XCite Energy Draws On New Equity Line
British oil exploration firm Xcite Energy has drawn down £10.9 million on its equity line with Esousa Holdings, LLC, a placing arranged by a subsidiary of Bermuda-based Socius Capital Group that was completed last month. The equity line portion of the financing is provided by Esousa, a co-investor of Socius.
This is the second drawdown using Esousa’s £60 million equity line since Xcite announced new funding arrangements in mid-December 2011 together with the termination of the previous equity line arrangement with Yorkville Advisors.
In all, the group secured access to £85.8 million in new capital. Some £25.8 million has been raised through a share placing while a further £60 million is made available through an equity credit line facility.
Under the drawdown announced today, Xcite has issued 7,912,891 shares at £1.38 per share. This funding will be used as working capital for the company and to progress towards first oil from the Bentley heavy oil field in the North Sea.
Also in December, Xcite secured a storage and offtake/shuttle tanker for the forthcoming Phase 1A of the Bentley development programme, and it hired the Rowan Norway rig, which will be used to develop Bentley. Xcite reported yesterday [Mar. 1] that the rig left Dundee harbour.
The rig is now on its way to the Bentley oilfield, located 160 kilometres east of the Shetland Isles, where it will drill the first well of the hotly anticipated development programme.
Phase 1A of the development programme will see Xcite drill two development wells and carry out an extended production test, which is expected to last 90 days in total.
This will be a technical test, not a headline flow rate test, with around 30 days’ flow being expected to confirm and calibrate the reservoir model.
