Victoria Oil & Gas share placing helps fund development work in Cameroon
VICTORIA Oil & Gas has raised £14m from institutional and private investors through an equity placing at 3.25p per share.
The placing will allow the Aim-listed company to complete drilling and testing operations at Logbaba, Cameroon.
The funds raised will also be used for further passive seismic spectroscopy and geochemical surveys at the West Med gas field in Russia.
Fox-Davies Capital, the London based trading firm, brokered the placing which was 40 per cent oversubscribed.
The broker said the reserves at Logbaba would enable the company to supply gas to an expanding industrial gas market as well as to power generation companies.
Kevin Foo, chairman of Victoria Oil & Gas, said: “We took this opportunity to increase our working capital and we are most pleased with the response. The over-subscription and the interest of major institutional investors in our Company vindicates our belief that Victoria Oil & Gas is managing its assets correctly.”
The independent oil and gas exploration company has 14 gas agreements in the Cameroon for its Logbaba project.
Steven Jorgensen, general manager of Rodeo Development, Victoria’s Cameroonian subsidiary which operates the project, said in February this year: “That before we start production we have already secured so many customers is an extraordinary development for us.”
OLIVER STANSFIELD
FOX-DAVIES CAPITAL
London-based broking firm Fox-Davies Capital arranged the placing on behalf of Victoria Oil & Gas. Oliver Stansfield is director of equity sales at the firm.
He said: “I think the fundraising was well-received as people were comfortable that management have done a great deal to remove the risks on the project. Victoria Oil & Gas has a first mover advantage to supply a captive and growing industrial market in Cameroon. This has ensured fairly robust economics for the project and attractive offtake prices.”
Talking about why Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) was attractive to investors he added: “With a raft of news expected over the coming months, including testing results from La-105 and La-106 and a subsequent updated third party reserve estimate, in a success case, we feel VOG offers significant upside.”
Fox-Davies Capital has been advising and raising funds for the natural resource sector since February 2001. The firm specialises in assisting international resource companies to gain access to the UK, European and North American capital markets and has a substantial background in emerging markets, particularly in Africa, Asia and Russia. It advises and undertakes fundraising transactions for its clients ranging from private equity to IPOs and secondary offerings.