28 Sep 2017 13:14
Regency Mines PLC
("Regency" or the "Company")
Curzon Energy - Intention to List on London Stock Exchange
28 September 2017
Regency Mines, Plc, the natural resource exploration and development company with interests in oil, metallurgical coal and base metals announces an update to its investment in Curzon Energy Plc ("Curzon") as announced on 26 May 2016. Curzon has announced its intention to seek admission of its shares to the Standard Listing segment of the Official List, to trade on London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities and to raise gross proceeds of £2.3 million.
Highlights
o Curzon Energy is pursuing a targeted acquisition strategy of oil and gas assets
o Curzon Energy's first acquisition is 100% of Coos Bay Energy LLC, owner and operator of c. 45,370 acres of coalbed methane ("CBM") leases, ("Coos Bay CBM project") targeting first gas by the end of 2017
o 2C Contingent Resources of 273.5BCF of CBM gas with over 400 potential well locations in total identified as per independent CPR
o All necessary permits in place to commence operations
o Proceeds used to connect 5 existing wells to sales line and to drill 2 new wells (Phase I) to deliver first gas and up to $1m of annual operating cashflow within 6 months of listing and NAV of over $30m by end of year 1
o Average cost for a new well is $350k with robust well economics even in low gas price scenario as per CPR
o Results of Phase I proof of concept will be used to optimize a future decision to progress to Phase II of the field development, which includes drilling of up to 58 wells that could deliver between $5m and $10m of annual operating cashflow. Phase III to follow with up to 400 potential well locations and NAV potential in excess of $200m
o Major gas pipeline (Coos Country Pipeline) passes through property. Letter of Intent has been signed with Northwest Natural, operator of the pipeline, for the purchase of Coos Bay's CBM gas at premium to Henry Hub Index. Average gas price payed by Northwest Natural over the last 5 years was $5.04/mcf, approximately $2/mcf higher than Henry Hub Index
o Curzon Energy has "first-mover" advantage in the State of Oregon as the first CBM development company
Additional details regarding the IPO and the operations of Curzon can be found on their website: www.curzonenergy.com.
Regency subscribed £175,000 for shares in Curzon in a private pre-IPO funding round in 2016 and is following that investment with a further £400,000 at the IPO. As part of Curzon's listing, Regency also received additional Curzon shares as payment of a 7% fee on its IPO subscription. Post IPO and including fee shares Regency will own 6,467,500 shares resulting in a 8.28% stake in Curzon.
Regency Director Scott Kaintz comments: "With rapidly expanding LNG export capacity and an ongoing reliance on natural gas to power the US economy, Curzon is well positioned to take advantage of both current market conditions and the ongoing transition to gas as the preferred fossil fuel in the US energy mix.
With several coal bed methane producers such as Consol Energy and Carbon Creek Energy operating in the US, we will have direct comparators that support Curzon's value projections and development pathway. As such, the Regency Board felt this was an investment opportunity with significant short and longer-term upside value generation potential.
Curzon offers Regency a low cost of entry, defined value triggers, a clear roadmap and the potential for significant valuation re-rating. Curzon also brings with it a committed group of investors and technical experts with a five-year strategic development plan.
Regency has already participated in the pre-IPO and has now secured over an 8% stake post-IPO in what should become a significant cash generative business in the Pacific Northwest; a region with delivered gas prices from the existing pipeline system substantially higher than national averages.
Curzon benefits from the near $20m that was spent on the field under previous ownership, and we are keen to see Curzon bring these attractive assets into production. We look forward to providing more announcements on Curzon's progress over the coming months."
For further information contact:
Andrew Bell 0207 747 9960 Chairman Regency Mines Plc
Scott Kaintz 0207 747 9960 Executive Director Regency Mines Plc
Roland Cornish/Rosalind Hill Abrahams 0207 628 3396 NOMAD Beaumont Cornish Limited
Neil Badger 0129 351 7744 Broker Dowgate Capital Stockbrokers Ltd.