Companies briefs

Ivanhoe Australia has raised $88 million after completing the institutional component of a $180 million share issue.

• Updated Sep 20, 2011
• Luke Forrestal

• Street Talk

New Seaclem-1 a costly hole

The failure of the New Seaclem-1 well off NSW has wiped more than $260 million off the share prices of its partners.

• Updated Jan 4, 2011
• Paul Garvey

• Gas

Advent report may be wide of the mark

Reports of an impending $1 billion Indian investment in a private company hunting for oil off Sydney may be a wee bit fanciful.

• Nov 3, 2010
• Nabila Ahmed and Sarah Thompson

Ban NSW offshore gas drilling - Greens

Greens Senate candidate Lee Rhiannon has called on the federal government to reject an application for exploratory gas drilling off the NSW coast, insisting it will endanger the marine environment.

• Updated Aug 31, 2010

MEC losses narrow

MEC Resources lost $2.91 million in the year to June 30 compared with $3.36 million in financial year 2009.

• Aug 25, 2010

Survey go-ahead

Shares in minerals explorer investment company MEC Resources have surged after one of its investee companies won government approvals that have helped move it a step closer to exploring a cornerstone asset. MEC's shares are 25 per cent higher over th...

• Oct 27, 2009
• David Ciampa

MEC Resources (MEC)

Shares in minerals explorer investment company MEC Resources have surged after one of its investee companies won government approvals that have helped move it a step closer to exploring a cornerstone asset

• Oct 26, 2009
• David Ciampa

Energy sector leads the way up

The resources sector enjoyed a solid session of gains paced by advances in heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. Standout performers came from the energy sector, with many investors continuing to be attracted to those stocks with coal seam gas assets. Arrow Energy (AOE) The coal seam gas (CSG) group struck an alliance with Royal Dutch Shell in which the European energy supermajor will invest $776 million in the company's upstream and foreign assets. Shell will invest $644 million to acquire a 30 per cent share of Arrow's upstream business, including a $435 million upfront payment. The funds will be used to fund the development of the company's liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. Shell will also spend $132 million to acquire a 10 per cent stake in Arrow's portfolio of overseas assets. This will allow Arrow to fund its exploration and appraisal program in Asia. The deal is the latest in the red-hot CSG industry. It comes after Santos last week revealed a $US2.5 billion ($2.6 billion) deal with Malaysia's Petronas. Origin Energy rejected a $13.6 billion offer from BG Group after lifting its estimated CSG reserves and in light of the higher value placed on these assets by the Santos deal. Arrow Energy has been among the sharemarket's top performers over the past year with a gain of 48 per cent compared to an 11 per cent decline in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index. Arrow Energy shares jumped 46¢ to a record $3.79 on Monday. Beach Petroleum (BPT) The Cooper Basin oil and gas producer joined the growing list of small and mid-cap energy companies exploiting their strong share price to raise additional funds. The $1.5 billion company placed itself in a trading halt on Monday as its revealed plans to raise at least $190 million. The funds will be used to pay for three acquired projects in Egypt that have the potential to add 8 million barrels to the company's 2P (proven and probable) reserves. Beach Petroleum is acquiring interests in the offshore North Shadwan and South East July concessions and the onshore North Qarun concession. These interests are non-operated and range between 20 per cent and 25 per cent of the relevant concession. The total costs, including estimated development expenses, will be approximately $150 million. Beach is also offering shareholders the opportunity to subscribe for up to $5000 worth of shares through a non-underwritten share purchase plan. Also, all new and existing eligible shareholders will be entitled to participate in a 1 for 10 bonus options issue, with an exercise price of $2 a share and expiry of June 30, 2010. Beach joins other smaller energy plays like Nido Petroleum, Nexus Energy and Otto Energy that have recently raised capital. Beach Petroleum shares did not trade on Monday but jumped nearly 8 per cent on Friday. MEC Resources (MMR) The pooled development fund enjoyed a 103 per cent surge in its share price before being placed in a trading halt an hour after trading started on Monday. The mining and energy investor provided little detail in its request for a trading halt, just saying it would make an announcement to the market by Wednesday. MEC is seeking shareholder approval for a transaction that will allow it to remove the restriction imposed by its pooled development fund status. Shareholders will vote on the proposal on June 30. The multi-pronged transaction, if approved, will result in the company holding in excess of 80 per cent of unlisted Advent Energy's share capital. Advent Energy is viewed as a related party of the MEC due to the fact that David Breeze has a relevant interest in greater than 10 per cent of the issued capital of each of Advent Energy and MEC Resources. However, independent expert MGI Bridge Partners believes the proposed transaction is "not fair but reasonable" having regard to the interests of the non-associated shareholders of MEC Resources. It is considered not fair because the offer consideration is less than the assessed value. MGI values MEC shares at 7.7¢ before the transaction and 6.9¢ after the proposed transaction. MGI says the proposed transaction will give MEC control of Advent Energy as a special purpose vehicle which can raise funds, without the restrictions of the pooled development fund status. MEC Resources shares rose 6.6¢ to 13¢ on Monday. Bounty Oil Gas (BUY) The minnow's chief executive, Philip Kelso, has been playing up the stock's ASX code - BUY - in a recent investor presentation and it seems some have taken it to heart given that the stock hit its highest level since late 2005. Mr Kelso told investors at last week's Good Oil conference that Bounty was the "true value stock of 2008" as the company pursues drilling in Australia and Tanzania. He believes the company has "realistic potential" to lift its current reserves of one million barrels to 20 million barrels in 12 months, a move that could transform the company into a mid-tier oil and gas player. Bounty shares have been on a tear for the past month, having more than doubled from 3.7¢ at the end of April. The shares rose 2.6¢, or 40 per cent, to 9.1¢ on Monday. Iron Road (IRD) The soaring prices for iron ore stoked interest in the $5 million initial public offering that has closed heavily oversubscribed. The company, which will explore for iron ore in South Australia and Western Australia, sold 25 million shares at 20¢ each. Iron Road will use $2.4 million to explore the Warramboo iron ore project on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula. The company has also acquired a significant land holding in the highly prospective Windarling area, which is close to Portman's Windarling Mine in Western Australia. The stock is scheduled to start trading on June 10. Grange Resources (GRR) The iron ore hopeful has appointed Standard Chartered Bank as financial adviser to the $US1.4 billion Southdown magnetite and Kemaman pellet plant project. The bank will work with Grange Resources and its joint venture partner, Sojitz Resources and Technology, to assess the best possible financing opportunities. The company said the appointment of Standard Chartered Bank would complement ongoing negotiations with a number of significant international companies regarding participation in the project. Grange Resources shares rose 5¢ to $1.65 on Monday.

• Jun 2, 2008
• Robert Guy

• Market Wrap

Little appetite for resources small fry

Small resources companies were out of favour on the Australian Stock Exchange yesterday, with platinum explorer Plantina Resources and commodity-based MEC Resources both closing at a discount at the end of their first day as listed companies.

• May 30, 2006
• Richard Hemming