24th Aug 2026 11:36
(Alliance News) - Rockhopper Exploration PLC on Monday said its shares had been suspended from trading, to allow the company to carry out an equity capital raise.
The Salisbury, England-based oil and gas firm with key interests in the North Falkland Basin "is actively considering" a placing of shares to new investors and open offer to existing investors, the proceeds of which will fund the purchase of a new floating, production storage & offloading vessel.
Rockhopper had disclosed back in May that Navitas Petroleum LP, the operator of the Sea Lion project, was looking to speed up the project's development beyond phase one of the northern development area which Rockhopper noted is still on track for first oil in the first quarter of 2028.
With a view to developing resources in the central development area of the Sea Lion field, Navitas signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire an extra FPSO, predicting that it could lift Sea Lion's production capacity by 125,000 barrels of oil per day, of which 43,750 barrels a day would be net to Rockhopper.
As of Monday, Navitas has exercised an option through a subsidiary to buy the extra FPSO, which is called OSX-1, for USD125 million, and it expects to complete the purchase within the next month.
Chief Executive of Rockhopper Samuel Moody commented: "Today's update from Navitas reflects its continued commitment to developing and accelerating Sea Lion, and the consequential significant enhancement of the project's value. We are working alongside Navitas to ascertain the optimal structure for Sea Lion's participation in OSX-1 and are planning a capital raising to secure the required financing. We have already received positive indications of support for this financing and we look forward to updating the market in due course as appropriate."
Rockhopper and Navitas are working out the details of how the new asset will be incorporated into their existing joint venture agreements for Sea Lion.
Navitas will be the FPSO's sole owner through a special purpose vehicle, responsible for all costs, until Rockhopper funds its share. The latter said it will require fresh equity to take up 35% pro-rata ownership and meet other costs incurred before a final investment decision.
Rockhopper flagged "strong indications of interest" from potential funders, and as a result, has requested that its shares be temporarily suspending from trading as it enters a capital access window.
Full terms of the planned placing and open offer are yet to be confirmed.
As far as the CDA work programme is concerned, drilling will cover 38 wells in total, split between two phases. Navitas plans to submit a development plan for the programme to the Falkland Islands government and make its final investment decision in the first half of 2028, eyeing first production from CDA by the end of 2030.
An updated reserves and resources report from Navitas, reflecting the CDA plans, estimates a 39% increase to discounted cash flow attributable to Navitas, compared with the report released in February.
Rockhopper plans to release its own updated report, reflecting its 35% ownership stake, which it expects to show a similar estimated increase in NPV10 from the current estimate of USD2.2 billion. NPV10 refers to future net revenue discounted at a 10% annual rate.
The company added that other development work is progressing, with another FPSO, Aoka Mizu, has been disconnected from the field it previously served and on route to a shipyard in Southeast Asia. Its arrival is expected early next month.
Before the suspension came into effect, Rockhopper shares had closed at 73.63 pence each, for a market capitalisation of GBP634.8 million, on Friday in London.
In June, Rockhopper reported that it had not yet received Italian regulatory approval for the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Rockhopper Civita Ltd, to Zodiac Energy Ltd.
Rockhopper announced the disposal in October 2024 as part of its planned exit from Italy. Rockhopper Civita holds all of the company's Italian assets and liabilities, excluding the Ombrina Mare arbitration.
The extended long-stop date of June 30 has passed, giving either Rockhopper or Zodiac the option to withdraw, but Rockhopper said the share purchase agreement remains "in full force and effect".
By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter
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