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Proactive weekly oil & gas highlights: i3 Energy, RockRose, Solo Oil, 88 Energy, UK Oil & Gas, Mosman ...

Published: 09:00 11 Jul 2020 BST

i3 Energy PLC - Proactive Weekly Oil & Gas highlights: i3 Energy, RockRose, Solo Oil, 88 Energy, UK Oil & Gas, Mosman, COPL

i3 Energy PLC (LON:I3E) and RockRose Energy PLC (LON:RRE) were in the frame, separately, as deal-making took the week's headlines.

i3 early in the week signed a binding agreement to acquire private Canadian oil and gas company Gain Energy through a reverse takeover for US$58.8mln. The company had flagged the deal two weeks ago, but not named the target.

Gain operates in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, the same area of operation as Toscana, another Canadian company I3 agreed to buy two weeks ago. It produced at a rate of around 11,000 barrels per day equivalent (boepd) throughout 2019 and generated around US$34mln in underlying profits.

RockRose has recommended a cash takeover over offer valuing the UK oil and gas company at £247.5mln.

Viaro Energy, a global commodities trading firm, has offered a price of £18.50 per share to acquire Rockrose. It marks a premium of 64% to Friday’s closing price and 91% to the volume-weighted average price for the past three months. Rockrose produces around 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from a portfolio of assets in the UK and Dutch North Sea.

Directors with shareholdings representing 33.3% of the company have backed the proposed transaction, along with 2% of shares held by other shareholders – so that Viaro has acceptances for 35% of Rockrose shares so far.

Solo Oil PLC (LON:SOLO) told investors it has now entered into a conditional agreement to sell its stake in the Ausable Reef gas assets, in Ontario. It owns 28.56% of the assets, some 23,500 acres of petroleum leases with shut-in operations, which will be bought by Levant Exploration and Production Corp. In return, Solo will receive the equivalent of a 1% Gross Overriding Royalty over any future production revenues from the assets.

Solo noted that previously, in 2017, it impaired the value of the Ausable Reef assets down to zero and last year incurred only nominal costs related to them.

88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) told investors its offer for XCD Energy has now reached a level that guarantees it will reach the minimum threshold required for compulsory acquisition. The AIM-quoted Alaska focussed exploration firm said that as a result the offer period will not be extended beyond July 13, at 7:00pm (Sydney).

On Thursday, UK Oil & Gas PLC (LON:UKOG) secured an extension for its planning permission at the Broadford Bridge project. The West Sussex County Council's planning committee agreed to extend the permission for 2 years, meaning it will now expire on March 31 2022. It was approved via a 10-1 majority vote.

Mosman Oil And Gas Ltd (LON:MSMN) told investors that the Northern Territory Government has given the green light for the company to extend its permit in the Amadeus basin.

In a statement, the company said that it was advised by the relevant minister in the regional government that the application for a suspension and extension to the work programme conditions for the EP145 permit has been approved.

And Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (LON:COPL) announced its 50%-owned joint venture ShoreCan had agreed an extension to the backstop date to sign-off definitive documents to seal the resolution of its dispute with Essar, Shorecan’s partner in Nigeria. The new date has been set as July 20, the company said.

"The time taken to enter into the definitive documents has taken longer than both parties thought at the outset,” said Arthur Millholland, COPL chief executive, said in a statement. “With the commercial terms settled in the agreement in principle, the legal language over a number of agreements has taken time to conclude. We are close to completion on these, but with both parties working amicably we just ran out of time.

“We continue to look forward to the future working relationship with Essar to unlock the potential of OPL 226."

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