Echo Energy Regulatory News (ECHO)

12 Dec 2005 08:37

Independent Resources PLC12 December 2005 12 December 2005 Independent Resources plc ("Independent Resources" or the "Company") Admission to AIM Independent Resources plc announces today that its ordinary shares have beenadmitted to trading on AIM. Independent Resources' strategy is to integrate upstream oil and gas projects inthe Mediterranean region with gas storage facilities that can store gasgenerated from its own gas producing assets and on behalf of other parties. The Company's projects include an underground gas storage concession at Rivarain northern Italy, exclusive rights to the Fiume Bruna coal bed methane (CBM)permit in Tuscany, and a 40 per cent. interest in a permit to explore for oiland gas in the Ksar Hadada onshore area of Tunisia. The final awards of theRivara concession and the Fiume Bruna permit are subject to an environmentalimpact assessment. The Directors of Independent Resources have extensive technical and commercialexperience in the energy sector covering upstream oil and gas exploration andproduction, carbon dioxide sequestration, capital project development and energytrading activities. Approximately 33.4 million ordinary shares in the Company have been admitted toAIM. At the placing price of 60p per share, the Company is valued at just over£20 million. The Company's admission to AIM follows the successful completion of a placingand subscription at 60 pence per ordinary share to raise gross funds of £5.1million. The net proceeds from the Placing and the Subscription of approximately £4.3million and the existing cash resources of the Group will be principally used tofund the following: • approximately £3.3 million toward appraising Rivara'sexpected underground gas storage potential, the productivity of the Sidi Toui-3well in the Ksar Hadada area and Fiume Bruna's CBM potential; and • approximately £1.0 million to fund the ongoing workingcapital requirements of the Group. Additional funds will be required, in due course, to complete all the appraisalactivities and to develop those identified opportunities which show potentialfor commercial development. Grayson Nash, Executive Chairman of Independent Resources, said: "Our arrival onAIM will enable us to progress our plans to become a significant player in thestorage, supply and production of hydrocarbons within the Mediterranean region. We have a highly integrated strategy and a management team with the technicaland commercial skills to create value from our promising opportunities." Deloitte Corporate Finance is acting as nominated adviser and Hichens, Harrison& Co. plc as broker to Independent Resources. Copies of the admission document will be available to the public free of chargeduring normal business hours on any weekday from the offices of Hichens Harrisonat Bell Court House, 11 Blomfield Street, London EC2M 1LB and shall remainavailable for at least one month after Admission. For further information contact: Independent Resources Ian Foster (First City PR) 020 7436 7486Grayson Nash 00 39 02 3655 960Stephen Staley 07771 838 753 Deloitte Corporate Finance Jonathan Hinton 020 7936 3000Feilim McCole Hichens Harrison Christian Dennis 020 7382 4450 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange