Independent Oil and Gas plc (LON:IOG) told investors that it is seeing progress in its farm-out talks and it expects a project funding decision in the first half of 2019.
The company - which in recent days raised £16mln and saw off unsolicited takeover attempts from RockRose Energy - today, released financial results for the twelve months ended 31 December.
In raising new equity earlier this week the company secured funds to pay for its planned drilling activity at the Harvey project, where a well will spud in ‘mid-2019’.
IOG also earmarked funds to pay for its field development plan for the Goddard gas field.
READ: IOG asks investors to play the long gams as it raises £16.6mln
"Looking forward, two key catalysts to value growth should come to fruition in 2019,” said Andrew Hockey, IOG chief executive.
“We look forward to concluding our Core Project development discussions and expect to be in a position to select our preferred party to deliver either a farm-in or capital markets solution to reach FID on the Core Project in 1H 2019.”
“The second near term value catalyst is the high-impact Harvey appraisal well which could significantly enhance the value of our SNS development.”
Hockey says 2018 was a year of progress
Reflecting on IOG’s 2018, Hockey said: "I'm pleased to report that 2018 was a year of progress across our SNS portfolio.
“We continued to advance development plans for our Core Project and wider SNS portfolio.
“The purchase of the Thames Pipeline in April 2018 and its subsequent recommissioning has also been key to unlocking the value of our SNS portfolio, providing us with a secure, low-cost export route to bring our gas onshore at the Bacton Terminal.”
In terms of the financial results, the pre-revenue field developer reported a £5.64mln loss marking an increase of £2.75mln. It ended 2018 with £702,000 of cash, prior to this year’s funding activities.