ZENA - Emisjon

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ZENA 27.02.2023 kl 22:06 18221

https://newsweb.oslobors.no/message/583710

Institutional investment in Zenith

February 27, 2023
ZENITH ENERGY LTD.

("Zenith" or the "Company")

Institutional investment in Zenith

Zenith Energy Ltd. (LSE: ZEN; OSE: ZENA), the energy company with proven revenue generating production, exploration and development assets in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, is pleased to announce that it has completed a fundraise in the United Kingdom (the "UK Financing"), and in Norway (the "Norwegian Financing", collectively, the "Financings").

The Financings have attracted the participation of existing institutional investors, including Premier Miton Investors, as well as Directors and employees of the Company, to raise an aggregate total amount of approximately £2,300,000 or NOK 28,484,580, resulting in the issuance of 437,728,088 new common shares.

Issue Price

The issue price of the Financings was £0.0054 for the UK Financing and NOK 0.067 for the Norwegian Financing.

Use of Proceeds

The proceeds of the Financings will be used to provide additional funding for the following:

• Negotiation and planned finalisation of a Production Sharing Contract for Block 1, Sèmè oilfield in Benin
• Technical and managerial appointments in view of planned operations in Yemen
• Additional funding for the development of Zenith’s Tunisian oil and Italian natural gas production portfolio
• Business development activities in Africa and the Middle East
• General working capital

Norwegian Financing

Zenith has issued a total of 378,931,792 new common shares of no-par value in the capital of the Company (“Norwegian Financing Common Shares"), to be admitted to trading on the Euronext Growth Oslo (the "Norwegian Financing Admission”) raising gross proceeds of NOK 25,388,430 (approximately £2,050,000).

An application for the Norwegian Financing Common Shares to also be listed on the standard segment of the FCA Official List and to be admitted for trading on the London Stock Exchange Main Market for listed securities will be made within 12 months of the issue of the Norwegian Financing Common Shares.

The Norwegian Financing Common Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing common shares of the Company.

The Company has issued 113,679,538 share purchase warrants exercisable at a price NOK 0.094 for a duration of 3 years from the date of issue in connection with the Norwegian Financing.


UK Financing

Zenith has issued a total of 46,296,296 common shares of no-par value in the capital of the Company on the London Stock Exchange (the "UK Financing Common Shares") to raise gross proceeds of £250,000 (approximately NOK 3,096,150).

An application will be made for the UK Financing Common Shares to be listed on the standard segment of the FCA Official List and to be admitted for trading on the London Stock Exchange Main Market for listed securities (the "UK Financing Admission").

It is expected that the UK Financing Admission will become effective and that unconditional dealings in the UK Financing Common Shares will commence on or around 8.00 a.m. (GMT) on approximately March 3, 2023.

An application will also be made for the UK Financing Shares to be admitted to trading on the Euronext Growth Oslo.
The UK Financing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing common shares of the Company.

The Company has issued 13,888,889 share purchase warrants exercisable at a price £0.0076 for a duration of 3 years from the date of issue in connection with the UK Financing.

Debt Settlement

The Company has allotted 12,500,000 Common Shares (“Debt Settlement Shares”) to a service provider in lieu of cash settlement for services provided to Zenith for a total value of £67,500.

An application will be made for the Debt Settlement Shares to be listed on the standard segment of the FCA Official List and to be admitted for trading on the London Stock Exchange Main Market for listed securities (the "Debt Settlement Admission"). An application will also be made for the Debt Settlement Shares to be admitted to trading on the Euronext Growth Oslo.

The Debt Settlement Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing common shares of the Company.
It is expected that the Debt Settlement Admission will become effective and that unconditional dealings in the Debt Settlement Shares will commence on or around 8.00 a.m. (GMT) on approximately March 3, 2023.

Director Dealing/ PDMR Shareholding

Mr. Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer & President of Zenith, has subscribed for 64,695,672 common shares of no-par value in the capital of the Company in connection with the Norwegian Financing.

Upon the Norwegian Financing Admission, Mr. Cattaneo will be directly beneficially interested in a total of 167,163,912 Common Shares in the capital of the Company, representing 7.24% percent of the total issued and outstanding common share capital of the Company.

Mr. Luca Benedetto, Chief Financial Officer of Zenith has subscribed for 27,726,716 common shares of no-par value in the capital of the Company in connection with the Norwegian Financing.

Upon the Norwegian Financing Admission, Mr. Benedetto will be directly beneficially interested in a total of 27,726,716 common shares in the capital of the Company, representing 1.20% percent of the total issued and outstanding common share capital of the Company.

Total Voting Rights

The Company wishes to announce, in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules and section 3.10 of the Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book Part II, the following revised information resulting from completion of the Financings.

Class of share
Total number of shares
Number of voting rights per share
Total number of voting rights per class of share

Common Shares in issue and admitted to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange upon the UK Financing Admission. 1,931,370,745 1 1,931,370,745
Common Shares in issue and admitted to trading on the Euronext Growth Market of the Oslo Børs, representing the newly enlarged outstanding share capital of the Company.
2,310,302,537 1 2,310,302,537

Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“We are pleased to have attracted the continued support of long-term institutional investors, including Premier Miton, to the fundraise.

Our confidence in the Company’s future successful development remains unchanged and is evidenced by the material commitment made by management to the fundraise.

There are various potentially transformational value catalysts during the course of 2023. To this end, the Zenith team is working tirelessly towards successfully achieving our objectives for the benefit of all shareholders.”
Redigert 27.02.2023 kl 22:07 Du må logge inn for å svare
patek5146
02.03.2023 kl 10:41 2045

Ligner desværre hvad som skete for 2 uger siden hvor der dumpes uden nogen officiel melding, måske der er nogle insidere som igen har info🤔🤔🤔🤔 men sørgeligt at se på røde tal dag efter dag, billige aktier hvis man tror på sagen ( fader AC ) personligt har jeg rigeligt investeret i dette tvivlsomme foretagende og vil ikke risikere mere
fylla12
02.03.2023 kl 10:05 2136

Benin & Yemen er ikke avklart og hva som skjer i Tunisia med SLK & EZZ er ikke kjent. Jeg har heller ikke fått noe svar IR.

Jeg har ingen tro på noe syndikat.
Skjulte ordrer o.l i liten pølsebod som Zenith betyr ingenting

Problemet nå er hvorfor Don AC ikke sier noe om Tunisia

Redigert 02.03.2023 kl 10:25 Du må logge inn for å svare
Viking_I
02.03.2023 kl 10:03 2153

there is no negative news but syndicate sold 30 million around 0.07 to 0.068 now they want buy back so creating pressure its there normal practice. also i got impression they got some how information that Tunisia is with Zenith last week.
Redigert 02.03.2023 kl 10:03 Du må logge inn for å svare
Bonzo2015
02.03.2023 kl 09:46 2206

Det er besynderlig mye snakk om et syndikat som manipulerer kursen. Tror neppe den beskjedne omsetningen kan ha noen som helst effekt, så det er lite sannsynlig. Dessverre må vi være forberedt på at det er informasjon som lekkes ut og at dette kan være et forvarsel om at noen sitter på negativ info som ikke er offfntliggjort enda.
Konjagi
02.03.2023 kl 09:19 2219

Hvis det rapporteres er det ikke vanskelig å spore hvem som holder på med dette
Redigert 02.03.2023 kl 09:19 Du må logge inn for å svare
Viking_I
02.03.2023 kl 09:04 2255

as I predicted they will take you to 0.06 don't panic and sell lets them play themselves.
here some of them will come with negative comments in short time.
Redigert 02.03.2023 kl 09:08 Du må logge inn for å svare
futureistoday
02.03.2023 kl 09:02 2240

Ser it som det foregår ulovlig handel for og styre kurs nå, nøyaktig samme beløp på både kjøp og salgsside som kun hadde 1 kjøper/selger. Orden ble også flyttet en gang på nøyaktig samme tidspunkt. Dette er såvidt jeg vet ulovlig markedsmanipulasjon. Har tatt screenshot av handelen og kommer til og rapportere.
Viking_I
01.03.2023 kl 14:04 2621

huge hidden order to buy 0.0685 -15000
now it covered with additional order
as usual (Syndicate) they remove hidden order after selling 15 to 20 million shares and now they will take you to 0.06 if you panic and sold
Redigert 01.03.2023 kl 15:15 Du må logge inn for å svare
Gullhaugen
01.03.2023 kl 12:58 2729

Ja uten disse innsidekjøpene tilsier at det går i boks. Det er bare å selge nå.
Viking_I
01.03.2023 kl 12:20 2790

less than 3,5 million,
buying is more than 15 million until 0.068
Conclude Benin is in hand of Zenith so it is almost confirm but i am more happy if Yemen got final confirmation it will be rocket in coming days.
Redigert 01.03.2023 kl 12:23 Du må logge inn for å svare
Viking_I
01.03.2023 kl 11:52 2761

hidden order to sell at 0.0690 1 million remains
but buying hidden order upto 15million upto 0.0680
grab upto 0.07 what ever you get.

Italy and Tunisia defends 0.01 excluding EZZ and SLK with current oil inventory.
Redigert 01.03.2023 kl 11:54 Du må logge inn for å svare
Climbing
01.03.2023 kl 10:23 2855

De fleste forstår nok at Yemen og Benin blir annonsert som done deals snart. På fredag førstkommende og "god weekend".....
Climbing
01.03.2023 kl 10:23 1258

De fleste forstår nok at Yemen og Benin blir annonsert som done deals snart. På fredag førstkommende og "god weekend".....
Viking_I
01.03.2023 kl 08:57 1329

https://www.mercatoelettrico.org/En/Statistiche/ME/DatiSintesi.aspx
Italy electricity production
Zenith earn profit of €125.000 for month of Jan
Zenith earn profit of €130.000 for month of Feb
Redigert 01.03.2023 kl 08:58 Du må logge inn for å svare
Viking_I
01.03.2023 kl 08:41 1339

Look like there will be serious negativity going to Zenith with particular handles. They will not present any facts or numbers but only talk negative in air.
I don't know why these people spending there time if they don't have any interest. Everyone knows the risk in Euronext shares as they are here in market.
Zenith and Benin is gamble if final approval got its rocket towards kr0.5 if not share will be kr 0.1 with Tunisia and Italy. EBB-3 and ROB-3 can take oil output to 800 bopd more than current production excluding SLK and EZZ. Current Oil inventory is capable of rid of all bondholder debt.
Redigert 01.03.2023 kl 08:45 Du må logge inn for å svare
fylla12
01.03.2023 kl 08:34 1357

Du minner om en som solgte skinnet før bjørnen var skutt.

Gullhaugen
01.03.2023 kl 07:58 1485

OMV er en seriøs gigant som kommer til å sørge for at Yemen/ Zena lander som planlagt. Noe annet ville overraske meg. De har kjørt prosessen i dialog med myndighetene og alle retnigslinjer. OMV Yemen ansatte blir overført til Zena. Det er bare å selge om en tror at OMV dealen er fake. Som AC sa i intervjuet . Dette kjøpet ville kostet 100 mill dollar over 1 milliard NOK andre steder. Zena fikk det for 200 mill NOK. Hvor ca.20 % av kjøpe summen allerede er deponert
Redigert 01.03.2023 kl 07:59 Du må logge inn for å svare
fylla12
01.03.2023 kl 07:49 1491

elnomi ...
>> er det ikke like greit å selge nå og invester på nytt i andre aksjer som leverer en positiv avkastning? <<

Det er ingen garanti for en positiv avkastning i en annen aksje ....
Måndtlig kapitalisering på innskudd i bank er det nærmeste ...

Har du 2 mil i Kraftbank.no & Mybank.no så blir det noen ekstra kroner hver måned ...

Det ligger muligheter i Zenith men en må akseptere en sky høy risiko
Congo eventyret er ett godt eksempel på det ...

Allroad18
01.03.2023 kl 06:48 1605

Den som kunne vite det, for det er noe med denne aksjen som fengsler, tenk om, dersom, når og hvor mye den kan stige på kort tid. Man blir jo redd for å gå glipp av noe, så avveiningen om å selge seg ut eller bli sittende er det store spørsmålet fremover i og med at kursen har "krasjet" litt og fremtiden er egentlig litt "tåkelagt"...AC og selskapet har jo ikke verdens beste fortid, og med den friskt i minnet, så kan dette minne litt om gamle dager, selv om bildet er bedre enn på lenge med tanke på inntekter. Personlig er det uaktuelt å selge for min del, tapet er for stort, og tiden fremover kan gi oss tilbake pengene med en solid gevinst(eller at tapet blir større og større...).
elnomi
28.02.2023 kl 22:53 1875

ZENA begynner å likne på andre tidlugere oljemygger dom Canago, er det ikke like greit å selge nå og invester på nytt i andre aksjer som leverer en positiv avkastning?
Aqualight
28.02.2023 kl 22:48 1864

I har ret, det er bestilt og betalt af firmaet -

Udgiveren er www.brrmedia.co.uk

Og som de selv skriver > Every client has a story to tell <

Aqualight 🇩🇰🇳🇴
fylla12
28.02.2023 kl 22:20 1884

Dagens forestilling forsterker usikkerheten rundt Zenith sin aktivitet i Tunisia.

Don AC ville ha sluppet alt han hadde hatt i hendene og varslet børsen
umiddelbart hvis SLK lisensen hadde hvert fornyet idag ...
Tilsvarende om Zenith sin andel i Ezzouia hadde blitt formelt godkjent ....

Det var heller ingen info om annen liten melkeku .....
Evner Zenith å få opp strømproduksjonen før neste vinter ?

Ingen vet om neste vinter blir hard men vinter betyr økte
priser på strøm og klingende mynt i kassa for de som lager strøm ...

Allroad18
28.02.2023 kl 21:50 1956

Tilliten ble på ingen måte bedre etter dette "TV-stuntet". Dette hadde vært bedre om Finansavisen hadde gjort et sånt intervju, ikke at det kommer til å skje, men da hadde det vært en nøytral "debattant" :-) om dere skjønner...Negativ stemning på meg nå,men etter snart 3 år begynner timeglasset å bli tomt for sand.
Allroad18
28.02.2023 kl 19:47 2246

For meg virket hele intervjuet iscenesatt, men henne som hans sekretær. Nøye planlagt og regisert på forhånd. Bare en følelse, og hvorfor ha dette" intervjuet" istedenfor en ordentlig melding til aksjonærene? Enten blir vi lurt trill rundt, eller så er det noe på gang. Time will show..
keisam
28.02.2023 kl 18:40 2340

Oppfattet heller dette som en samtale.

På de aller fleste områdene besvarte AC fornuftig og bra. Eneste er vel det flere påpeker, bekreftende besvarelse av usikkerheten som er oppstått i Tunisia.

Suksessrate på halvparten eller litt over høres fornuftig ut og kan oppfylles med Jemen og Benin. Zenith er et selskap med begrenset erfaring og kompetanse innenfor oljeutvinning. Krever litt tid for å bygge disse elementene.

Stiller bedre likviditetsmessig i dag i forhold til i går, positivt.
AC ønsker å utvide styre og forhåpentligvis blir de nye med stor ballast fra lignende styrearbeid, positivt.
Teknisk er det tilstrekkelig med god kompetanse fra nabolandet i forbindelse med Benin og overtakelse av selskapet i Jemen, positivt.
Virker som Zenith tar et løft på flere områder den nærmeste fremtid og dermed er bedre rigget for nye muligheter som vil oppstå. Er lenge siden AC snakket om at større operatører vil trekke seg ut fra flere geografiske områder og hvis Zenith lykkes med virksomhetsoverdragelse i Jemen vil dette muligens gi større suksessrate senere og god kontantstrøm.
ziggy068
28.02.2023 kl 17:16 2454

Og ikke minst han antyder at utsyr og arbeidskraft skal komme fra Tunisia , hvis de får Benin, etter som det var lite å gjøre i Tunisia. Sånn ca 8:43 uti intervjuet
Redigert 28.02.2023 kl 17:17 Du må logge inn for å svare
Barneskirenn
28.02.2023 kl 17:03 2473

fylla12.

Dette var vel ingen "journalist"..? Var det ikke mer en presentasjon for oppdatering av diverse?
fylla12
28.02.2023 kl 16:49 2515

Jeg hørte på interjuvet ...Jeg syntes ikke Don AC virket komfortabel ...
Hadde journalisten blitt nektet å stille spørsmål om Tunisia ?

>> great mortality of deals as governments change and ministers change <<
Congo & Tunisia i ett nøtteskall ???

<< changes in an environmentally conscious country like Italy are not very quick to happen. >>
Kjedelig men parkert inntil vidre ..... med mindre regjeringen i Roma skjærer igjenom ....

Don AC ... say 50-60%, will end up being completed.
Ikke ulikt roulette

Viking_I
28.02.2023 kl 16:13 2607

to buy 20 million around 0.0675 to 0.0682 and sell order 5 million upto 0.07
0.0682 - 5T 2 million to buy
one leak from Yemen ....price could climb kr 0.2 in minutes.
Redigert 28.02.2023 kl 16:15 Du må logge inn for å svare
flingaas
28.02.2023 kl 15:53 2657

Thank you very much, MGS.

Your time and effort is highly appreciated.
MarketGunsling
28.02.2023 kl 15:38 2699

You announced in December plans to develop Zenith’s Italian gas production portfolio. Tell us about the developments here

We should first have a resume of what has happened in our gas activity in the last ten years. Zenith purchased from Meditraaneo oil and gas, then a PLC in London, all of the activity onshore and then we started producing. The last ten years before Dec 2020 were satisfactory but not very exciting because the price of gas was very low. There was a tremendous amount of gas in Canada and the USA which they could not easily export because gas is not easy to transport across oceans. And Europe was supplied by Russian gas. Then the resumption of consumption of gas and electricity after covid brought a good rise in the price which made us very profitable. Then the Russian Ukrainian invasion made the gas price skyrocket to $300 so that made our Italian operations very exciting and making a fantastic profit because the operational margins are enormous and the operational costs are low. So we obviously immediately put in motion the activity to revamp additional fields and to purchase additional fields. The revamping, as announced, is already in progress. The only thing is that in Italy there are a variety of local and regional and provincial and governmental steps before opening the wellheads. This is the only reason for the delay but we hope that this will happen soon.

The government, who sees that we are only producing in Italy 10% of the gas the we produced 10 years ago is, of course, trying to shortcut the process and to make it easier to produce gas but these changes in an environmentally conscious country like Italy are not very quick to happen. Nevertheless we believe that the price of gas going down and the supertax for extra profits on hydrocarbons having been levied in Italy at the end of 2022 and charged this month to foreign operators means that a variety of foreign operators may rethink their enthusiastic approach to gas production in Italy and so we will have more opportunities to buy gas assets there. We have been in Italy for 10 years and we plan to stay long into the future and so we may acquire other fields and steadily make a nice income and a nice net revenue.

Andrea tell us also about the fundraising that you have recently completed.

We have strategically planned for a while to do something before the end of our financial year which is 31st March 2023. It is sad that this period of lower share price came but we carried out the exercise and it was comforting to see that two institutions that were already in our shareholder list have continued to invest. The one most known to our shareholders is the fund Premier Miton and this showed the confidence and even the additional attraction that the lower share price has given to these long-term investors for investing in Zenith.


What can we expect to hear next from Zenith?

Our policy has adapted with the case of assets like Tilapia because of two factors. One, the great mortality of deals as governments change and ministers change and an agreement that you have made with one individual is not followed by their successor. So there is a variety of casualties that happen. Investors often remain very puzzled by this but it is statistical and it is constant and little Zenith will not change this by ourselves. It is a worldwide trend of governments.

The cure for this is to have many many transactions (in play at any one time) so that a proportion of them, say 50-60%, will end up being completed. This means that the newsflow for Zenith will be to bring additional opportunities to our portfolio which may take time to be completed but in the meantime I will assure our investors that we will always have a sound portfolio supporting our share price.

MarketGunsling
28.02.2023 kl 15:38 2697

As many of you know I am fond of writing up a transcript of any Zenith interviews in order that I can quickly refer to what has been said in the future and do not miss any key point that are made. I have now done this with today’s interview (it takes a while).

These are the key points IMO

1) The company is still negotiating for new assets in Congo. The are not pursuing the SNPC debt at the moment because they hope to use this money as leverage in these agreements.

I am not sure how I feel about this tbh. I think that Zenith have been completely screwed over by the Congolese with Tilapia and at the moment I would be happier just to leave the country and sue them for the cash. But I guess if we get a good asset then that might be better. However, I definitely reserve judgement on this one.


2) SMP money – company is confident in a good result and are claiming $9 million. The court case is advanced.

3) Yemen is a huge assets (as I have been saying) that would have cost $100+ million if it was in a safer jurisdiction as opposed to the $21 million that is the price in Yemen. If we get the asset it would immediately produce 2,000 bopd net to Zenith with the potential of this doubling as OMV have not drilled any new wells for 10 years.. We would use our own rig to drill there.

4) Benin became attractive because of then CNPC building a terminal just 3kn away from the Seme field. They are able to bring in lots of offshore technical expertise and equipment for neighbouring Nigeria.

5) The intend to appoint one Norwegian and one Brit to the board. One will be a woman.

6) They are going to try and acquire new gas licenses in Italy. The field revamp is awaiting various governmental approvals.

7) The fundraising had been strategically planned for before the financial year end. They were pleased that existing institutional investors re-invested and think that this shows the potential of the company especially from the current share price.

8) They have learned the lesson from Tilapia and intend to always have several acquisitions on the go aiming for an overall success rate of 50-60%. They (and we) have to accept that not all deals will be successfully completed but they will keep bringing new ones to the table.

Transcript to follow
The company recently announced some disappointing news on the Tilapia license in the Republic of Congo. Could you provide an overview of what happened there?

I am please to do this clarification because the damage that this news brought to the stock price has been quite large and our feelings inside the company is that this is one of the possibilities when you deal in emerging markets – their perception and way of doing thing. This is something that has been badly received by investors as Tilapia was an asset we inherited from AAOG in a deal that we made very cheaply £200,000 which it cost us to take the license (which ran for a few months) the credit owed by SNPC and the legal case against SMP. It was a very good deal that let us enter into Congo where we still think we have a future. We will be much more cautious in future about announcing deals before they have the final seal of the Parliament but we are still there and we are still in negotiations and the government understands what has happened to us because of the choice taken to give it (Tilapia) to someone else. The reasons that this happened are mysterious and are the secrets of the country’s internal cuisine (??). Ourselves we are proud to have done the maximum. I stayed in the country for two months and negotiated with great effort and we will have other opportunities. I insist that shareholders understand that I got the guarantees that I presented to shareholders from the highest level in the country. I did not misinform, I did not misrepresent, I got it from the top of the country and then I told it to the shareholders. They then let us down but we are going on in the country with patience and understanding that this is the environment.


What is the plan for the recovery of funds from the SNPC and the SMP. How much would this come to and do you think that there is a realistic chance of receiving this?

The credit from the SNPC (the national oil company of the country) has the advantage of being part of the state so they can never go bust and this money is certainly recoverable. How and when is the question. Because we are continuing negotiating additional fields in Congo our negotiations will be diplomatic and firm but polite because we can have the use of this credit for other purposes while gaining new licenses. It is a completely different story with the SMP which is a commercial relationship with a company that badly performed for our predecessor AAOG and caused to them tremendous damage. We should remember that AAOG PLC shareholders invested more than £28 million in this venture and so we are firm to recover this wrongdoing which now amounts to $9 million American dollars. The court case is very advanced over four years and so we are convinced that something good will come out of the decision of the Paris court. Paris is aiming to become an international court system and so their equality towards even a French defender such as Bordeaux company SMP is, in my opinion, assured.

So lets move on and talk about your latest exciting opportunities for acquisitions in Yemen and Benin

I was very distressed that people selling their shares because of Tilapia did not consider the importance of the Yemen and Benin cases. Analysing them, Yemen is indeed a complicated country in terms of politics at the moment. Hence the difficulty of getting the final approval (of the asset acquisition) swiftly. This is still in the course of being obtained, but we should remember that Yemen would be the biggest producer in the company with more than 2,000 barrels per day net to Zenith. With our drilling rig transported there then we will have the ability to increase production possibly two times. OMV for various strategic decisions has not drilled a well there for the last ten years so our arrival with our ZEN260 deep drilling rig would permit the development of this production. Then of course, a field like the Yemen one in Nigeria or Egypt, a territory that is less controversial, would have cost Zenith more than $100 million to buy. Our plan is to buy a license that is highly producing but in a controversial country so that the price is greatly reduced.

The case of Benin is different. We have a long-standing relationship with CNPC who we bought some properties from in North Africa (Tunisia) and CNPC is now the cause of the Benin’s reconversion to oil. The new CNPC pipeline that is coming from Niger and running through the whole of Benin to arrive in a place that is 3km away from the base of Seme 1. When we learned that in Feb/March 2022 we recontacted our partners in the region, visited the government and participated in the tender which we announced in April. We then became the exclusivity holder for the period necessary to complete the PSA. This is what we are doing at the moment. We are also bringing in technical partners who we are forging a relationship with because this is only our second offshore experience. We have gone for shallow waters and there are these advantages: there is a terminal for oil 3km away; a flow of ships going in and out toward China and other places; there is also great technical competence available from Nigeria because Nigeria, which is near the border with Benin has a terrible petroleum crisis and so lots of activity is suspended: (a) for the elections and (b) because the amount of theft from local pipelines by gangsters have increased to 12% of national production. So there is a stalled situation in Nigeria. A lot of equipment is not used and a lot of technicians are not working, so they are available for our Benin operation.

With your development plans in place tell us a bit about your management team and the board that you have in place.

The management team continues to grow as any time that me make an acquisition, for example Yemen or Benin, we will acquire a lot of managers from the previous company that we have taken over. In Benin it will be more interesting as it is a country that is not at the moment producing oil so we are bringing in additional technicians that we are associated with who are familiar with these kind of platforms and have the ability to manage all the security and processes of offshore.

With respect to the board of Zenith at the moment it does not contain any women so for good governance we are looking for a lady to appoint to our board to, in due course, have the right percentages between genders. This will possibly include somebody from Norway which is our biggest market in terms of volume and somebody from London. So we are looking for two additional candidates.