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LONDON (Alliance News) - UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC on Friday said it has acquired a further 3.9% stake in the Horse Hill licenses near Gatwick airport for a total of GBP1.0 million, as the company looks to build its holding in the asset ahead of eagerly awaited production tests.
There are a string of AIM-listed companies involved in the onshore project, and the partners said earlier this week that the amount of oil-in-place within only one of multiple zones had increased three-fold.
Horse Hill Developments is the operator of the licenses that cover the project, PEDL137 and PEDL246, and owns a 65% stake, with the rest held by Magellan Petroleum Corp.
UK Oil & Gas said it has acquired a 6.0% stake in Horse Hill Developments from Flowermay Ltd for a total of GBP1.0 million, paid GBP150,000 in cash and GBP850,000 in shares. This raises its holding in Horse Hill Developments to 48%.
That additional stake in Horse Hill Developments has pushed UK Oil & Gas' effective stake in the licenses up by 3.9%. UK Oil & Gas now holds a 31.2% stake in the Horse Hill licenses.
The shares will be issued to Flowermay based on the 10-day volume weighted average price prior to the completion of the transaction. Horse Hill Developments needs to approve the deal and a further announcement will be made shortly, UK Oil & Gas said.
The other London-listed partners working on the project are Alba Minerals PLC, which holds a 15% stake in Horse Hill Developments. Stellar Resources PLC and Solo Oil PLC each have a 10% stake. Regency Mines PLC has a 5.0% stake and Evocutis PLC has 2.0%.
Doriemus PLC, which delisted from AIM back in March and moved to the ISDX Growth Market, holds the remaining 10% stake in Horse Hill Developments.
A planning application has been submitted to Surrey County Council to seek permission to carry out test work on the Horse Hill-1 well for up to one year and to drill two new wells on the acreage.
UK Oil & Gas shares were trading flat at 1.38 pence per share on Friday.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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