US shale oil explorer TomCo Energy has moved to quash any talk that it may be preparing to unveil major news following a sharp rise in its share price.TomCo, which has two oil shale leases in Utah, said in a statement that it had noted the strong performance in recent days of its share price, which rose a further 10% or 0.13p to 1.35p by 12:41 today. It said it had no imminent corporate announcements, but confirmed that state water regulators were consulting on a request from the company regarding the issue of a permit to business partner Red Leaf Resources.TomCo has entered a licence agreement with Red Leaf to use the latter's EcoShale technology to extract oil from its leases."TomCo is aware that the Utah Division of Water Quality is soliciting comments prior to 27 September 2013 on its request to issue a ground water discharge permit to Red Leaf Resources," TomCo said in the statement.PW