Neon Energy in $US27m lease sale

Shares in Perth-based oil and gas explorer Neon Energy have soared after the company booked $US27 million from the sale of exploration leases in California to an anonymous buyer.

The company today confirmed it had received proceeds of $US26.95 million from the sale of acreage in the Salinas and San Joaquin basins off California, closing a deal flagged early last month.

Neon believes its investment could be better directed to exploration assets located elsewhere in the world as it works towards lowering its corporate overheads by about 40 per cent.

Shareholders responded positively to the sale, with Neon shares heavily traded to close more than 35 per cent higher at 1.9 cents.

The gains today help Neon claw back some of the ground it lost earlier in the year on the back of poor drill stem test results at one of its exploration wells off Vietnam.

The company's shares were trading as high as 28.5 cents at the beginning of the year but took a massive 75 per cent dive in a single day of trade in early January when the company announced development at the well was unlikely to proceed due to the undesirable test results.