Empyrean Energy cuts losses as progress in Asia continues

Oil and gas development company Empyrean Energy told investors on Tuesday that it had cut losses and made continued progress on its portfolio of projects during the six months ended 30 September - primarily in China and Indonesia.

Empyrean's interim gross loss narrowed 7.84% to $47,000 in the half as impairments were cut back, while the firm's operating loss was cut 5.58% to $491,000.

However, a 17.8% boost in finance income to $1.34m helped the group record a total comprehensive profit for the year of $888,000 - a 40.95% year-on-year increase.

The AIM-listed group also highlighted that a comprehensive 3D seismic analysis confirmed the presence of well-defined "gas clouds" over its Jade and Topaz prospects, further mitigating exploration risk.

Post-period end, the operator of Empyrean's Indonesian operations, Conrad Petroleum, conducted a successful appraisal of the Mako gas discovery, confirming the presence of an extensive single gas accumulation.

Separately, Empyrean revealed it had entered into a £10m equity placement facility with Long State Investment, a Hong Kong-based energy and resource focused investment company.

As of 0945 GMT, Empyrean shares were down 2.44% at 8.40p.