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(Alliance News) - Curzon Energy PLC on Friday said its interim loss narrowed after it incurred much lower listing regulatory costs, driving down expenses.
Shares in Curzon were down 5.3% at 1.14 pence in London in afternoon trading.
The oil & gas development company, which owns and operates around 47,000 acres of coalbed methane gas accumulation in Oregon's Coos Bay, reported a pretax loss of USD367,000 for the six months ended June 30, narrowed from a USD583,867 loss the year before.
Total administrative costs shrank to USD287,043 from USD571,292 the previous year as standard listing regulatory costs dropped to just USD2,098 from USD269,532.
As at June 30, Curzon had net cash of USD146,549, up from USD79,234 at the end of 2019.
In March, Curzon signed a letter of intent for a reverse take over of London Critical Metals Market, buying the metals trading exchange from Sun Seven Stars Investment Group. The deal saw the pair enter a period of exclusivity to June 30 to complete the deal. On August 12, the company said the period of exclusivity has been extended until September 1.
Chair John McGoldrick said: "The company's near-term goal remains focused on exploring ongoing opportunities associated with the company's Coos Bay coal bed methane project, as well as completing due diligence covering a potential transaction with SSSIG. While the company believes the Coos Bay asset holds residual potential value, progressing it materially during the period has proven to be difficult in light of recent US natural gas markets and logistical restrictions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Due diligence efforts on the potential transaction with SSSIG have taken longer than expected to date, in part due to Covid-19 related delays and disruptions, however, all parties continue to work together constructively to provide the detail and data required to fully assess the opportunity presented.
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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