The 20c per share offer is fully underwritten by Bell Potter Securities, while Commonwealth Securities has taken a major sub-underwriting position.
Great Artesian said it was in the company’s best interests to fund its share of the drilling costs of the two PEL 91 wells rather than dilute its interest through farm-outs.
“The issue reflects a strategic decision to retain equity in our more mature tenements, our favourable assessment of the prospectivity of PEL 91, the potential for oil to be discovered in these wells and the current oil price,” managing director Andy Carroll said.
He added that the company’s confidence had been strengthened by recent oil discoveries made by Victoria Petroleum, and by Stuart Petroleum and Cooper Energy in adjacent permits north and south of Great Artesian’s drilling targets.
The PEL 91 program is due to start next month, while another in PEL 106 is due to start towards the end of the first quarter of 2008 once the Spinel 3D seismic data has been interpreted.
