Westmount Energy looks to raise £5m via share placing

Oil and gas investment firm Westmount Energy said on Friday that it is looking to raise up to £5m in a placing of 38.46m new ordinary shares of 13p each.

Proceeds from the placing, which will be made with certain new and existing investors, will be used to pursue the group's ongoing investment strategy, focused on the Guyana-Suriname Basin, a major emerging hydrocarbon province, and for general corporate purposes.

The AIM-listed group pointed out that since 2015, ExxonMobil and its Stabroek Block partners had reported discovered recoverable resources in excess of 6bn oil-equivalent barrels and 13 successes out of 15 exploration wells.

Through its existing portfolio of investments in the basin, Westmount's board believes that the company will have exposure to "between four and seven funded wells over the coming 12-18 months", including the recently announced Jethro-1 oil discovery well.

"The board continues to engage closely with its portfolio companies and other incumbents in the region, and believes that there may be further investment opportunities for the company in the short to medium term with the potential for a transformational transaction in due course," Westmount said.

At 0920 BST, Westmount shares were down 28.57% at 15p.