on work. It will include the acquisition and reprocessing of existing 2D seismic data, the capture of new seismic as well as other technical evaluations.
Subsequent exploration period would then require the drilling a single exploration well and a minimum financial commitment of $20mln.
Greenfields Petroleum Corporation (CVE:GNF LON:GNF)
Greenfields is to join AIM and raise US$60mln to step up production on its acreage in the Caspian Sea.
Greenfield has an 80% interest in the Bahar gas field and the Gum Deniz oil field, both offshore Azerbaijan and that contain reserves of 150mln barrels. Production currently is 4,400 barrels daily but Greenfield wants to boost this to 30,000 barrels using the money raised to fund an active development programme.
Global oil trading giant Vitol, the group’s largest shareholder with a 43% stake, has agreed to swap US$20mln of debt into equity and take a lower rate of interest of the outstanding debt.
Cadogan Petroleum PLC (LON:CAD)
Cadogan shares advanced strongly in Thursday morning deals on news that the company’s Vovche-2 well had encountered oil.
The well was drilled to its planned total depth, encountered both pre-drill targets and was completed on time and budget. Cadogan said that both pre-drill target horizons were penetrated and in logs were indicated to be oil-bearing.
It added that oil saturation in the lower target was further confirmed by cores, and, a third thinner interval appeared as potentially oil-bearing from logs.
Cabot Energy PLC (LON:CAB)
Cabot shares traded around 23% higher on Tuesday as investors welcomed the news of an upgrade to the company’s reserves and resources.
Proved and probable reserves increased by 26% to 3.6mln barrels, according to the annual statement produced by consultant McDaniel & Associates. Notably, 90% of last year’s ‘probable’ barrels were upgraded to the ‘proven’ classification.
Reserves were valued at US$48.3mln (on a discounted net asset value basis) and that equated to US$13.4 per boe.
At the same time, the ‘mid-case’ estimate of contingent and prospective resources was stated at 42.2mln boe, representing a 339% improvement since the last assessment.
Describing himself pleased, Cabot chief executive Scott Aitken said: “With 33,000 bpd facilities and pipeline capacity combined with 282 well locations, the company has demonstrated that predictable production growth beyond September 2018's 653 bopd, can be delivered in Canada through the drillbit, without major facilities capital investment, at attractive financial netbacks.”
Union Jack Oil PLC (LON:UJO)
Union Jack formally completed the acquisition of a 16.667% stake in the West Newton gas discovery, in Yorkshire.
The AIM-quoted company agreed the terms of a deal earlier this month with Rathlin Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian firm Connaught Oil & Gas, and the two have now officially signed the farm-in agreement.
The transaction does not include any upfront fees, but Union Jack is required to cover 25% of the cost of an appraisal well which is due to be drilled in the first quarter of next year. It reckons its share of the costs will be around £4.6mln.
“We are pleased to be able to confirm the Farm-in to PEDL183 containing the material West Newton gas discovery that represents a significant project technically and is compelling financially for Union Jack has now been signed,” said chief executive David Bramhill.
Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU)
Sound Energy marked off ‘milestone’ in its drill programme for the TE-9 exploration well at the Tendrara gas project in eastern Morocco. The well has reached the second casing point, at a depth of 2,210 metres, and the casing has been set in Triassic shales above the proposed TAGI reservoir (the main target for the well).
“The company looks forward to updating investors on the achievement of total depth,” Sound said.
TE-9 is part of a multi-well exploration programme which is expected to dovetail with field development activities, designed to bring the existing Tendrara gas discoveries into a commercial operation.