Hurricane Energy today confirmed it would take the next five days to consider whether to issue or ditch a pre-emptive offer to shareholders.
The UK-based oil and gas company, which focuses on hydrocarbon resources in naturally fractured basement reservoirs, had previously announced that in connection with its recently completed $530million fundraising that it planned to pursue a pre-emptive offer to all shareholders on the register at close of business on 29 June 2017.
The offer would be used to raise up to $5million at 32 pence per share.
The firm has now said the timing of the offer was not suitable. It named a number of factors, including the timing of seeking offer approval from United Kingdom Listing Authority as not compatible with its final investment decision for the early production system for its Lancaster field.
The firm will now use the next five days to determine whether its share price merits pursuing the offer strategy.
A spokesperson said: “The Pre-emptive Offer was designed to provide Shareholders with the opportunity to subscribe for shares at the Offer Price.
“Since completion of the Fundraising on 24 July 2017, Shareholders have been able to purchase shares in the open market at below the Offer Price.
“The Directors do not believe it is a productive use of Company funds or management time to proceed with the Pre-emptive Offer should the Company’s shares continue to trade below the Offer Price. Therefore, should the volume weighted average price of the Company’s shares remain at or below the Offer Price over the five trading days from the date of this announcement, no Pre-emptive Offer will be pursued.”
Hurricane’s Lancaster field has an estimated resource base of 523 MMstb.
All of its interests are located West of Shetland. Whirlwind, Lancaster, Lincoln, Warwick and Strathmore are in about 150m of water. Typhoon, further west, is in about 450m of water. All of Hurricane’s assets are fractured basement reservoirs, with the exception of Strathmore which is a sandstone reservoir.
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