Baron Oil Plc (AIM:BOIL), the AIM-quoted oil and gas exploration and production company, focused on opportunities in SE Asia, Latin America and the UK, is pleased to announce that it has raised £2.5 million by way of a Conditional Placing and Subscription of 2,500,000,000 new ordinary shares of 0.025p each ("New Ordinary Shares") at a price of 0.1 pence per New Ordinary Share (the "Placing Price") (together, the "Fundraising"). Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited acted as sole placing agent.
It is intended that the proceeds of the Placing will largely be used to fund Baron's share of the ongoing TL-SO-19-16 PSC ("Chuditch PSC") Work Programme and the drilling of the onshore El Barco-3x well in Peru, as well as providing additional working capital. As previously announced, the Chuditch PSC has a gross estimate made by Shell of Mean gas in place of 2,320 billion cubic feet ("BCF") and gas recovery potential, based on Shell's original estimates in the range of 55% to 75%, in the order of 1,276 to 1,740 BCF, considered by Baron to be Prospective Resources but not SPE PRMS compliant. In Peru, Baron hopes to drill El Barco-3x later this year targeting 2U (P50) SPE PRMS compliant unrisked recoverable Prospective Resources of 8.5 million barrels of oil recoverable from the higher risk Amotape Basement and 14.7 BCF of gas recoverable from the low risk, shallower Mancora Sand.
The Fundraising
The Fundraising comprises a placing of 2,442,500,000 New Ordinary Shares (the "Placing") and a subscription of 57,500,000 New Ordinary Shares (the "Subscription"). The Company has utilised its existing share authorities under the disapplication of pre-emption rights to issue 735,714,286 New Ordinary Shares for settlement and admission on 20 February 2020 (the "Tranche 1 Placing Shares") with the balance of 1,764,285,714 New Ordinary Shares (the "Tranche 2 Placing Shares") conditional on the passing of the Resolutions to be proposed at a General Meeting on or around 10 March 2020.
The Placing Price represents a discount of 58.3 per cent. to the closing middle market price of 0.24 pence per Existing Ordinary Share on 13 February 2020, being the latest practicable date prior to the announcement of the Placing. The New Ordinary Shares will represent 56.48 per cent. of the Company's Enlarged Share Capital immediately following Admission.
The Circular relating to the General Meeting will be sent to shareholders shortly. A further announcement will be made when the circular is published and it will also be made available for download from the Company's website (https://www.baronoilplc.com/).
Malcolm Butler, Executive Chairman of Baron Oil, commented:
"The Board is pleased that this Fundraising has been completed successfully, albeit at a significant discount to recent share prices.
"We continue to be very excited by the potential value that can be realised through our investment in SundaGas (Timor-Leste Sahul) Pte. Ltd, parent company of the Operator of the Chuditch PSC, in the initial phases of seismic reprocessing and thereafter through an appraisal and exploration drilling programme. We also have provisional plans to drill the low-cost, low risk El Barco-3x well in Peru which offers the potential for significant value on discovery."