The listing follows a successful capital raising of $3 million through the offer of 15,000,000 shares at an issue price of 20 cents per ordinary share, together with 7,500,000 free attached options.

The issue closed oversubscribed. Before the capital raising the company had about $1.2 million in cash reserves.

Through 100% owned Turkish subsidiary Edirne Enerji, Ottoman has an 80% interest in three onshore petroleum licences in the Thrace Basin, located in western Turkey in the country’s European portion. Funds from the capital raising will be used to explore these petroleum exploration projects and provide capital for identifying new ventures.

Ottoman’s managing director Jaap Poll said the raising had been strongly supported by investors and the company was now well placed to maximise the opportunities for gas exploration in the region.

“The Thrace Basin, which currently contains 35 discovered gas fields, has a fairly simple sedimentary and structural framework, proven source rocks, good reservoirs and a variety of undrilled structures - all key ingredients in an exploration area with considerable remaining potential,” Poll said.

“The region also offers low labour and operational costs, and prices for natural gas are significantly higher than in Australia. Add to this Ottoman’s unique position as one of only two publicly listed companies operating in the Thrace Basin and our planned exploration projects have the capability to deliver strong returns for the company and its shareholders.”

The Edirne Licence is Ottoman’s first project and several exploration surveys are already underway. Drilling is expected to begin around May 2005.

Ottoman hopes to generate early cash-flow from gas production in the Edirne licence, which will then be used to sustain ongoing exploration in existing and future licence applications and acquisitions.

The Edirne Licence is close to existing industrial energy consumers and a newly developing market of nearly 2 million people in the nearby city of Edirne, providing relatively low start-up costs and a substantial customer base, according to Ottoman.

Ottoman’s other exploration projects include the Catalca Licence on the outskirts of Istanbul and the Ortakoy Licence on the neck of the Gallipoli Peninsula. These licences, together with the Edirne Licence, offer substantial exploration potential over the next four years, according to Ottoman.