Member Info for ocelot

We have made three hires since this loan facility was announced at the end of Q3 ... most recently, a Lead Operator in late March...

You simply wouldn't do this if you thought there was any serious problem in finalising the debt facility.

Don't consider them to be misguided, but have no reason to believe they know something either, apart from ...

the overall impression given by the recent answers to Investor Questions.

HH is producing oil.

Prospective operating margin in Turkey was ($40-$15=) $25 back in July at the time of the 1st Turkey RNS.

With Brent at, say, $68 it is ($68-$15=) $53, 112% more.

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A reminder of SS's statement in the Annual Accounts RNS of 16/04:

... the forecast reduction in water handling costs via the conversion of HH-2z into a water injector means that, going forwards, Horse Hill production is forecast to be profitable. The planned HH-3 and HH-4 infill wells are also designed to boost production as we move forward in developing our asset...

It is now more than 7 months since the last placing (of £2.2m on 02/10/20).

I don't think anyone at the time foresaw we would arrive in May without a follow-up placing, I certainly didn't.

It is clear: net cash outflow at HH has come down very sharply, cash management is tight.

As you've probably understood by now, I consider placings to be the most appropriate means of raising equity for the company at the present time.

elir71,

An open offer is not a rights offer, a rights offer involves higher costs and is, therefore, more appropriate for larger fundraises by bigger companies.

There are no magical solutions to equity raises.

An open offer enables all shareholders to participate, should they wish to do so. But it also takes a certain time. The take-up will be low if the share price fails to hold up during that time. So the discount on an open offer is likely to be higher than on a placing, which can be carried out immediately.

elir71,

They conducted an open offer, not a rights issue.

Not a plug for WH Smith, post the article because there are similarities with SSPG in terms of its exposure to the travel market:

Peel Hunt: WH Smith is ‘undervalued’

Peel Hunt is not that interested in interim numbers from WH Smith (SMWH) but the broker is excited by the outlook and says the post-lockdown restart of travel will boost the undervalued newsagent.

Analyst Jonathan Pritchard retained his ‘buy’ recommendation and increased his target price from £20.00 to £25.00 on the stock, which closed down 0.3%, or 5p, at £18.10 on Friday.

He said interim numbers were ‘of limited interest but the outlook is very exciting’ as the newsagent embarks on a major store opening programme. The company is planning 100 new stores, two thirds of which will be in the US.

‘It is clear that WH Smith sees the prospects for its travel business in a much more rosy light than its competitors do,’ said Pritchard.

‘Short-term fluctuations are out of its hands but long-term, this is a strong business that is getting stronger. The shares are undervalued, as WH Smith continues to take global market share and grows earnings beyond previous group highs.’

Pritchard added that WH Smith will continue to ‘get stronger and is a must for growth funds’.

elir71,

I've made the points I thought needed making, I know nothing about QFI and XSG and will leave it there.

SSPG raised £475m recently via a rights issue. The whole process took about a month.

The prospectus was a weighty document, 98.05% of the rights were subscribed and the rump placed in the market immediately.

But SSPG is a mid-cap with good institutional participation in its share capital.

elir71,

A rights issue costs more for shareholders and costs the time of management.

So it's a question of how much the company seeks to raise (in order for the rights issue to make economic sense) and the depth of management and supporting staff.

Compare that, also, to SS's statement in the Annual Accounts RNS of 16/04:

... the forecast reduction in water handling costs via the conversion of HH-2z into a water injector means that, going forwards, Horse Hill production is forecast to be profitable. The planned HH-3 and HH-4 infill wells are also designed to boost production as we move forward in developing our asset.

Compare that, also, the SS's statement in the Annual Accounts RNS of 16/04:

... the forecast reduction in water handling costs via the conversion of HH-2z into a water injector means that, going forwards, Horse Hill production is forecast to be profitable. The planned HH-3 and HH-4 infill wells are also designed to boost production as we move forward in developing our asset.

Next appraisal/production well
Resan-6 to be drilled after
completion of Basur-3. (presentation of March 2021)

Time will tell and, indeed, the spud of Basur-3 may not be far off.

I was correcting the statement cited by yourself which was wrong: "Only if we can attract a multi Bn euro cap (sic) French investor for 3 weeks................."

There's a question of costs and time, a rights issue costs more than a placing and is a lengthier process.

The French investor was SCDM, the Bouygues family's private investment vehicle, which, being private, by definition had no market cap.

Penguins wrote: "Not sure that a second well will happen at Resan / Basur if Basur-3 is a failure".

But what if the 1st well is a success?

With 4 more wells to follow, that could really give a boost to the share price.