Rose Petroleum PLC (LON:ROSE), the Rocky Mountain-focused oil and gas company, is to change its name to Zephyr Energy, reflecting a fresh start for the company.
In its results statement covering 2019, the company noted that last year saw an overhaul of the management team and a sharpening of the company’s focus to concentrate on responsible exploration and production investment in the Rocky Mountain region of North America.
“The company is now positioned as a clean, low-overhead, unlevered and value-focused vehicle from which to build. I believe we have the team, strategy and value set to deliver on all of our ambitious objectives, and I look forward to the future with cautious optimism," said Rick Grant, the non-executive chairman of Rose.
Grant noted the group has “no debt, very low fixed costs and no near-term capital commitments”.
While the coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly caused “considerable distress to the US natural resource landscape” it has also created opportunities, as evidenced by the number of companies filing for Chapter 11 protection from their creditors, increased asset sale activity and lower asset sale prices, he added.
The pre-revenue company saw its loss before tax widen to US$3.0mln in 2019 from US$978,000 in 2018.
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of last year stood at US$1.1mln, up from US$616,000 a year earlier. Rose said its directors are confident that the group has, or has access to, sufficient resources to enable it to continue in operation for at least the next twelve months.