NIGERIA: ADM Energy Raises Funds to Finance Expansion Plans

ADM Energy has announced that it has raised a total of £475,000 before costs by way of a placing for new ordinary shares in the Company with and a subscription by certain Directors.

According to ADM the funds will be used to provide general working capital for the Company in order to continue its strategy of identifying and evaluating high-quality assets in West Africa at depressed valuations with substantial upside for shareholders.

The Company adds it is currently assessing several investment opportunities, in line with ADM’s growth plans and its established relationships with project debt and off-take lenders, which the board considers may have the potential to add significant value to ADM. 

Aje Field Update

As ADM had previously reported the intentions of the Aje Joint Partners  are to explore the further development of the Aje Field and the production of a field development plan (FDP). 

The Partners continue to work on a final investment decision on a new multi-phase development plan for the Aje Field which could significantly increase production levels.

The FDP for the initial phase is primarily focused on the development of two new oil wells and a gas injector well which initial appraisals indicate could increase gross field production to 9,000 barrels of oil and liquids per day. These wells are intended to be tied-back to the existing Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessel (FPSO), via a subsea manifold located at the present drill centre. 

As part of the FDP, ADM’s technical team has examined the feasibility of using the existing infrastructure available, where possible, for the supply of the two new subsea wells Aje-6 and Aje-7. Based on the findings of our review, which has been passed to the Partners’ technical committee, the Company’s view is that the existing subsea hardware infrastructure are able to be used for the new wells, subject to a confirmatory integrity inspection.

In addition, the analysis concluded that any potential topside cost and control system hardware compatibility issues would also be reduced if the same type of subsea control module as on the existing tree is used for the proposed wells Aje-6 and Aje-7. The ability to use the existing infrastructure should de-risk the expansion plans at Aje and would be expected to provide significant cost savings compared to installing additional subsea infrastructure.

 Barracuda Field Update

ADM’s technical team continues to assess the draft of a preliminary technical report from the Competent Person for the Barracuda Field. The report is still to be finalized pending further technical appraisal and, therefore, ADM will only be able to finalize the proposed development plans for Barracuda once it is completed. 

ADM expects to provide a further update to the market before year end. 

Osamede Okhomina, CEO of ADM Energy plc, said: “This fundraise will help us continue our strategy of pursuing investment opportunities that can add significant value to ADM Energy. We are assessing several prospects and remain in regular dialog with our partners, such as Trafigura, to examine financing options for attractive investment opportunities in high-quality assets.  While transactions of this nature take time, we have been encouraged by both the quality of the assets in question and the progress of our discussions. 

“The Field Development plans at Aje are advancing and it is pleasing that our latest findings indicate that the existing infrastructure can be used to supply the two new wells, lowering the cost of development without impacting the expected potential increase in production. With Panoro and  PetroNor agreeing a further one-month extension to the end of November for the Aje transaction, we await the conclusion of that deal which, once finalised, is expected to accelerate Aje’s development.”

 

Details of the Fundraise

The Company has raised £475,000 before expenses at a price of 1.5 pence per share (“Placing Price”). The Placing Price equates to a 21 per cent. discount to the mid-market closing price of the Company’s ordinary shares on 12 November 2021 of 1.9p, being the last practicable date prior to the date of this announcement. The Fundraise comprises a placing of 20,000,000 new ordinary shares (“Placing Shares”) to Monecor (London) Limited, which will hold 3.26 per cent. of the Company’s enlarged issued share capital on Admission and a subscription for 11,666,667 new ordinary shares (“Subscription Shares”) by certain Directors. In connection with the issue of the Placing Shares, the Company has conditionally issued 6,666,667 warrants to Monecor (London) Limited to subscribe for ordinary shares at an exercise price of 3 pence per share, on a three warrants per Placing Share basis, with an exercise period of 2 years from the date of Admission (“Warrants”).