The rebirth of insolvent Matrix Oil NL as Emerald Oil & Gas NL has moved closer to reality with a $3.5 million raising to allow the new company to participate in at least four wells in Western Australia and the US within a year of re-listing in late May.
Late last year, Matrix shareholders approved the company’s recapitali-sation and a newly appointed board of directors identified an opportunity to acquire Emerald Gas Ltd, an unlisted Australian company with interests in a number of oil and gas projects.
The acquisition of Emerald is subject to shareholder approval at a meeting next month, at which approval will also be sought for the name change and a new focus on the booming US energy sector.
The prospectus for the issue of up to 17.5 million 20-cent shares, each with a one for one attaching free 20-cent two-year option, is to fund participation in three US drilling programs within three months of listing.
New company chairman, lawyer Jeremy Shervington, said in the prospectus the shortfall of gas supply in the US had become particularly acute in recent years resulting in high prices ranging from $US7 to $US12 per million cubic feet (mcf), three to four times the domestic gas price in Australia. In recent months, spot gas prices had been as high as $US15/mcf.
Of the three joint ventured wells, one in North Dakota has already been drilled, showed oil, but tested salt water, leaving other targets to be evaluated.
Two gas wells are scheduled to be drilled in Texas and Mississippi in May and June this year.
Emerald also has an agreement for a 18.75 per cent interest in the EP104 oil and gas project, onshore Canning Basin in WA, where the Stokes Bay-1 appraisal well is targeted to be completed in the second half of 2006.
