Pantheon Resources plc Regulatory News (PANR)

5 Apr 2006 08:00

Pantheon Resources PLC05 April 2006 Not for publication, distribution or release in the US, Canada, Japan or Australia PANTHEON RESOURCES PLC ("Pantheon" or "the Company") Admission to the Alternative Investment Market ("AIM") Pricing & Allocation Pantheon Resources plc, today announces its proposed admission to AIM ("Admission") and a successful Placing by Oriel Securities ("Placing"). Placing and Admission • The Company has raised approximately £10.0 million through a placingof 10,000,000 shares at 100 pence per share. Existing Shareholders have not soldshares in the Placing. • On Admission, the Company will have a market capitalisation ofapproximately £15.5 million. • Oriel Securities Limited, nominated adviser and broker to Pantheon,and the Company have placed all of these shares with institutional and otherinvestors. • The Company intends to use the £9.4m net proceeds from the Placing tofinance its initial business strategy which is to drill a minimum of four wellsin certain under-explored deep sections under and around Padre Island, Texas. • The Directors also believe that Admission will help Pantheon attractand retain high quality staff and raise the status and market profile of theCompany. • Admission and commencement of dealings on AIM are expected to takeplace on 5 April. Background and strategy • Pantheon Resources plc was formed in 2005 to be an independent UKbased oil and gas exploration company focused on hydrocarbon producing basins inthe Gulf of Mexico ("GoM") off the coast of the south of Texas. Specifically,its initial focus is intended to be on the deep geological plays under andaround Padre Island. • In building its exploration portfolio in this region, Pantheon intendsto participate initially in six exploration prospects (the "Farmout Prospects").This is pursuant to a Farmout Agreement with the lessees that currently own theleasehold interests over approximately 10,715 hectares (the "Padre IslandProject Area" or "PI Project Area"). These Farmout Prospects are ready to drillfrom a geological and geophysical perspective. Importantly, a drilling rigcontract has been secured for 12 months with options to extend. The Directorsbelieve that a number of the Farmout Prospects located under or around PadreIsland may contain commercial quantities of oil and gas. Abundant infrastructurewith surplus capacity is located nearby. The Directors believe that thesefactors should allow new discoveries to come online quickly in the event ofsuccessful drilling. • Pantheon's strategy is to focus initially on hydrocarbon explorationand production onshore or near shore in the GoM. Such areas offer lower drillingand development costs than offshore while lead times to commercial productionare shorter. Being a small exploration company with limited capital, the boardof Pantheon believes these factors should enhance returns to investors and limitfuture equity dilution in the event of successful exploration. • The Directors believe that drilling success should provide Pantheonwith a strong foundation upon which to build a focused exploration andproduction company. Pantheon intends to manage carefully its risk and enhancethe probability of success through holding small working interests ranging from10-25 per cent. and partner with experienced operators in the GoM region. TheDirectors believe that small working interests should also enable Pantheon tospread its risk across more prospects, while managing the probability of successthrough improving the statistical risk profile. The Board of Pantheon believesthat any drilling success should have a positive impact on the Company'svaluation as the current prospects to be drilled are large in relation toPantheon's size. Pantheon, at this early stage of its corporate development, hasno intention of being an operator. It intends to keep its corporate overheadcosts as low as possible by having very few full time staff. This should ensureboth that capital is injected directly into the PI Project Area and thatleverage to shareholders is maximised in the event of drilling success. Theefficient allocation of limited capital is of paramount concern to the board ofPantheon. Placing Statistics: Placing Price 100p Number of Placing Shares to be issued 10,000,000 Number of Ordinary Shares in issue immediately following Admission 15,552,329 Percentage of the Company's enlarged issued ordinary share capital being placed 64.3% Estimated net proceeds of the Placing (1) £9.4m Market capitalisation immediately following Admission at the Placing Price £15.5m Note: (1) Net proceeds are stated after the deduction of estimated expenses of approximately £0.6 million. For further information, please contact: Pantheon Resources plc 30 Farringdon St,Sue Graham, Chairman London, EC4A 4HJ.Justin Hondris, Non-executive Director Oriel Securities Limited 020 7710 7600Scott Richardson Brown Oriel Securities Limited, which is regulated in the United Kingdom by theFinancial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for Pantheon Resources plcand no-one else in the connection with the Placing and Admission and will not beresponsible to any person other than Pantheon Resources plc for providing theprotections afforded to clients of Oriel Securities Limited or for providingadvice in relation to the transactions and arrangements detailed in thisannouncement. Oriel Securities Limited is not making any representation orwarranty, express or implied, as to the contents of this announcement. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange