Business
Placing & Operational Update
Placing & Operational Update.
About this update from Ascent Resources Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Ascent Resources PLC\n14 November 2007\n\n\n Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas\n\n Ascent Resources plc ('Ascent' or 'the Company')\n Placing and Operational Update\n\n\nAscent Resources plc, the AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and production\ncompany, has placed convertible loan notes with institutional funds managed by\nCIM Investment Management to raise £2.5 million. The proceeds will be primarily\nused to advance the redevelopment of the Bajcsa gasfield in south western\nHungary as well as for the Company's general working capital and capital\nexpenditure requirements.\n\nThe loan notes, which carry interest of 8.5 per cent. per annum, are convertible\ninto 12,500,000 ordinary shares of 0.1p each in the Company ('Ordinary Shares')\nat a conversion price of 20p per Ordinary Share on or before November 14th 2010.\nThe loan notes have a call option at 40p per share and interest is to be paid\ntwice annually in arrears. The holder of the loan notes will also be issued\n4,375,000 warrants for Ordinary Shares in the Company at an exercise price of\n30p per Ordinary Share and exercisable on or before November 14th 2010. The\naverage closing mid price of an Ordinary Share over the last 25 days was 17.3p.\n\nOperational Update\n\nHungary\n\nThe main purpose of this convertible loan is to enable Ascent to fast track its\nHungarian gas development projects.\n\nIn the Bajcsa redevelopment, being carried out in conjunction with partners MOL,\nthe first horizontal recompletion is planned to commence, subject to rig and\nequipment availability, towards the end of December 2007 and to take about a\nmonth to complete. As a recompletion, this well will have the capability of\nimmediately being put into production and therefore to generate cashflow from\ngas sales.\n\nIn the Peneszlek development, the first 20km of the 31km export pipeline has\nbeen satisfactorily pressure tested and the final section is now being tested.\nIt is planned that three wells, including the PEN-104 discovery, will be\nincorporated in to the first phase of development.\n\nItaly\n\nA new operating permit has been issued by the Italian authorities for the\ncontinuation of the Anagni-1 test operations and for a plug-back at the bottom\nof the open-hole section before January 31st 2008. The latest information from\nthe core sample...