Columbus Energy Resources Share Discussion Threads

[smoggyg] 15/10/2018 11:43

Cerp is a serial loser having lost £2.45m in last 6 months RNS report. They have now raised £2.5m at 3.5p and the share price is going there or even lower imo.

[offerman] 15/10/2018 11:36

Mine was 78k 3.80 I also purchased 52k at 3.79 on last dip recently too.

[offerman] 15/10/2018 11:36

Nice one Mike. What price they give you

[toploadermike] 15/10/2018 11:31

Just managed to get in again, phew that was close.

[offerman] 15/10/2018 11:25

Just watched the YouTube interview. Really like Andrew, very good interviewer. Good replies from Leo.I'm looking forward to S.C drill. The funds raised definitely is good thing without going into Lind also bringing the work program forward from third/4th quarter to possibly before summer. Even if there is more water contact I wonder if that could also be used for reinjection on that license too . Excellent news all round in my opinion and like he said buy on the dips. O/TI'm also intrigued and surprised leos ( Male) multitasking abilities whilst being interviewed and being able to do what looks like the ironing at the same time :-)

[toploadermike] 15/10/2018 11:24

Well done Offerman, I'll be in later too but looking at it now I had better be quick, buys coming in reasonably fast and price likely to rise.IMHO

[offerman] 15/10/2018 11:10

Thanks JCG

[offerman] 15/10/2018 11:09

Just bought more @3.8

[jcgswims] 15/10/2018 11:03

Leo on Stocktube



or

[the guardian] 15/10/2018 10:50

The placement was carried out for the right reasons as reflected by the trading. In the hope that work will indeed be accelerated, I have reversed my thinking and have purchased shares this morning.

[edgein] 15/10/2018 10:45

Interesting developments, very interesting presentation. So it looks like Maroon is possibly Suriname, talking to a state oil company. :) Green sounds like Colombia to me, the transformational deal. Today's small placing is fine as it allows the company to use its $5m cash balance to pay off the North loan and get to work on the SD assets plus others. Hopefully it'll allow the new production at Bonasse to come on line and get sold, reduce the water content of the oil. For it to need further separators/production tanks and infrastructure at the moment is interesting, something happening there for sure.

I wonder if LK is planning to inject some of that water produced back into Bonasse. Some of these presentations create even more questions. LK isn't abandoning anything as some of these TXP onlookers suggest, he's tweeking his workovers, using less rigs but still another 20+ wells to be brought back on. By all accounts there's gonna be more workovers and interventions on all of these fields, he'll drill some more wells to add to this successful journey so far. I wonder how close they are to that deal in Suriname, the robust deal that LK was talking about. That is likely to come with some heavy oil reserves, a field development he suggested (alternatively it could be EcoPetrol rather than Staatsolie). But we'll see in due course. SA won't be afraid to get his hands on some of that lower API stuff anyway.

Keeping the debt down is a very good idea now, still living within their means etc. Today's placing has done just that and the 8.1p convertible Lind facility is there for another day if they ever need it. With all these fields lined up to come on and waterflood pay day getting closer on Goudron that's starting to look more and more unlikely. I guess Lind could eventually be used for another SWP well or to help fund deve costs.

Regards,
Ed.

[eggchaser] 15/10/2018 10:26

I've topped up at this news which I think is a shot in the arm for the speed at which the company can grow. Didnt I read a bit back that Leo is an impatient man? I am pleased along with others I know who have invested in this company that the shares will be held by more long term investors than if Lind had them... food very much for thought...


One further point as I go back to lurking....

Jcgswims and the rest of the thread... just to point out that SmoggyG = 12Bn.... you might want to take appropriate action.....

[livinginhope] 15/10/2018 10:24

Posted by bigmj (Mike Joseph) on LSE at 9:48am

(I deleted as already posted)

[jcgswims] 15/10/2018 10:22

From bigmj

Placing Today 09:48 Morning guys and girls
Hope you are all ok with the placing and understand why we did it, better to raise at a very small discount than use the kind facility, also unlike most company placing ALL of the shares are in sticky hands (I took a very large slice of this placing), short term minor pain for a really good long term gain.
Have spent some time with Leo and am very excited about how this money can speed up development , as are the 2 II’s involved.
Leo didn’t go looking for this placing, we approached him and also we didn’t try to force him to do it cheaply, a sensible priced placing with a great upside

RE: Placing Today 09:53 Predictive text ! Obviously meant lind not kind !

[carpadium] 15/10/2018 08:39

2-4 years, target £500m mkt cap.

I'd prefer nearest to 2 as poss.

Working on 1.5billion shares in ultimate issue to achieve target worth = >30p per share.

Pretty reasonable investment, unless you doubt LK and team's abilities to succeed.

[isonlymoney] 15/10/2018 08:37

You're a forgiving bunch, aren't you. Leo's credibility has taken a big hit in my book. Is he expecting us to believe that 10 Oct he was planning to use Lind; 5 days later, all change? Very disappointing, Leo.

[offerman] 15/10/2018 08:23

Morning Mike Yes, absoloutely so. It isn't a vast amount .Look at the reasons why they have done this which are for the expanded exciting development program. I agree it was unexpected but a good move imho. Look at our assets, I'd rather excerlerate the increasing bopd work program and pay off NGGordon did envisage the NG amount hence the figures and Lind facility insurance policy for the steeldrum acquisition . I was once involved in a tiny company called Cybit Holdings ( different sector) but growth small and steady year on year improved results and contract wins and I see similarities here but even more so here because growth will rocket in due course . We will most likely be bought out eventually maybe at the end of the five year period . We are on the cusp Mike of something very good. I also agree what the other poster said about the OO would have taken far too long where to excerlerate now is the best option imho. Also you'll probably be able to buy not that far off the placing price anyway.

[ride daice] 15/10/2018 08:21

At least the new shares should be held pretty firmly. That might be significant once we start moving forward with momentum rather than sorting out the past.

[tmmalik] 15/10/2018 08:19

Fair placing with just 6 percent ,time to load up in this range

[brasso3] 15/10/2018 08:18

Now we know why Schroders have not been topping up sub 5p.

[fireplace22] 15/10/2018 08:11

livinginhope, its only 10% dilution to offer it to s'holders as rights or OO would have been too slow and expensive.

[toploadermike] 15/10/2018 08:09

Offerman,

Still feel the same now about LK being PM? LOL

Great to see new investors :) But don't like the dilution!! Here we go again! Still in for the short to medium and still going to top up at some point today.

ATB
TL

[smoggyg] 15/10/2018 08:09

I guess I was wrong on the placing,I didn't expect one until next year to fund a deep well,everyone makes mistakes. Here it is./////RNS Number : 9671D

Columbus Energy Resources PLC

15 October 2018

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A BREACH OF THE RELEVANT SECURITIES LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT ITSELF CONSTITUTE AN OFFER FOR SALE OR SUBSCRIPTION OF ANY SECURITIES IN COLUMBUS ENERGY RESOURCES PLC. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR CONTAIN ANY INVITATION, SOLICITATION, RECOMMATION, OFFER OR ADVICE TO ANY PERSON TO SUBSCRIBE FOR, OTHERWISE ACQUIRE OR DISPOSE OF ANY SECURITIES OF COLUMBUS ENERGY RESOURCES PLC IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH ANY SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

15 October 2018

COLUMBUS ENERGY RESOURCES PLC

("Columbus" or the "Company")

Conditional placing to raise up to approximately GBP2.5 million

Acceleration of growth strategy

The Board of Columbus, the oil and gas producer and explorer focused on onshore Trinidad with the ambition to grow in South America, is pleased to announce a conditional placing, by VSA Capital Limited ("VSA"), with new and existing shareholders including Schroder Investment Management Limited ("Schroders"), Michael Joseph and Burggraben Holding AG ("Burggraben"), of 71,428,571 new ordinary shares in the share capital of the Company (the "Placing Shares") at a price of 3.5 pence per Placing Share (the "Placing Price") to raise approximately GBP2.5 million (before expenses) (the "Placing"), subject to approval by shareholders at a General Meeting proposed to be held on 2 November 2018.

Highlights:

-- Conditional Placing of Placing Shares at 3.5 pence per Placing Share to raise approximately GBP2.5 million (before expenses);

-- The Placing Price represents a discount of approximately 6.67% to the Closing Price on Friday 12 October 2018, the last trading day prior to this Announcement;

-- The Board intend to use the net proceeds of the Placing to:
o Repay the North Energy Capital AS loan facility ("North Energy Loan") in the sum of US$1.25 million (instead of the intended drawdown from the 2018 Lind Facility which was referred to on 10 October 2018 in the Company's Business, Operational and Financial Update);

o Establish and implement a multi-well drilling campaign on the Steeldrum assets and also in the South West Peninsula ("SWP") - driven by value and "best bang for our buck"; and

o Upgrade facilities in the South West Peninsula, particularly at Bonasse and Icacos, to speed up oil production growth and sales and also allow for early sales from any exploration success at the SWP in 2019.

-- The Placing is conditional upon the passing by Shareholders of a special resolution to waive pre-emption rights on the issue of the Placing Shares (the "Resolution") at a General Meeting of the Company to be held on 2 November 2018; and

-- Dealings in the Placing Shares issued pursuant to the Placing are expected to commence at 8.00 a.m. on 5 November 2018.

Leo Koot, Executive Chairman of Columbus, commented:

"With the completion of the Steeldrum transaction, Columbus now has a diverse production base and multiple, large exploration prospects. This is despite the legacy issues we have faced over the last year, which have made a dent in our funds earmarked for further development and have slowed our pace of growth.

"Today's announcement follows strong market interest from two of our major shareholders who approached us late last week to provide the additional capital needed to fund an accelerated growth strategy. It also introduces a new institutional shareholder to our share register, Burggraben, whose principals visited our operations in Trinidad with our Board for a few days in August 2018. The placing provides us with the financial flexibility to pay off the North Energy Loan, thereby simplifying and strengthening our balance sheet. As a result, we will no longer need to drawdown on the 2018 Lind Facility to repay the North Energy Loan. Our major shareholders were keen to stress that they would rather see the monthly repayments, that would have been required to have been made on that Lind loan if it had been drawn-down, being invested in more value-adding opportunities in our operations.

"Columbus can now establish and accelerate a multi-well drilling campaign on the Steeldrum assets, capitalising on the optionality the acquisition of Steeldrum grants us, and also bring forward activities in the South West Peninsula region. From these assets, and our ongoing other work programmes previously announced, I believe we can make some very strong, quick returns on very little capex.

"We are grateful for the long-term support from our shareholders and are delighted to welcome Burggraben, who expressed a willingness, after their visit to our operations in Trinidad, to invest in Columbus when the right opportunity arose. We remain committed to the further creation of value for all invested in Columbus and are confident that today's placing provides us with the springboard to deliver additional production growth that will in turn be reflected in our cash flow and the share price which, in turn, rewards everyone, including myself and the management team, who are still effectively using half their salary to buy equity on a monthly basis at 5.1p per share."

Background to and reasons for the Placing

2018 has been a year of significant development and progress for the Company. The completion of the acquisition of Steeldrum Oil Company Inc ("Steeldrum"), has been a material step in the growth of the Company and establishes a very solid base for our Trinidad operations.

The Company now has a large, well balanced portfolio of assets across the south and south-west of Trinidad. The portfolio includes low-risk but highly prospective exploration opportunities in the South West Peninsula, a development project in Cory Moruga and 5 producing oilfields (Goudron, Innis Trinity, South Erin, Bonasse and Icacos). This provides the Company with an excellent opportunity to exploit our existing and new assets through operational excellence and also grow organically through exploration and the Cory Moruga development project. We will now focus on growing production and revenues in Innis Trinity and South Erin through the adoption of a similar operational strategy to our existing fields.

Company Loans

The Company reported in its Business, Financial and Operational Update (Q3 2018) on 10 October 2018, that Columbus planned to drawdown US$1.25 million from the 2018 Lind Loan, announced on 13 July 2018 alongside the announcement of the Steeldrum acquisition, to repay a US$1.25 million loan which Steeldrum holds with North Energy Capital AS ("North Energy and "North Energy Loan"). The planned drawn-down under the 2018 Lind Facility, which was specifically envisaged within the 2018 Lind Facility when it was established, would require repayments to Lind by the Company over a two-year period at approximately US$62,750 per month.

The Company would rather invest an equivalent amount in more value-adding operational and business opportunities. In addition, the Company wishes to improve its balance sheet by reducing its outstanding loan position and has been seeking a more efficient means of repaying its loans and also introducing additional capital for new growth opportunities. Recent discussions with two of the Company's major shareholders, Schroders and Michael Joseph, as well as with the principals of Burggraben, indicated a willingness by those investors to provide a combined total of GBP2.5 million of funds via the Placing to enable these objectives to be achieved.

Use of Proceeds

The Board believes that the Company has an excellent opportunity to capitalise on its producing and exploration assets in Trinidad and to accelerate its growth in to South America. It is the Board's intentions that the net proceeds of the Placing (amounting to approximately GBP2.365 million) will provide the Company with the capital required to not only pay off the North Energy Loan but also to continue to enhance its well-balanced portfolio of assets in Trinidad. The Board therefore intends to use the net proceeds of the Placing to:

-- Repay the North Energy Loan in the sum of US$1.25 million;
-- Establish and implement a multi-well drilling campaign on the Steeldrum assets and also in the SWP - driven by value and "best bang for our buck"; and

-- Optimise facilities in the SWP, particularly at Bonasse and Icacos, to speed up oil production growth and sales and also allow for early sales from any exploration success at the SWP in 2019.

Details of the Placing

Pursuant to the Placing, the Company is seeking to raise approximately GBP2.5 million through the issue of 71,428,571 new ordinary shares in the share capital of the Company at a price of 3.5 pence per Placing Share.

The Placing will be conditional upon the passing of the Resolution at a General Meeting of Shareholders intended to be held on 2 November 2018. The Resolution is needed authorise the Directors to allot the Placing Shares on a non pre-emptive basis. This authority will not extend beyond the Placing Shares. Further details on the Resolution will be set out in the Circular (as defined below).

Application will be made for the Placing to be admitted to trading on the AIM market ("AIM") of London Stock Exchange, ("Admission"), and it is expected that Admission will become effective and that dealings will commence in the Placing Shares at 8.00 a.m. on 5 November 2018.

The Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing will rank pari passu with the Existing Ordinary Shares.

Schroders is a substantial shareholder of the Company as defined in the AIM Rules for Companies ("AIM Rules"). As such, Schroders is a "related party" pursuant to the AIM Rules and the proposed Placing of 21,428,571 Placing Shares to Schroders is therefore a related party transaction for the purposes of Rule 13 of the AIM Rules. The Directors consider, having consulted with Beaumont Cornish, the Company's nominated adviser, that the terms of Placing are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.

VSA is acting as Financial Adviser and Broker to the Company in connection with the Placing.

Total Voting Rights

Should the Resolution be passed and upon completion of the Placing, the Company's new issued share capital will consist of 830,881,192 ordinary shares with a nominal value of 0.05p each, with voting rights ("Ordinary Shares"). The Company does not hold any shares in Treasury. Therefore, the total number of Ordinary Shares in the Company with voting rights will be 830,881,192.

Notice of General Meeting

The Placing will be conditional upon the approval of the Resolution by Shareholders at the General Meeting to be held at the offices of VSA Capital Limited, New Liverpool House, 15-17 Eldon Street, London EC2M 7LD at 11.00 a.m. on 2 November 2018. A circular to shareholders (the "Circular") containing a notice of General Meeting and proxy card will be posted to shareholders no later than 17 October 2018 and will be available on the Company's website hxxps://Columbus-erp.com

Importance of vote

Shareholders should be aware that, if the Resolution is not approved at the General Meeting, the net proceeds of the Placing will not be received by the Company.

Recommendation

The Directors consider that the Placing is in the best interests of the Company and its Shareholders and is most likely to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of the Shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, in the Circular, the Directors will unanimously recommend that Shareholders vote in favour of the proposed Resolution, as they intend to do in respect of their holdings amount to an aggregate of 2,688,366 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 0.35% of the Company's Existing Ordinary Shares.

Contact Information