The placement was made up of 152,615,129 shares in total, via a placement to Australian and European institutional investors and an entitlement issue to existing shareholders which had a 91.12% take up.

“We are very pleased with the successful result of this fundraising and congratulate the brokers to the placement who have contributed greatly to its success. We are grateful for the continued support of our shareholders, including Woodside, and welcome our new institutional shareholders, both Australian and international, to the register of Hardman,” said managing director, Ted Ellyard.

The overall non-renounceable Entitlement Issue was 80,351,671 new ordinary shares at $1.10 per new share by way of one fully paid share for every six existing shares to raise approximately $88,386,838.

The proceeds of the Placement and the Entitlement Issue will be used for exploration and appraisal programs in Mauritania, as well as exploration, evaluation and development programs for other oil and gas projects.