20 March 2019
TomCo Energy plc
("TomCo", the "Company" or the "Group")
Placing, 2019 Field Test Update and Additional Leases Assigned
TomCo Energy plc (AIM: TOM), the oil shale exploration, development and technology group focused on using innovative technology to unlock unconventional hydrocarbon resources, is pleased to announce that it has raised £600,000 (gross) by way of a placing ("Placing") of 21,818,182 new ordinary shares of no par value in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") (the "Placing Shares") at a price of 2.75 pence per Placing Share ("Placing Price") through Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Ltd ("TPI"), the Company's broker.
The Company intends to utilise the net proceeds of the Placing to complete the 2019 field test programme and to provide additional working capital to the Group.
2019 Field Test Update
As previously stated, the Company's primary objective for the 2019 Field Test programme is the recovery of oil from the Company's Holliday A Block through the application of TurboShale Inc.'s ("TurboShale") RF technology (the "2019 Field Test"). The Company has an 80% interest in TurboShale.
The Company is pleased to confirm that the initial phase of planning for the 2019 Field Test has now been concluded by IGES Inc. ("IGES") and Himes Drilling Company Inc., the Group's technical advisers, including:
· groundwater desktop survey completed by IGES over the Company's lease ML49571, identifying prospective 'dry' sites for the 2019 Field Test within the Holliday A Block, similar to those hosting the historic BART programme;
· drilling pattern designed for 2019 Field Test, with central production well to drain oil generated by RF antennas within the Mahogany oil shale zone in surrounding wellbores;
· permits for the test wells have now been granted; and
· expected mobilisation to drill the test wells in April 2019, in order to confirm the site for the production and antenna wells for the 2019 Field Test.
It is currently anticipated that mobilisation for the 2019 Field Test will begin in mid-2019, with the test scheduled to be concluded in late Q3/early Q4 2019. Assuming a successful test, the Company will have recovered sufficient oil to undertake analysis to confirm the quality and potential recovery rates using TurboShale's RF technology.
Additional Oil Shale Leases
Further to the statement made by the Company on 14 December 2018, following the approval of the transfers by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration ("SITLA"), the seven oil leases have now been assigned to the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, The Oil Mining Company Inc.
These leases (being ML 48801, ML 48802, ML 48803, ML 48806, ML 49236, ML 49237 and ML 50151) comprise, in aggregate, 12,569 acres and are estimated to contain over 1.2 billion barrels of potential oil (as measured by the United States Geological Society) based on the projected thickness of the known oil shale zones. These leases are located within the Uintah Basin, in the same Green River formation as the Company's other two leases in Utah and significantly increases the Company's overall acreage. The Company confirms that there will be minimal ongoing costs in respect of these additional leases in the short term.
Admission
The Placing is subject to normal conditions including, inter alia, admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM.
The Placing Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares and application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective and dealings in the Placing Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 27 March 2019.
Following Admission, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 117,612,452 Ordinary Shares with voting rights. There are no Ordinary Shares held in treasury. The figure of 117,612,452 may be used by shareholders, following Admission, as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
The Company has also issued 1,309,091 warrants to TPI, giving them the right to acquire such number of new Ordinary Shares at an exercise price of 2.75 pence for a period of two years.
John Potter, TomCo's CEO, commented: "I am pleased to outline the 2019 Field Test programme following the completion of all the desktop work, undertaken in conjunction with our independent technical consultants. Following the identification of prospective 'dry' sites, we will look forward to completing the test wells and to completing the field test.
The main objective of the 2019 Field Test is to recover oil using TurboShale's RF technology to heat kerogen in-situ. With the funds raised through the Placing, I am delighted that we are able to move forward to complete the 2019 Field Test and look forward to keeping shareholders updated as we progress through the year."
Enquiries:
TomCo Energy plc
Andrew Jones (Chairman) +44(0)20 3 823 3635
John Potter (CEO)
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser)
James Harris +44 (0) 20 7409 3494
Richard Tulloch
James Dance
Turner Pope (Broker)
Andy Thacker +44 (0)20 3621 4120
For further information, please visit www.tomcoenergy.com
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 ("MAR").
