TIDMEME
RNS Number : 9542K
Empyrean Energy PLC
10 May 2022
This announcement contains inside information
Empyrean Energy Plc / Index: AIM / Epic: EME / Sector: Oil &
Gas
Empyrean Energy plc
Capital raising, further post drill analysis, Mako gas and debt
restructure
Empyrean Energy plc ("Empyrean" or the "Company"), the oil and
gas development company with interests in China, Indonesia and the
United States, is pleased to provide the following update on
capital raising, debt restructure and preliminary regional oil
charge analysis and its implication for Topaz prospect at its 100%
owned Block 29/11 permit, offshore China.
Empyrean is the operator of Block 29/11 in China and has 100%
working interest during the exploration phase. In the event of a
commercial discovery, its partner, China National Offshore Oil
Company ("CNOOC"), may assume a 51% participating interest in the
development and production phase.
HIGHLIGHTS
-- GBP1.83m raised at a price of 1.5p per share
-- Convertible Loan Note debt restructured
-- Regional oil charge and migration analysis being conducted
with CNOOC assistance following the results from the Jade well
-- Main focus of the migration work is to assess viability of
the Topaz prospect receiving oil charge
-- Preliminary analysis indicates the Topaz prospect is located
in a better location for potentially receiving oil charge from the
proven source rock - Baiyun East Sag via the CNOOC LH-16 oil field
- as well as from the Baiyun North Sag source rock that lies in
between Jade and Topaz identified on Empyrean's 3D seismic
Issue of Shares
Empyrean is pleased to advise that it has entered into binding
subscription agreements to issue 121,750,001 new ordinary Shares in
the Company (the "New Ordinary Shares") at a price of 1.5p per New
Ordinary Share, raising GBP1.83m (before costs) (the
"Subscription").
The funds raised from the Subscription will be used to complete
further post well analysis of the Jade well, satisfy any further
costs associated with the Jade drill, conduct a comprehensive oil
migration study in conjunction with CNOOC for potential oil charge
to the Topaz prospect, and for the Company's general working
capital requirements.
The Subscription is being completed under the Company's existing
authorities and is not subject to the approval of shareholders.
Following the Subscription, the Company's enlarged issued share
capital will comprise 788,431,892 ordinary shares of 0.2p each (the
"Shares"). This figure may be used by shareholders as the
denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if
they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their
interest in, securities of the Company under the Financial Conduct
Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
Application will be made for the New Ordinary Shares to be
admitted to trading on AIM. Admission is expected to take place on
19 May 2022. The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with
existing Shares in issue.
Regional Oil Charge Analysis - Preliminary assessment
Geoscientists from the Shenzhen branch of Empyrean's partner in
the project, China National Offshore Oil Corporation ("CNOOC") are
providing assistance in regional oil charge analysis in and around
Block 29/11. Whilst comprehensive analysis is currently underway,
initial conclusions are encouraging for the Topaz prospect.
The CNOOC four light oil discoveries along the western boundary
of the block clearly demonstrate a working petroleum system and
light oil charge to these nearby oil discoveries. All successful
wells have been drilled on traps that were in place at the time of
oil migration. The dry wells drilled during the 1990s by Amoco were
drilled into traps that came into existence after the time of oil
generation and migration in the basin and therefore could not trap
that oil. However, weak oil fluid inclusion fluorescence (in the
core) at both Amoco wells to the east of Topaz suggests these wells
are located on paleo migration pathways that received oil
migration. Topaz lies along these paleo migration pathways in
between the CNOOC discovery LH 16-2 to the west and the Amoco wells
to the east.
In addition, regional oil geochemical evaluation conducted by
CNOOC indicates oil is migrating updip from Baiyun East Sag and
charging the LH 23-1d and LH 16-2 oil discoveries. This analysis,
in conjunction with regional 3D data, also indicates oil to most
likely be migrating east from LH 16-2 towards the Topaz prospect
because the geological setup doesn't allow the oil to migrate
either to the south, west or to the north of the LH 16-2 discovery
because those directions are downdip or have a downdip component or
they are in a migration shadow.
At the same time, thermal maturity modelling completed by CNOOC
indicates the Baiyun Sag North has been generating and expulsing
oil around 5 million years ago when the Topaz prospect was
optimally located to receive oil charge.
Current plan
EME is working closely with CNOOC geoscientists on this
migration analysis and aims to complete the study around the end of
May. At that stage, a final decision to enter the second phase of
exploration is likely to be made and further announcements will be
made in due course.
Mako Gas Field ("Mako")
Empyrean is pleased to report that regional gas prices in Europe
and South East Asia remain strong and that the macro environment is
creating incentive for the negotiations of the current Heads of
Agreements for gas offtake at Mako to be negotiated to a binding
Gas Sales Agreement ("GSA"). Mako is one of the largest gas
discoveries in the West Natuna Sea and the largest undeveloped
resource in the area. Pipeline quality methane gas has become a
critical component of the energy mix that sees Singapore as a major
gas hub in the region. Empyrean also notes that Conrad Asia Energy
Ltd, the operator and owner of 76.5% of the Duyung PSC within which
Mako sits, has an IPO in Australia as a key milestone for delivery.
This planned IPO may present, at the least, a useful benchmark for
valuation of the Mako Gas Field.
Debt Restructuring
In December 2021, the Company announced that it had entered into
a Convertible Loan Note Agreement with a Melbourne-based investment
fund (the "Lender"), pursuant to which the Company issued a
convertible loan note to the Lender and received gross proceeds of
GBP4.0 million (the "Convertible Note"). The Convertible Note bears
interest at a rate of 10% per annum and is secured by a senior
first ranking charge over the Company, including it's 8.5% interest
in the Duyung PSC and Mako Gas Field.
As subsequently announced, in March 2022 the Company received
conversion notices from the Lender to issue a total of 27,500,000
Shares at a conversion price of 8p, reducing the principal owing on
the Convertible Note to GBP2.2 million, including upfront
capitalised interest.
Following the announcement regarding the Jade well on 27 April
2022, the Company and the Lender proactively entered discussions to
amend the key repayment terms of the Convertible Note, which
included the right by the Lender to redeem the Convertible Note
within five business days of the announcement of the results of the
Jade well.
The parties have now agreed the following key amendments to the
terms of the Convertible Note:
1. The face value of the Convertible Note is increased to GBP3.3 million;
2. The Company may, at its sole and absolute discretion, redeem
the Convertible Note at any time;
3. The Lender will not redeem the Notes prior to 31 July 2022;
4. If a binding GSA is entered into with regard to the Mako Gas
Discovery in Indonesia on or before 31 July 2022, the Lender will
not redeem the Convertible Note prior to 1 December 2022, with
interest accruing thereafter at a rate of GBP330,000 per calendar
month;
5. If a binding GSA is not entered into with regard to the Mako
Gas Discovery in Indonesia on or before 31 July 2022, the Lender
may redeem the Convertible Note at any time thereafter, in which
circumstances the face value of the Convertible Note will be
reduced to GBP2.67 million;
6. If the Company completes a sale of its interest in the Mako
Gas Discovery, it will redeem the Convertible Note
contemporaneously with that agreement; and
7. The Company will not execute any agreement in respect of a
sale of its interest in the Mako Gas Discovery if the proceeds are
less than the expected value of the Convertible Note on the date of
completion of that agreement.
The technical information contained in this announcement has
been reviewed by Empyrean's Executive Technical director, Gaz
Bisht, who has over 32 years' experience as a hydrocarbon geologist
and geoscientist.
Empyrean CEO, Tom Kelly, stated:
"CNOOC assistance is proving a defining step in better
understanding the oil migration pathways in the area, and Empyrean
is appreciative of CNOOC's ongoing support.
We are aiming to complete the current post-drill analysis and
comprehensive oil migration studies with a deep focus on oil
migration pathways from CNOOC oil discovery LH16-2 towards Topaz in
short order to enhance the prospectivity of Topaz as a world class
large exploration target for the second phase of exploration in
Block 29/11. This capital raising and debt restructuring will allow
Empyrean to move forward with its plans to maximise the value at
the Mako Gas field whilst completing a comprehensive analysis of
all pre-drill and post-drill technical data to ensure that we
proceed with the drill preparations at Topaz with due diligence and
confidence."
For further information please contact the following:
Empyrean Energy plc
Tom Kelly Tel: +61 6146 5325
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Advisor and Broker)
Neil McDonald Tel: +44 (0) 20 7297 8900
Pete Lynch
Pearl Kellie
First Equity (Join Broker)
Jason Robertson Tel: +44 (0) 20 7330 1883
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
MSCEAESEFLAAEFA
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 10, 2022 06:45 ET (10:45 GMT)
Empyrean Energy (LSE:EME)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Mar 2024 até Abr 2024
Empyrean Energy (LSE:EME)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Abr 2023 até Abr 2024