TIDM88E
RNS Number : 1019Y
88 Energy Limited
02 May 2023
This announcement contains inside information
88 Energy Limited
AGM Voting Status and Letter to Shareholders
88 Energy Limited (ASX:88E, AIM:88E, OTC:EEENF) (88 Energy or
the Company) advises of the current status of proxy voting for its
upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on Thursday 11 May
2023.
As at 2 May 2023, the current tally of proxy votes received is
only 795 million shares, which represents less than 4% of the 88
Energy share register.
On the current proxy tally, Resolution 1 (Approval of
Remuneration Report) and Resolution 2 (Re--election of Ms Joanne
Kendrick as a Non-Executive Director) would both fail and
Resolution 6 (Conditional Spill Motion) would succeed. The
consequences if Resolution 1 fails and Resolution 6 succeeds is
that the Company will be required to call a Spill Meeting within 90
days with all Non-Executive Directors vacating their positions on
the 88 Energy Board and, if they choose to stand again, will be
considered for re-election at that Spill Meeting. The position of
the Managing Director will not be directly impacted by any Spill
Meeting.
The existing 88 Energy Board comprises four members, with three
having only been appointed since Q2 2021 (including the Managing
Director). Over the past two years, the new Board has moved to
reset the business and embark upon a markedly different strategy to
that under the previous 88 Energy team. This has delivered
significant positive change in the underlying fundamentals of 88
Energy including the capital allocation framework. For further
information please refer to the Letter to Shareholders below.
The conduct of a Spill Meeting, particularly if it results in a
significant change to the Board, has the potential to be highly
disruptive and impact on 88 Energy's ability to execute its
targeted medium-term work programs, including the flow testing of
Hickory-1. There is no guarantee that planned and communicated work
programs would be executed under a newly comprised Board. Existing
networks and relationships with key stakeholders are also likely to
be diminished as a result.
The Board believes that 88 Energy is poised for significant
potential success over the next 12 months. To not exercise your
right to vote as a shareholder leaves the direction of the Company
in the hands of a relatively small group of shareholders, which may
not be representative of the underlying majority view of all
shareholders.
The Board urges all shareholders to exercise their rights as a
shareholder and vote on the resolutions of the AGM. It is the
strong recommendation of the Board that shareholders vote FOR
Resolutions 1 to 5, and AGAINST Resolution 6.
Shareholders can access all relevant information and vote online
at www.investorvote.com.au using the 6-digit control number 182503
and provide your SRN/HIN and postcode or country of residence to
log in.
If you require further assistance, please contact Computershare
by calling +61 (03) 9415 4000 or 1300 850 505 (within
Australia).
Letter to Shareholders from the Non-Executive Chairman and
Managing Director
Dear Shareholders,
Approximately two years ago the 88 Energy business commenced a
significant reset, which included a significant overhaul of the
Board and senior management team. This renewal saw the appointment
of the two of us, Philip Byrne and Ashley Gilbert, to the roles of
Non-Executive Chairman (August 2021) and Managing Director/CEO (May
2021), respectively.
Joanne Kendrick was also appointed as a Non-Executive Director
in August 2021. Joanne is a petroleum engineer with over 25 years'
experience in the global oil and gas sector and a successful track
record of growing ASX companies to multiples of their previous
value at the executive level. We also strengthened our technical
teams including with the appointment of Robert Benkovic as Chief
Operating Officer (COO), who also brings over 25 years' experience
as a petroleum engineer.
This reset of the business has seen new thinking and a fresh
approach. This has resulted in diversification of the Company's
portfolio, including the acquisition of production assets, as well
as a sharper focus on basing investment decisions on the strongest
possible technical data analysis coupled with long-term commercial
achievability as a function of proximity to infrastructure and
services.
Under the stewardship of the refreshed team the key achievements
over the past 24 months include:
-- Balance sheet clean-up that saw the sale of Alaskan tax
credits facilitating the repayment of all debt (US$16.0 million) in
June 2021.
-- Acquisition of the Company's first ever production asset
which generated A$4.3 million in net cash flow during 2022.
-- Drilling of the Hickory-1 exploration well at Project Phoenix
in 2023. This is singularly the Company's most successful
exploration well ever, including over 400 feet in net pay. Up to
four zones are planned to be flow tested during the upcoming
Alaskan winter season (Q4 2023) and is a clear example of enhanced
outcomes from our more technically-driven strategy.
-- Reduction in drilling execution costs, with Hickory-1 being
our lowest cost exploration well ever despite broader inflationary
and supply pressures.
-- Unitisation of the Project Phoenix acreage, extending the
life of the leases by 10 years and enabling the Company to continue
to assess its commercial potential and monetise.
-- Fostered stronger relationships with key stakeholders
including the Alaskan government and regulatory bodies, as well as
our Alaskan O&G peers.
-- Diversified the Alaskan exploration portfolio with the
securing of the highly prospective Project Leonis acreage with
interpreted missed pay that is currently under assessment.
-- Reduction in non-operational overheads from A$7.2 million in
2021 to A$5.9 million in 2022 (net of impairments and foreign
exchange).
-- Invested in greater technical personnel and expertise, at a
relatively modest increase in salary costs from US$1.8m in 2020 to
US$2.3m in 2022.
-- Evolution with industry standards including implementation of
dedicated ESG programs , with carbon offsets, gender diversity,
implementation of stronger and externally advised remuneration
practices, and tightening of internal policies and governance
procedures.
The table below summarises the current position of the business
relative to that which existed around Q2 2021 when renewal to the
current Board composition commenced.
Focus area Q2 2021 Delivered by current
Board
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Balance sheet US$16.0m in debt No debt
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Production - cash inflows Nil A$4.3m in 2022
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Targeted, impactful & cost-effective Merlin-1: US$30m+ Hickory-1: US$13.5m
exploration gross
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Reduction in non-operational A$7.2m in 2021 A$5.9m in 2022
overheads
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Focus on technical data delivering Merlin-1 net pay Hickory-1 net pay
results of 41 ft of over 400 ft
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Planned flow tests None Up to 4 zones
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Active project areas 3 6
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
ESG programs and policies None Implemented
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Tax credit value realisation Idle Sold for US$18.7m
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Alaskan 3D seismic database 650 sq km 1,585 sq km
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Improved technical decision Merlin-1 drilled Hickory-1 drilled
making on 2D on 3D
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
Technical experience of Board 1 Board member 3 Board members
-------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------------
We are the first to acknowledge that, even with these
achievements, it has not all been plain sailing. The historical
Project Peregrine drilling programs did not deliver the outcomes
hoped and we appreciate many shareholders were disappointed, as we
were.
However, we believe that the advancement and execution of the
Hickory-1 well over the last nine months best represents 88
Energy's strategic approach under the current team. We are very
excited about flow testing this well planned for Q4 CY2023 with
multiple primary and secondary target zones showing excellent
potential.
Finally, we want to again address the question of why we did not
seek to flow test Hickory-1 during the recently concluded Alaskan
field season. This decision was made, and communicated to
shareholders, during the planning phase of Hickory-1. It was made
in order to allow our technical team and advisors sufficient time
to analyse the well data as well as comprehensively design and
optimise the flow test program (both in terms of program cost and
objectives). Lessons learnt from other operators on the North Slope
suggest this decision, and underlying approach, is absolutely the
best one.
Our call to action prior to the upcoming AGM is to encourage you
to exercise your rights as a shareholder and vote on the
resolutions of the meeting. Shareholders can access all relevant
information and vote online at www.investorvote.com.au using the
6-digit control number 182503 and provide your SRN/HIN and postcode
or country of residence to log in.
If you require further assistance, please contact Computershare
by calling +61 (03) 9415 4000 or 1300 850 505 (within
Australia).
The recommendation of the 88 Energy Board is to vote FOR
Resolutions 1 to 5, and AGAINST Resolution 6.
We greatly appreciate your ongoing support and look forward to
the journey ahead.
Philip Byrne Ashley Gilbert
Non-Executive Chairman Managing Director and CEO
88 Energy Limited 88 Energy Limited
This announcement has been authorised by the Board.
Media and Investor Relations:
88 Energy Ltd
Ashley Gilbert, Managing Director
Tel: +61 8 9485 0990
Email:investor-relations@88energy.com
Finlay Thomson , Investor Relations Tel: +44 7976 248471
Fivemark Partners , Investor and Media Relations
Michael Vaughan Tel: +61 422 602 720
EurozHartleys Ltd
Dale Bryan Tel: + 61 8 9268 2829
Cenkos Securities Tel: + 44 131 220 6939
Neil McDonald / Derrick Lee
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
MSCUUAWRONUVRRR
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 02, 2023 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
88 Energy (LSE:88E)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Mar 2024 a Abr 2024
88 Energy (LSE:88E)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Abr 2023 a Abr 2024
