i3 Energy plc, an independent oil and gas company with assets and operations in the UK, is pleased to announce the audited results for the year ended 31 December 2017.
A copy of the Company’s financial statements will be available shortly on the Company’s website at https://i3.energy/ together with a notice of AGM. The AGM will be held at 11:00 am on 28th June 2018 at WH Ireland, 24 Martin Lane, London, EC4R 0DR.
HIGHLIGHTS
· Successfully completed a private placement raising £4.2m through Convertible Loan Notes before expenses to fund Liberator front-end engineering and design, project management, site survey, environmental statement development, and general corporate purposes
· Remained focused on the safe and efficient development of the Liberator field:
o Worked with the supply chain on development design and engineering
o Continued to advance proposals with the suppliers regarding the provision of a rig, well services, and well services project management related to the development of Liberator
o Positively engaged the Blake field partners regarding Liberator offtake terms across the producing Blake infrastructure, with feasibility and engineering studies commissioned and completed
o Conducted a site survey over multiple areas and completed an environmental statement for two development drill centres at Liberator
o Submitted the Liberator Field Development Plan (“FDP”) to the UK Oil & Gas Authority (“OGA”)
o Received a reclassification and upgrade of Liberator resources to 11.7MMboe
o 2P Reserves with pre-tax net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$328 million
· Admitted i3 Energy plc to the Alternative Investment Market (“AIM”) of the London Stock Exchange with first day of dealings on 25th July 2017
· Appointed David Knox as Non-executive Chairman and welcomed Richard Ames and Majid Shafiq as Non-executive Directors
· Assessed several North Sea asset opportunities
o Purchased seismic covering 830 km2 across multiple blocks
o Submitted firm-well bid application and arranged appraisal well funding for high-impact acreage in the UK’s 30th Offshore Licensing Round
o Engaged AGR Tracs International Limited (“AGR”) to conduct an independent assessment of i3’s 30thRound application target with the resulting report attributing 22MMBO 2C Mid-case Contingent Resources and 47MMBO Mid-case Prospective Resources to the asset
· Continued to explore numerous funding options to develop Liberator including accessing equity and debt capital markets, joint venture partnering and supply chain financing
o Received non-binding terms from UK-based lenders for a US$25 million credit facility for Liberator development funding
o Arranged and entered into a financing agreement with an i3 investor to fund the Company’s 30th Round work commitment (c. US$14 million appraisal well and seismic programme)
o Advanced Joint Venture discussions with multiple industrial partners relating to i3’s Liberator development and 30th Round target, with indicative commercial interest received for a full carry on a multi-well development with potential capital commitment estimated to be US$200 million.
POST PERIOD AND OUTLOOK
On 31st January 2018 the Company announced that it had raised £2.57 million through the placing of 8,563,630 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company to new and existing investors at an issue price of 30 pence per share, representing a 0.4% premium to the 30-day average for the week ending 26th January 2018. The proceeds of the funding are being used towards prerequisite engineering, trees and wellheads for the Liberator development, and general corporate purposes.
On 6th February 2018 the Company amended the terms of certain outstanding zero-coupon unsecured convertible loan notes. The amended loan instrument replaced an existing loan note instrument dated 17th July 2017 and the principal amendments were detailed in the Company’s news release dated 6th February 2018.
On 2nd March 2018, 20th March 2018 and 25th May 2018 the Company announced that, in relation to the amended Loan Note Agreement as announced 6th February 2018, it received notices of exercise from James Caird Asset Management (“JCAM”) to convert part of the loan with an aggregate par value of US$1,500,000, into shares. Following the conversions the value outstanding on the loan was US$1,000,000. The Company allotted 3,368,728 ordinary shares to JCAM which rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares. Following Admission of these shares, the Company’s enlarged issued share capital was comprised of 37,623,250 ordinary shares.
On 23rd May 2018 the Company announced it had been awarded its sole 30th Offshore Licensing Round application target, Block 13/23c (123 km2), on a 100% interest basis. Block 13/23c contains a material extension of the Liberator field, referred to by i3 as Liberator West, with further prospectivity identified by the Company outside the Liberator trend. The award delivers a significant increase in i3’s combined Reserve & Resource Base, now totalling an independently verified 80MMBO.
The Company’s focus for the remainder of 2018 will be on 4 key areas:
1 Continued advancement of a safe and robust Liberator development with targeted first oil in 2019.
2 Target a high-impact 2018 appraisal programme on the Company’s 30th Round Award Block 13/23c (Liberator West).
3 Efficient funding of the Company’s development and appraisal efforts, with a focus on joint venture partnerships.
4 The sourcing and capture of accretive development and production assets, and consideration of transactions that enhance capital efficiency.
The Company continuously evaluates opportunities to strengthen its balance sheet whilst maintaining tight control of its costs and working capital position.
Neill Carson, CEO of i3 Energy plc, commented
“2017 has been a year in which solid foundations were laid for the future success of i3 Energy. Our team has deepened its understanding of the high-quality nature of our 100% owned and operated Liberator oil discovery and we remain focused on the advancement of this asset. The strong technical underpinning of Liberator combined with the deliverability of the project has attracted investment from private and institutional investors, in addition to drawing meaningful interest from senior lenders and potential joint venture partners. We look forward to the remainder of 2018 with excitement as we aim to unlock Liberator’s full potential while seeking out target acquisitions from which we can extract shareholder value.
i3’s Board, Executive, and Management Team would like to thank our valued shareholders for their ongoing support as we push towards the exciting year ahead.”
Joint Broker
With effect from today the Company is pleased to announce Canaccord Genuity Limited as Joint Broker to the Company alongside GMP First Energy and WH Ireland.
Notes:
i3 is an oil and gas development company initially focused on the North Sea. The Company’s core asset is the Greater Liberator Area, located in Blocks 13/23d and 13/23c, containing recoverable resources of 80 MMBO. The Greater Liberator Area consists of the Liberator oil field discovered by well 13/23d-8 and the Liberator West extension, both of which i3 hold a 100% working interest in. Liberator West will be the subject of a single well appraisal campaign in Q4 2018.
The Company’s strategy is to acquire high quality, low risk producing and development assets, to broaden its portfolio and grow its reserves and production.
i3 has a strong management team with a track record of delivery and was founded by Neill Carson, previously founder and CEO of Ithaca Energy, where he built an asset portfolio including multiple developments.
