1 Jun 2015 07:00
1 June 2015
Fastnet Oil & Gas plc
("Fastnet" or the "Company")
Corporate Update
Fastnet (AIM: FAST, ESM: FOI), the UK and Irish listed E&P company focused on near-term exploration and appraisal acreage in Morocco and the Celtic Sea, provides the following corporate update.
Highlights:
Significant reduction in G&A, with overhead down over 40% since the end of 2014, with further reductions expected.Cash on the balance sheet of USD$16.2 million at 31 May 2015.The Company continues to evaluate M&A opportunities capable of delivering significant shareholder value.Discussions have commenced with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources following the expiration of licensing options on 31 May 2015 of 12/2 ("Molly Malone") and 12/3 ("Mizzen").Applications have been submitted for new licensing options over high-graded portions of the previous Mizzen and Molly license areas.
Corporate
Fastnet provides the following update on the Molly Malone and Mizzen licensing options in the Celtic Sea (together the "Options"). In the absence of Fastnet having committed to certain additional obligations including drilling, the Options expired on 31 May 2015.
Fastnet has today submitted applications for new licensing options over portions of the original licensing option areas. The new licensing option areas were high-graded based on the technical evaluation carried out since the original licensing options were first awarded. The Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will consider applications received in respect of these areas in the coming months and the Company will provide an update on this process when more information is available.
Fastnet remains excited by the quality of its Celtic Sea portfolio and will continue to technically evaluate and high-grade its acreage in the Celtic Sea. Numerous prospects and leads have been extensively mapped over the last 6 months based on newly acquired and reprocessed seismic data throughout the currently held option areas. The Company is in the process of compiling new resource estimates for the portfolio of prospects and leads.
The Company also continues to evaluate M&A opportunities in the current market environment which will deliver significant shareholder value while focussing on developing its Celtic Sea portfolio.
Financial
The Company has undergone a comprehensive review of general and administration costs and has reduced overheads by over 40% since December 2014 to $1.9m a year. Further corporate and overhead costs reductions are ongoing.
The Company's cash balance at 31 May 2015 was $16.2 million.
Carol Law, CEO of Fastnet, commented:
"We have been conducting detailed due diligence on a number of merger and acquisition opportunities in the sector, but as of yet have not identified one which would be accretive to shareholders and therefore be a suitable use of our available cash. We have taken steps to preserve our cash through reducing ongoing costs and have nearly halved our G&A expenses since the end of 2014. In the immediate future we will continue to scrutinize costs to further reduce overhead and evaluate targeted merger and acquisition opportunities aimed at enhancing value for our shareholders."
For further information please contact:
Fastnet Oil & Gas plc | +353 (1) 644 0007 |
Carol Law, Chief Executive Officer |
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Cathal Friel, Non-Executive Chairman |
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Shore Capital | +44 (0) 20 7408 4090 |
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Bidhi Bhoma, Edward Mansfield |
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Jerry Keen |
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Davy | +353 (1) 679 6363 |
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