Europa raises €5m for Irish assets

Europa Oil and Gas is set to raise around £3.4m (€4.8m) via a share placing and open offer, with proceeds partially being earmarked to fund its activities in Irish waters.

The London-based exploration firm last month published independent research valuing its 15% stake in three prospects off Ireland’s west coast — which it shares with US explorer, Kosmos Energy — at around €1.42bn; and called the news a vote of confidence in its Irish assets.

Yesterday, Europa announced that it has successfully raised £1.4m from a share placing of nearly 23m new ordinary shares. The company plans to raise up to a further £2m via the issue of another 34m shares by way of an open offer.

The funds will go towards near-term work on projects Europa holds in both Britain and Ireland and will cover funding for its aforementioned equity share of general and administration costs on its Irish Atlantic Margin and Porcupine Basin licences.

“We are seeking to grow our licence holdings in onshore UK and offshore Ireland and the funds raised will enable Europa to undertake new exploration investment as well as funding work on existing projects,” said Europa’s CEO, Hugh Mackay.

“We are pleased with the support from existing and new institutional investors in the firm and conditional placing and we are also providing all existing qualifying shareholders with an opportunity to participate in the open offer at the same issue price offered to the institutions.”

Europa’s share price was down by nearly 17% after yesterday’s news.

The share price of Dublin-based Providence Resources, meanwhile, dipped by just over 2%. The Tony O’Reilly Jr-led company said yesterday that it has bought out junior partner Atlantic Petroleum’s 4% stake in the Dunquin South prospect in the Porcupine Basin and now holds — subject to Government approval — a 20% share of the asset.

Two years’ ago, highly anticipated drilling by industry giant ExxonMobil disappointingly uncovered no commercially recoverable hydrocarbons at the neighbouring Dunquin North prospect. However, Providence — junior partner at the North field — said yesterday that those results have derisked the region and that Dunquin South remains an attractive exploration prospect.

“Increasing our equity also reflects our continued corporate commitment and strategic exploration focus on the vast and under-explored deep-water southern Porcupine Basin, which we believe contains all of the elements required to host giant hydrocarbon accumulations,” said Mr O’Reilly.