African Petroleum Corporation Limited to Raise A$85.0 million
African Petroleum Corporation Limited (NSX:AOQ)(“African Petroleum” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce that it has received firm commitments for 62,963,000 new fully paid ordinary shares (“Shares”) at A$1.35 per Share with institutional shareholders to raise a total of A$85.0 million (USD$87.3 million), before costs (“Placement”). The Placement is subject to the Terms and Conditions found in the Appendix.
Following completion of the Placement, which is expected to take place on 27 July 2012, African Petroleum will have 1,693,533,051 shares on issue and a market capitalisation of approximately A$2.3 billion (based on the Placement issue price).
Mirabaud Securities LLP and Dundee Securities Europe Limited acted as Joint Bookrunners to the Placement.
The Company intends to use the funds raised from the Placement to contract an additional oil rig. This has been conditionally contracted and is currently expected to drill an appraisal well at Narina in the Liberia offshore Block LB-09 in the latter part of the third quarter or the early part of the fourth quarter of this year ahead of the previous contracted two well programme with the Eirik Raude, due at the end of the year.
African Petroleum currently holds a 100% interest in Blocks LB-08 and LB-09 offshore Liberia, where a significant discovery was announced earlier this year at our Narina-1 Well in LB-09. The Company plans to drill its third well in September or October 2012.
African Petroleum holds a 100% interest in Block SL-03 offshore Sierra Leone, where it has completed 3D seismic acquisition covering 2, 535 sq km. The Company recently has been provisionally awarded, together with Kosmos Energy LLC, Block SL-4A-10 offshore Sierra Leone.
African Petroleum holds a 90% interest in Blocks CI-509 and CI-513 offshore Cote d’Ivoire. These two blocks cover an area of 2,531 sq km. The Company is currently undertaking a 3D seismic acquisition programme over both Blocks.
African Petroleum has a 90% interest in two offshore blocks in Senegal: Rufisque Offshore Profond and Senegal Offshore Sud Profond, covering an area of 18,277 sq km. A 3,600 km 3D seismic acquisition programme over Senegal Offshore Sud Profond has now been completed.
African Petroleum has recently announced that it has entered into an Memorandum of Understanding with PetroChina International Investment Company Limited
(“PetroChina”), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, giving PetroChina an exclusive period to agree an investment of up to 20% of Block LB-09 in Liberia and up to 20% in one or more exploration Blocks in Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Commenting on the Placement, Non-Executive Chairman, Mr Frank Timis said: “We are delighted with the support we have received for this well oversubscribed placing, from our blue chip institutional investors. It is a further endorsement of African Petroleum’s management and the quality of its assets and will enable the Company to continue to build on our strategy of becoming West Africa’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and development company.”
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