Chariot Oil & Gas plans equity fundraising to deliver another well

The group said it is in advanced stages of completing a new equity fundraising to allow it to deliver a second well in the near term comprising the drilling of Prospect S in Namibia, in addition to the carried drilling of the RD-1 well in Morocco by Eni.

Chariot intends to raise around $15m by way of a placing and an additional €5m by way of an open offer. The placing is expected to be carried out at 13p per share and further details will be announced in due course.

Chief executive officer Larry Bottomley said: "This fundraise will represent another major step forward for Chariot, and one which allows the Company to participate in two giant-scale wells in this calendar year whilst capturing the bottom of the cost cycle for drilling. Success in either well would be transformational, and would also de-risk significant additional portfolio in the relevant licence. This comes after continued investment throughout the portfolio during the industry downturn which has allowed Chariot to build a drilling and prospect inventory of giant-scale opportunities.

"We will continue to progress operations in Namibia to drill Prospect S in H2 this year to benefit from synergies with third-party operations, and, in combination with our other partners, we continue to support Eni in their operations on the RD-1 well in Morocco which is scheduled to spud in March 2018."

At 1100 GMT, the shares were down 26% to 14.96p.