Once maiden reserves are booked and a gas sales agreement signed the facility may grow into project finance for future development capital.

 

The company will need a significant war chest to realise its ambitions to send commerical quantities of gas from the ancient Velkerri shale of the basin to east coast or even Darwin markets. 

 

Macquarie is a long time major shareholder, and has provided a debt facility to the company previously and assisted in capital raisings. It had position in the company when Empire was ramping up US shale gas work a decade ago. 

 

The funding move is the second shareholder backing offered in a fortnight that has seen a headlong rush on the market with a spate of cap raisins at the even smaller end of town. 

 

Most tiddlers have taken home around $2 million, while ADX yesterday announced a farm partner to carry costs for drilling onshore Austria. 

 

Empire is midway through developing horizontal appraisal well Carpentaria-3H and will begin fraccing next month. 

 

Schlumberger's rig has been released and is moving to the wellpad for vertical Carpentaria-4V as part of the same campaign. 

 

"Our relationship with Macquarie is long and successful and we appreciate their support," managing director Alex Underwood said today. 

 

Underwood had a successful career at Macquarie before moving to smallcap exploration.

 

He said the facility was the preferred way to go as it avoided equity dilution, although Empire has successfully raised funds on market before. 

 

It raised $27.5 million via placement in June, with support from Bryan Sheffield, the former founder of Permian Basin heavyweight Parsley Energy, who took $7 million in shares. He also has a major interest in Beetaloo peer Tamboran Resources. 

 

Empire announced July 15 it had completed its share purchase plan, raising $2.5 million and adding 11.3 million shares to the books. 

 

Some 153 shareholders subscribed for 8.7 million shares and 4.3 million attaching options. 

 

It raised $30 million at 30c per share in May last year to fund its takeover of dormant Territory player Pangea Resources, giving it a larger acreage holding.

 

 At the time it also doubled its share purchase plan to $6 million after retail excitement across the ASX's energy sector. 

 

It raised $10 million in August 2020 prior to drilling successful wildcat Carpentaria-1, which returned with condensate heavy gas shows. 

 

"The facility we announce today reduces our cost of capital through avoided equity dilution and provides cash flow management support as we carry out critical R&D to commercialise the Beetaloo utilising novel approaches to drilling, completing, and stimulating the Velkerri shale," Underwood said today.  

 

Shares are down 2.54% to 19c each today giving Empire a $150.75 million market cap.