Proactive Oil & Gas weekly highlights: Diversified Energy Company, Union Jack Oil, Tower Resources, ADM, Scirocco, Hurricane, Kistos, Challenger Energy

Diversified Energy Company PLC (LON:DEC) confirmed it has raised US$225mln in a placing and retail offer as it advances its latest acquisition. It will issue 141.5mln new shares at 112p per share.

Proceeds will cover the cost of the newly announced Blackbeard acquisition which sees the company pick up another 820 wells producing 16,000 barrels oil equivalent per day (boepd) in its recently established Central regional focus area (RFA). The deal consideration is US$166mln.

Blackbeard is the second package of assets to be acquired for the Central area, following the Cotton Valley acquisition which closed this week.

Union Jack Oil PLC’s (LON:UJO) 40%-owned Wressle oil field development project has been given the greenlight for a ‘proppant squeeze’ operation, which is expected to yield higher production volumes.

The company, in a statement, said that the squeeze is intended to optimise production from the Ashover Grit reservoir up to a constrained rate of 500 barrels of gross oil production per day, which would equate to 200 bopd net to Union Jack Oil. It is expected that the programme will take place in June, and the improved rate is anticipated straight away.

Tower Resources PLC (LON:TRP) received formal confirmation from the Cameroon authorities of the details for the extension to the Thali license out to May 2022. In a statement it said that the Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (MINMIDT) confirmed the details of the extension to the first exploration period, which allows the company to proceed to finalise its schedule for the drilling and testing the NJOM-3 well.

ADM Energy PLC (LON:ADME) received £849,501 from the sale of shares in Superdielectrics Ltd, realising a profit of around £656,000 on its original investment. The company acquired shares in cleantech firm Superdielectrics in 2017 and 2018, at an average price of £1.025 per share, and its board recently agreed to sell to other Superdielectrics shareholders for £4.50 per share.

“We are delighted to complete this successful transaction with an excellent return on our investment,” said ADM chief executive Osamede Okhomina.

Scirocco Energy Plc (LON:SCIR) generated about £1.6mln from the sale of shares in Helium One Global Ltd.  Scirocco, in a statement, said it had sold an additional 7.45mln Helium One shares to reduce its holding to 9.95mln shares or 1.59%. Including a prior transaction, Scirocco has received a total of £2.06mln from the sale of Helium One shares since it floated in London in late 2020.

A storm is brewing at Hurricane Energy Plc (LON:HUR) as activist investor Crystal Amber Fund has called for an extraordinary general meeting to oust five non-executive directors and put its own two appointees in place. The fund, which owns 14.7% of the company, said it had provided it with funds totalling £25mln in three tranches since 2013 but had since lost faith in the board.

Kistos Plc (LON:KIST) completed its acquisition of Tulip Oil Netherlands which the company describes as a low-cost and low-carbon producer. The deal is worth €220mln and it delivers the producing Q10-A offshore gas field plus the Q10-B, Q11-B and M10/M11 discoveries.

Q10-A is described as “probably the lowest carbon footprint of any production assets in the North Sea”. It is powered by solar and wind power, and future expansion is planned to follow this approach too.

Challenger Energy Group Plc (LON:CEG) said it has completed its name change from Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC following the passing of all resolutions at an extraordinary general meeting on May 17.

Story by ProactiveInvestors