Longboat Energy PLC Completion of SE Asia Acquisition (5357X)

TIDMLBE

RNS Number : 5357X

Longboat Energy PLC

21 December 2023

21 December 2023

Longboat Energy plc

("Longboat Energy", "Longboat" or the "Company")

Completion of SE Asia Acquisition

Longboat Energy, an emerging full-cycle E&P company active in Norway and Malaysia, is pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition of privately held Topaz Number One Limited ("Topaz"), thereby increasing its working interest in the Production Sharing Contract over Block 2A offshore Sarawak, Malaysia ("Block 2A") to 52.5%.

Longboat now holds an operated 52.5% interest in Block 2A, offshore Sarawak Malaysia, containing the giant 'Kertang' prospect, simplifying the process towards a positive well decision and the potential introduction of an additional funding partner prior to drilling.

Having worked closely with Topaz and its owners over the past twelve months on Block 2A and other acquisition opportunities, Longboat made the decision to accelerate the building of a full-cycle E&P business in SE Asia through the acquisition of Topaz and the addition of James Menzies and Pierre Eliet to the Company's management team as Executive Chairman SE Asia and Director SE Asia respectively.

Helge Hammer, Chief Executive of Longboat Energy, commented:

"We are pleased to have completed the corporate acquisition of Topaz, which increases our interest in a large exploration block in a region that has seen considerable exploration success recently. Petronas announced that they have recorded 19 exploration discoveries, 13 of which were made offshore Sarawak, and two exploration-appraisal successes, contributing over 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent to new resources for Malaysia in 2023. Clearly, we are in the right address.

The Longboat team has extensive experience and network in SE Asia, which combined with our in-house technical expertise, puts us in a strong position to deliver accelerated growth in the region ."

Background

In February 2023, Longboat announced it had been awarded a 36.75% operated interest in a Production Sharing Contract for Block 2A alongside partners Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd (40%), Petroleum Sarawak Exploration & Production Sdn. Bhd. (7.5%) and Topaz Number One Limited (15.75%).

Block 2A is located offshore Sarawak, north-west of the prolific Central Luconia hydrocarbon province covering approx. 12,000km(2) in water depths between 100 - 1,400 metres. One of the world's largest LNG facilities, the Bintulu LNG plant, is located onshore on the coast of Sarawak.

The main prospect on Block 2A is a large anticlinal structure called Kertang with a closure of over 100km(2) at multiple levels and significant volume potential representing multiple trillions of cubic feet (TCF) of gas in stacked reservoirs. Seismic indicators for the presence of gas can be observed in the area and over the crest of the prospect.

At the same time, the Company indicated its belief that establishing a presence in the region would open-up further acquisition opportunities.

Transaction Detail

Under the terms of the sale and purchase agreement to acquire all of the issued share capital of Topaz Number One Limited, whose sole asset is a 15.75% interest in Block 2A (the "Acquisition"), the initial consideration is to be satisfied through an issue of new ordinary shares of 10 pence each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") equivalent to US$100,000 based on the average closing price of such Ordinary Shares in the preceding ten days, representing 441,470 Ordinary Shares (the "Consideration Shares").

There are two further contingent payments to be made: firstly an amount of US$125,000 payable in cash or through a further issue of Ordinary Shares of an equivalent value, upon an exploration well being committed on Block 2A or a farm-out; and a further contingent amount of up to US$3,000,000 payable in cash or through a further issue of Ordinary Shares of an equivalent value, upon a discovery being made on Block 2A, depending on the resource size and the growth in the price of the Ordinary Shares measured over a two year period.

Admission

Application will be made for the Consideration Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that Admission will become effective and that dealings in the enlarged share capital, as described below, will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 29 December 2023.

Following Admission, the Company's enlarged issued ordinary share capital will consist of 57,108,136 ordinary shares, with the right to one vote each. The Company will hold no ordinary shares in treasury. Therefore, the total number of ordinary shares and voting rights in the Company will be 57,108,136. With effect from Admission, this figure may be used by shareholders in the Company 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.

PDMR shareholdings

Following Admission, the interests of James Menzies (Chairman SE Asia) and Pierre Eliet (Director SE Asia) in the issued share capital of the Company will be as follows:

 
                       As at 21 December                                      Immediately following 
                              2023                                                  Admission 
                        Number     Percentage                                                Percentage 
                   of Existing    of Existing                                   Number      of Enlarged 
                      Ordinary       Ordinary                    Number    of ordinary    Share Capital 
 Name              Shares held    Shares held    of ConsiderationShares    shares held             held 
 James Menzies         101,137          0.18%                   220,735        321,872            0.56% 
 Pierre Eliet                -              -                   220,735        220,735            0.39% 
 

The information contained within this announcement is not considered to be inside information prior to its release.

Ends

 
  Enquiries: 
   Longboat Energy                          via FTI 
   Helge Hammer, Chief Executive Officer 
   Jon Cooper, Chief Financial Officer 
    Nick Ingrassia, Corporate Development 
    Director 
 
   Stifel (Nomad and Joint Broker)          Tel: [phone] 
   Callum Stewart 
    Jason Grossman 
    Ashton Clanfield 
 
   Cavendish Capital Markets Limited 
    (Joint Broker)                          Tel: [phone] 
   Neil McDonald 
    Pete Lynch 
    Leif Powis 
 
   FTI Consulting (PR adviser)              Tel: [phone] 
   Ben Brewerton 
    Rosie Corbett 
    Catrin Trudgill                         [e-mail] 
 
  Company Background 
 
  Longboat Energy was established at the end of 2019 to create a 
  full-cycle E&P company through value accretive M&A and near-field 
  exploration. Longboat's initial focus has been in Norway where 
  the Company has drilled eight exploration wells resulting in five 
  hydrocarbon discoveries, representing a technical 63% success 
  rate. 
 
  In July 2023, Longboat completed a transaction with Japan Petroleum 
  Exploration Co., Ltd ("JAPEX") to form a new joint venture company 
  in Norway named Longboat JAPEX Norge AS. Under these arrangements, 
  JAPEX will make a cash investment of up to US$50 million, of which 
  US$16 million was paid on completion, for a 49.9% shareholding 
  in of Longboat JAPEX Norge AS and provide the Joint Venture with 
  a US$100 million Acquisition Financing Facility to finance acquisitions 
  and associated development costs. Longboat retains 50.1% ownership 
  in Longboat JAPEX Norge AS. 
 
  Also in July 2023, Longboat JAPEX Norge AS announced its first 
  production acquisition in Norway of interests in the Statfjord 
  satellite fields, Statfjord Øst and Sygna . 
 
  Longboat entered Malaysia in February 2023 through the award of 
  a Production Sharing Contract for Block 2A, offshore Sarawak. 
  Block 2A covers approx. 12,000km(2) and is located in water depths 
  of between 100-1,400 metres where a number of large prospects 
  across multiple plays have been identified, with significant volume 
  potential representing multiple trillions of cubic feet of gas. 
 
  Longboat's activities remain focused on creating a portfolio with 
  a clear low-cost route to monetisation and low-carbon drilling 
  and development opportunities, well aligned to Longboat's ESG 
  targets which includes a corporate 'Net Zero' on a Scope 1 and 
  2 basis by 2050. 
 

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December 21, 2023 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)