OIL AND gas exploration company Petroceltic plans to raise about €90 million from new and existing backers to pay for a drilling programme in the second half of this year.
The Dublin- and London-listed company said yesterday that it has conditionally raised £81 million (€90 million) through the placing of 635.3 million shares at 12.75 pence sterling a share.
Stockbrokers Davy and Mirabaud handled the placing, which was taken up both by new and existing shareholders.
The placing and the fundraising are conditional on shareholders voting in favour of the transaction at an egm on April 21st, and on the new shares being admitted to trade on both the London and Dublin stock markets.
Petroceltic’s chief executive Brian O’Cathain explained yesterday that the company intends to drill six wells in the second half of the year – some of which would appraise existing discoveries in Italy and Algeria, and others which would explore its licence area in Tunisia. “This placing will fund the appraisal programme to optimise development plans for our major discoveries on the Isarene permit in Algeria,” he said. “It also facilitates the drilling of a further well to determine the quality and extent of the oil discovery on the Elsa field in the Adriatic, offshore Italy.”
According to Petroceltic’s statement yesterday, independent reports have estimated that the Elsa licence area could hold up to 170 million barrels of oil.
The company sent circulars to shareholders yesterday convening its egm for April 21st. It intends to apply shortly to the London and Dublin markets to have its new shares admitted for trading.
