Each one in plain English, with the numbers worked through for a shareholder.
13 Dec 2006capital raising announcement▲ GoodMajor
The entitlement issue closed with acceptances and shortfall applications raising $4.56m before costs at 27 cents, short of the $7.6m maximum. Tolhurst Noall is mandated to place the remaining 11.48m shares, worth $3.10m, resolving the open entitlement thread.
What it means for a shareholder
11.5m new shares at about A$0.3972 to raise about A$4.6m. That's 29% dilution: every existing holder's slice gets 29% smaller. If you held A$1,000 of shares (2,518 at the issue price), your slice goes from 0.00887% to 0.00632% of the company. To keep it you'd need 1,019 more shares - about A$405 at the issue price.
A rig component failed and took 5 days to replace, but drilling has resumed, with total depth of 6,600 ft now expected by Christmas. A Routt County permit received 6 December means Peltier 11-12 at Bear River will follow immediately.
Coal View 31-4 was drilling at 2,758 ft, with open fractures having slowed the upper hole through mud losses, though rates improved with depth. The first Niobrara reservoir is now expected around 5,200 ft, with total depth of 6,600 ft about two weeks away.
Following AGM approval, 3,500,000 unlisted incentive options were issued to directors at nil price under the employee option plan. They are exercisable at 45 cents and expire 31 December 2009. Shares on issue are 71,428,240.
Results of the AGM proxy voting: all ten resolutions passed on a show of hands, including Drobnak's election, Schneider's re-election, the directors' option grants, the remuneration report and ratification of a share issue. Some option grants drew 2.6m votes against.
Chairman's address and presentation for the 29 November AGM. It restates the year's project achievements, the five-month Tow Creek delay, and the 2-for-5 entitlement issue at 27 cents to raise up to $7.6m, which it urges shareholders to support. No new results.
Coal View 31-4 was drilling at 1,050 ft. Fracture zones caused mud losses and once a stuck drill string, so some time was lost. Next casing is planned near 4,900 ft, with the first Niobrara reservoir expected around 5,200 ft.
Strike Oil's cover note forwarding Comet Ridge's announcement that Coal View 31-4 drilling has begun. Restates Strike's 37.5% Tow Creek and 33.75% Bear River interests. Nothing new.
Coal View 31-4 was spudded at 3:30 pm on 16 November, after delays from a winter storm. It is the first well of the Tow Creek program, expected to take about 30 days to drill and 5-10 to complete. Weekly Friday updates are promised.
Rig 16 is on location at Coal View 31-4 and rigging up, but spud slipped to early next week because of trucking shortages, soft ground and a steep access climb. The 6,600 ft well targets 200,000-500,000 barrels.
Strike Oil's cover note forwarding Comet Ridge's 10 November update that the rig is on location for the first Tow Creek well. Restates Strike's interests and 8.9% Comet Ridge holding. Nothing new.
10 Nov 2006capital raising announcement● NeutralMajor
Comet Ridge announced a 2-for-5 non-renounceable entitlement issue at 27 cents, raising about $7.6m if fully subscribed (28.29m shares). Each two shares issued carry one free 40-cent option expiring 29 June 2007, and funds go to Tow Creek, Bear River, Florence, Washington, Grays Harbor and Mahalo work.
What it means for a shareholder
28.3m new shares at about A$0.2686 to raise about A$7.6m. Shares on issue before the raise aren't in the record, so the dilution can't be worked out.
The expiry date of unlisted options was corrected from 1 December 2006 to 29 March 2007, because the original prospectus was wrong. The corrected date follows the third anniversary of the ASX admission approval letter, as approved by shareholders.
Rig 16 is being moved to Coal View 31-4, with drilling expected to start by end of week and take about 35 days. It is the first of three 'proof of concept' wells, targeting 200,000-500,000 barrels at an estimated $1.8m cost.
2 Nov 2006asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
St Helens acquired a 40% interest in a new lease of 25,664 acres over the Vader prospect in southern Washington. Total Vader/Cedar Creek acreage now exceeds 156,000 acres, with drilling planned for late 2006 to early 2007 by operator Cascadia.
Strike Oil's cover note forwarding Comet Ridge's Florence release, confirming Strike's election to participate with a 26% interest after the earning phase. Nothing new beyond the Comet Ridge announcement.
1 Nov 2006farm in farm out completion● NeutralMajor
Strike Oil and AJ Lucas both took up their full options in Florence, so Comet Ridge keeps a 26% interest and stays operator, down from the 78% bought on 3 October. 3D seismic is expected to start in December, with the first well required by 1 August 2007.
31 Oct 2006asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
Comet Ridge won 51 Washington State leases covering 18,159 acres at an average US$6 per acre, largely next to its 420,000-acre Grays Harbor option. It says a five-well, 25 BCF discovery would be worth nearly US$50m (internal estimate); new seismic is planned early 2007.
Cash flow report for the September 2006 quarter: cash fell to A$2.734m from A$4.195m, after A$1.436m of operating and investing outflow. No debt, and A$2.0m of exploration spend is forecast for the next quarter. Repeats the quarterly figures already reported.
Cyclone Drilling Rig 16 is contracted for a three-well Tow Creek/Bear River program, with the first well, Coal View 31-4, to spud by 10 November. It resolves the rig search, with Peltier 11-12 and Coal View 18-14 (permit-dependent) to follow. Cost is about $1.8m per well.
Strike Oil's cover note forwarding Comet Ridge's 30 October rig contract announcement, with the first well due to spud by 10 November. Restates Strike's 37.5% Tow Creek and 33.75% Bear River interests and its 8.9% Comet Ridge holding.
September quarter report: about A$2.73m cash left, down from about $3.2m cited earlier in September. US$1.8m invested in US projects, and Mahalo 2 was called a disappointment though Comet Ridge now holds 40%. Florence closed, over 550,000 US acres held, and Cedar Creek permitting is imminent.
A spudder rig drilled the surface hole for Coal View 31-4 on 28 September and set casing at 60 feet. The well now awaits a full-size rig, with three contractors indicating availability within a month. Target is 200,000-400,000 barrels at 6,600 ft.
Gary Drobnack, a recently retired Weyerhaeuser executive based in Seattle, joins the board from 3 October 2006 as a director. His forestry experience is relevant to Comet Ridge's more than 550,000 acres of leases over Pacific Northwest timberlands.
3 Oct 2006asset acquisition disposition▲ GoodMajor
Comet Ridge USA acquires a 78% interest and operatorship of 4,678 acres of the historic Florence oil field, Colorado, for about US$650,000 covering cash, 3D seismic and one ~4,000 ft well. Drilling must start by 1 August 2007. The deal is to be offered to Strike Oil and AJ Lucas.
