Buccaneer Energy, the international oil & gas exploration and production company with development and production assets in Texas, USA, is pleased to announce a successful fundraise supported by institutional investors, Directors and Management, existing shareholders and new investors.
The Company has raised £600,000 (before expenses), c.US$800,000, through a subscription and placing of 4,000,000,000 new ordinary shares (the "Fundraise Shares") at a price of 0.015p per share (the "Placing Price") (the "Fundraise").
Use of Proceeds
The proceeds of the fundraising will be used to fund the Company's share of the drilling of two development locations in the Fouke area. The Company's working interest is 32.5%, with well plans for September and December 2025. The Fouke area is an isolated fault block in the southwestern section of the Pine Mills field that was discovered in 2021 at original reservoir conditions. Wells in this area produced water free at the field allowable rate of 124 barrels of oil per day. It is anticipated that the next two development locations will produce at similar rates.
Gas Monetisation Strategy
The associated gas produced in the Fouke area has been increasing over time and with volumes provided by the two additional development wells the Company has been evaluating potential local solutions for reducing gas flaring and monetising the produced gas.
As part of its evaluation of the monetisation of gas production, Buccaneer has been considering options for utilising the gas for powering bitcoin mining which has become increasingly common in the onshore Texas basins since 2022. To aid with this evaluation and future implementation the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Appold, an award-winning independent blockchain and digital asset advisory firm, as the Company's strategic advisor regarding a potential future Bitcoin strategy (https://www.appold.com/).
Appold will act as advisor on the implementation of governance, custody, trading, and risk management frameworks as the Company seeks to evaluate partnering with a Bitcoin Mining operator in order to generate a potential return from its associated gas production.
The implementation of a successful strategy to monetise this gas is subject to a number of further steps including the drilling result from the new development wells. This includes entering into an agreement with a bitcoin miner on suitable terms and further assessment of potential sites for a future operation.
While some initial discussions with Bitcoin Mining operators have taken place, there can be no certainty that the Company will successfully partner with a Bitcoin Mining operator to generate a return from its gas production, the timeframe of such a partnership or the eventual return from such a partnership.
Corporate update
Buccaneer is pleased to announce the appointment of OAK Securities, a trading name of Merlin Partners LLP, as Joint Corporate Broker alongside the Company's existing broker SP Angel.
Paul Welch, Buccaneer Energy's Chief Executive Officer, said:
"I am pleased to announce that we have completed a £600,000 fundraise for the progression of our major operational program at the Fouke Area in East Texas. We have identified two additional development locations that are within the same reservoir section as the successful Fouke 1 and 2 wells. New interpretation of the 3D seismic, combined with the existing well performance, has demonstrated that the reservoir section continues to the North of the existing wells and has yet to be drained by the existing wells. This section of the reservoir has been producing at high rates over the last several years with increasing amounts of associated gas. This gas has restricted production in Fouke 2 and delayed the drilling of the remaining development wells. The gas volumes, however, were determined to be too small to develop a dedicated offtake pipeline but are sufficient to dedicate to a power project that can use the gas offtake to mine for Bitcoin, which is a preferred option to flaring the gas. This allows us to accelerate the development of these locations.
In closing, I would like to thank our new and existing shareholders for their support with this Fundraise. We have ambitious plans for this business, both organic and inorganic, and we look forward to sharing further updates with all our stakeholders in due course."
Application for Admission and Total Voting Rights
An application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the 4,000,000,000 Fundraise Shares and a further 400,000,000 ordinary shares issued to Oak Securities in respect of fees to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective on or around 21 August 2025.
260,000,000 warrants are to be issued to Oak Securities. The warrants exercise at the Placing Price and are exercisable at any time until two years following Closing of the Placing.
In accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, the Company confirms that on issue of the Fundraise and fee Shares and following Admission, the Company's enlarged issued ordinary share capital will comprise 11,349,346,617 Ordinary Shares.
The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in Treasury. Therefore, following Admission, the above figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations to determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company, under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
The Director's Subscriptions are related party transactions for the purposes of AIM Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies. The Director, independent of the Fundraise, being James Newman, considers, having consulted with SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, the Company's nominated adviser, that the terms of the Director's Subscription are fair and reasonable in so far as the Company's shareholders are concerned.
Premier Miton, a substantial shareholder in the Company, has subscribed for 732,800,000 Fundraise Shares in the Fundraise. The participation of Premier Miton in the Fundraise is also a related party transaction for the purpose of AIM Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies. The Director, independent of the Fundraise, being James Newman, considers, having consulted with SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, the Company's nominated adviser, that the terms of Premier Miton's participation are fair and reasonable in so far as the Company's shareholders are concerned.