Last checked at 24 Sep 2014 07:00
AIM: NTOG
24 September 2014
Nostra Terra Oil and Gas Company plc
("Nostra Terra" or the "Company")
£1.75 million Placing to advance White Buffalo and portfolio
Nostra Terra, the AIM quoted oil and gas exploration and production company with a growing portfolio of assets in the USA, is pleased to announce that Hume Capital Securities plc ("Hume") as sole broker has raised £1,750,000 before expenses through an oversubscribed placing of 583,366,666 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company ("Placing Shares") with new and existing investors at 0.3 pence per share (the "Placing"). The funds raised will enable Nostra Terra to invest in further acquisitions and develop its existing assets, including the recently acquired White Buffalo Prospect.
White Buffalo Prospect
Following its acquisition of the White Buffalo Prospect, announced on 3 September 2014, Nostra Terra now holds a 100% WI (80% net revenue interest) in the assets located in the Big Horn Basin, Wyoming USA. The Directors are excited about Nostra Terra's entry to the Big Horn Basin, which is a prolific oil and gas basin with large established producers including Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN), and SM Energy (NYSE:SM), among others. Recent industry activity in the immediate vicinity helps validate the significant oil and gas potential of the region, and Nostra Terra's newly acquired assets.
The White Buffalo Prospect currently covers approximately 6,100 net mineral acres (over 12,000 gross acres) and is operated by Nostra Terra. With this acquisition, Nostra Terra has become the operator of significant assets and will have much greater control of its costs and timelines.
The Company is currently seeking to acquire additional leases in and around the area to enhance it's position further while simultaneously moving forward to permit multiple drilling locations in anticipation of drilling its initial test well.
Big Horn Basin Background
The Cottonwood Creek Field is the largest producing field in the Big Horn Basin, having produced 60 million barrels of oil and 67 billion cubic feet of gas. The primary objective for Nostra Terra in the White Buffalo Prospect, which is close the Cottonwood Creek, is the Phosphoria Formation.
The containment of oil and gas in the Phosphoria at Cottonwood Creek is due to changes within the rocks that limit porosity and permeability. This is called stratigraphic trapping and it has always been more difficult to identify and find than structurally trapped fields. The key to producing hydrocarbons from these traps is that naturally occurring traps had to be located in order for the field to be prospective. The development and application of horizontal drilling and completions over the last ten years has completely changed what is considered prospective and natural occurrence is no longer a limitation.
According to an independent review by Haas Petroleum Engineering Services, Inc. the total recoverable potential from the Phosphoria formation, from the Company's current leasehold of 6,100 acres, is up to 13 million barrels of oil.
Details of the Placing
The Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued ordinary share capital of the Company. Application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and trading is expected to commence on 30 September 2014.
Following the Placing, the issued share capital of the Company will increase to 3,359,578,276 ordinary shares. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules (as applied to the Company by AIM Rule 17).
Matt Lofgran, Chief Executive Officer of Nostra Terra, said:
"We're very excited about our recent acquisition of the White Buffalo Prospect where we own a 100% working interest. The acquisition fits all the criteria we were looking for, including; being in an existing prolific basin, in a conventional (oil-prone) reservoir where the application of modern technologies can have a large impact, being the operator and owning a substantial working interest. We are keen to expand our presence further in the basin and this Placing better positions us for that while also allowing us to grow other areas of our portfolio."
The technical information within this announcement has been reviewed by Alden McCall, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, a Certified Petroleum Geologist and a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
For further information, visit www.ntog.co.uk or contact:
Nostra Terra Oil and Gas Company plc
Matt Lofgran, CEO
mlofgran@ntog.co.uk Telephone: +1 480 993 8933
Northland Capital Partners Ltd
(Nominated Adviser)
Matthew Johnson / Lauren Kettle Telephone: +44 (0)20 7382 1100
Hume Capital Securities plc
(Broker)
Jon Belliss / Abigail Wayne Telephone: +44 (0)20 3693 1470
Lothbury Financial Services Limited
Gary Middleton / Michael Padley Telephone: +44 (0)20 3440 7620