Shares in Omega Oil and Gas Ltd (ASX: OMA) have piled on fresh gains after the company said it had raised an expanded $60 million to advance its drilling programs in Queensland.
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New high water mark
The company's shares hit a new 12-month high of 99 cents in early trade on Thursday before settling back slightly to 12.8% higher at 97 cents at the time of writing.
The shares have increased more than 300% over the past 12 months from lows of just 20 cents.
Thursday's share price appreciation is even more impressive, given the new money was raised at 84 cents per share.
The company said it had intended to raise $50 million but had increased the raise to $60 million after strong demand from existing and new investors.
Cornerstone investors in the raise included the Flannery family and Tri-Star Group.
Omega Managing Director Trevor Brown said the company was well-positioned to execute its plans.
We are moving decisively to capitalise on a unique window of opportunity in the Taroom Trough, with government support and market dynamics aligning to accelerate basin development and unlock badly needed new supplies of oil and gas.
This raise underpins an evolution of our execution strategy – undertaking larger diameter, longer, production-ready horizontal wells, with larger stimulation programs and extended flow testing.
This exciting program, scheduled to commence in June, will deliver maximum impact in the shortest possible timeframe, drilling across both our PCA Area and ATP 2081 to provide evidence of the scale and commercial potential of Omega's extensive acreage area.
At the same time, we are well placed to capture additional growth opportunities as they emerge.
The capital raise means that Omega is fully-funded to drill four vertical wells and one or two horizontal wells, including well stimulation and six-month flow testing.
The company is targeting an initial resource upgrade and reserves estimate in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Shares still looking attractive
The analyst team at Canaccord Genuity has had its eye on Omega for some time and earlier this month reiterated its $1.30 price target and buy recommendation.
The analyst team said, "In our view, regulatory tail risk is fast evaporating, and that could lead to higher corporate activity in a play which is proximal to existing infrastructure and underutilised LNG facilities."
Omega Oil and Gas was valued at $402.6 million at the close of trade on Wednesday.
