I3 Energy issued a positive RNS.  The Liberator A2 well has been spud, the Company has agreed to issue £5 million of equity to funders of i3's junior loan notes at a price of 35 pence per share.

 

To provide additional flexibility to extend the drilling programme, and the funding long stop date by which the Company was required to enter a reserve-based lending facility or to source alternative development financing has been extended from 6 December 2019 to 30 April 2020. On the minus side, Lombard Odier continues to sell down, but once they're clear, I see the share price moving higher. Overall, at this level, to me, it's a buy. Although always remember that in the oil business, nothing is risk-free.

 

Sound Energy issued a hollow-sounding RNS. The company has now entered into non-binding heads of terms agreement with a privately-owned, UK registered company and has granted this company an exclusivity period expiring on 14 February 2020.  The announcement was not received well and, after the last "keep the lights on" placing a few months ago at 10p, the share price has now dropped under 5p and the market capitalisation has dropped under £50 million.  I remember receiving a huge amount of criticism for questioning the merits of Sound Energy last year when it had a £450 million market cap.  It was so obvious even then that it was questionable, with its pompous behaviour and the pretence that the team were somehow leading experts.  The rot has also spread through the other members of their so-called "holy trinity" (Echo Energy and Coro Energy) all of which were marketed to the gullible in an almost show business manner, resulting in huge investor losses.  I warned about them all - all the way down and you can read what I said in the archives at Blogger.  Back to Sound, we don't actually know who the private company is which is meant to be buying the Moroccan assets, or whether it even has any money, but one thing's for sure, they'll use this announcement to do another placing and keep paying their six and seven-figure salaries.

 

Pantheon Resources issued an equally insincere announcement.  Reading between the lines, it doesn't sound like they're going to be drilling this winter and in reality, I'm not sure they're ever actually going to farm out leases to which Halliburton publicly attached no value at all.  I like the line in the RNS in relation to the progress of the farm-out when they say that they "simply cannot discuss it," in which case why even bother issuing an announcement? 

 

Savannah Petroleum issued a Seven Energy transaction update.  Final long-form documentation in relation to the Seven Energy Group financial restructuring has been agreed and next up is a court hearing on 13 November at which Seven Energy International Limited will request the appointment of administrators in order to effect the transfer of the Seven Assets to group companies controlled by Savannah and AIIM.  Currently trading around 26p, institutions financed this deal at 35p a share two years ago and since then Savannah has had significant drilling success in Niger.  It's one that I see trending up.

 

Finally, Baron Oil noted the provisional award of the Timor-Leste offshore Chuditch Petroleum Sharing Contract to SundaGas.  Baron is entitled to be issued a 33.3% shareholding in the intermediate parent company of SundaGas and, according to Executive Chairman, Malcolm Butler, this has the potential to add significant value to Baron and its shareholders.  Could this now be the new lease of life for BOIL?

 

Moving forwards, news from all the other companies who made announcements last week will be covered in the Sunday blog and I'll be back mid-week with another podcast focussed on whatever interesting looking.