PETRONEFT’S SHARE price surged by 10 per cent yesterday after the oil exploration and production group successfully raised $43 million (€31.3 million) to fund further drilling and acquisitions.
PetroNeft Resources said yesterday it raised the $43 million from a “substantially oversubscribed” placing of new shares.
It added that terms have been agreed for the conditional placing of 63,125,000 new ordinary shares, executed in two tranches.
The news sparked a plunge for the company on the Dublin and London markets, where around 20 million of its existing shares changed hands yesterday.
PetroNeft added just over 10 per cent in Dublin to reach 55.24 cent shortly before the close. Its price rose at a similar rate in London, where it hit 49 pence. The company said the proceeds would be used to fund an exploration programme at its licence blocks in Tomsk, western Siberia, where its operations are based, and for new business development opportunities.
PetroNeft this morning said it was on course to achieve production of 4,000 barrels a day by December, and plans to treble this to 12,000 a day from its existing assets by the end of 2012.
Chief financial officer Paul Dowling said the group plans to drill 17 production wells between now and the end of next year.
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