Kardinya-based Central Petroleum Ltd has announced that its initial public offering raised over $10.6 million in equity with support from local and overseas institutional investors making a total of over 650 shareholders on the register.
Kardinya-based Central Petroleum Ltd has announced that its initial public offering raised over $10.6 million in equity with support from local and overseas institutional investors making a total of over 650 shareholders on the register.
Central Petroleum's securities will be quoted for the first time at 1 pm EDST tomorrow. The company was admitted to the official list of the ASX last Thursday.
Below is the ASX announcement:
Central Petroleum Limited raises well in excess of minimum and was admitted to the Official List of the ASX Thursday the 2nd March. Securities will be quoted for the first time at 1 pm EDST on Tuesday the 7th March 2006.
- Raises over $10.6 million in equity
- Institutional support over 50% of funds raised
- Broad retail response to the offer
- Plans 6 well drilling programme in largest package of prospective acreage in Australia
Central Petroleum announced today that its IPO closed significantly over the
minimum of $9.5 million with support from local and overseas institutional investors making a total of over 650 shareholders on the register.
"Although the 6 well programme envisaged by the Company will depend on
additional capital raising and/or farmouts, the capital raised in the successful IPO will allow the Company to plan on an initial drilling programme of 2 wells targeting around 200 MMbbls of potentially recoverable resources at "high" estimate level in the Pedirka and Amadeus Basins as well as some associated pre-drilling seismic in the Amadeus," said John Heugh, Central's Managing Director today. "Central is in discussion with several potential farmin partners inclusive of Australian based companies and an overseas based major."
"The completion of the capital raising will now allow the Company to proceed to work towards its goal of an early drilling campaign in the largest package of prospective acreage in Australia," said Barry Dawes, Managing Director of Martin Place Securities, underwriter to the offer.
"Martin Place Securities, as a resource stocks specialist broker, is proud to have been the Underwriter of Central's IPO and we look forward to the development of the Company's programme that will add considerable value to the Company's tenements. Drilling success in the wells planned for this year would provide substantial value leverage to shareholders."
Central started its push towards achieving control of the 165,000 sq.kms in 1998 in a counter cyclical investment strategy when oil was trading at $12/bbl and now has targeted over 300 MMbbls of oil, 3,400 BCF gas and 105 BCF Helium in a two-year, 6 well programme subject to additional capital raising, farmouts and seismic acquisition and analysis.
It is considered by Central that Gas to Liquids (GTL) technology will play a pivotal role in monetising any major gas discovery in its central Australian acreage. Crude oil and GTL derived diesel, jet fuel and naphtha could be shipped out from central Australia on the recently completed rail link from Alice Springs to Port Darwin thus opening up previously remote or stranded petroleum resources to either domestic or export markets.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with BOC Global Helium to work towards joint exploitation of any commercial sources of Helium in the Amadeus
