SMALL CAP MOVERS: Angola, the Falklands and deep-sea data centres
Chariot shares were off to the races this week, up 73 per cent after the African energy player struck a deal that doubles its economic footprint in Angola.
The framework agreement, signed with local operator Etu Energias and Gabon-focused BW Energy, backs Etu’s swoop for extra stakes in the Chevron-operated Block 14 and neighbouring Block 14K offshore Angola.
In return, Chariot picks up economic exposure to roughly 4,000 additional barrels of oil a day, worth more than $100million on the company’s own sums, assuming $60 oil.
It is also a vote of confidence in Etu Energias, which is lining up to take over as operator of Block 14 from Chevron, a licence that now runs all the way to 2038.
Chief executive Adonis Pouroulis called it an ‘excellent working partnership,’ and investors seem to agree, judging by this week’s share price fireworks.
Shell Trading, handily, is picking up the funding tab for the acquisition itself.
Argentinian President Javier Milei plans to impose sanctions on oil explorers near the Falkland Islands
Rocky road
Turning to the wider market, the AIM All-Share had a rocky week as investors went into temporary risk-off mode, leaving the index nursing a 1.4 per cent loss.
Contrast this with the FTSE 100, which, after a bit of a mid-week rollercoaster ride, ended the week in positive territory, albeit marginally.
Huddled Group shares are up 38 per cent this week, extending a 68 per cent rise over the past month, as investors continue buying following a TikTok tie-up first announced on August 24.
The deal saw Huddled enter a joint venture with Cipher, a UK TikTok agency, to launch Peeko Live Commerce channels on TikTok Live and TikTok Auctions.
It is Huddled’s second such auction platform deal in two weeks, reinforcing the technology’s role as a growth engine.
Gas bonanza
Sunda Energy shares rose 28 per cent after partner Tetragon Energy sharply upgraded Prospective Resources at the Halcon gas prospect in the Philippines to 8.0 trillion cubic feet gross, with 3.0 trillion cubic feet net to Sunda’s 37.5 per cent stake.
Sutton Harbour Group shares fell 47 per cent after the AIM-quoted marine operator published a circular detailing plans to cancel its stock market listing and re-register as a private company. Shareholders will vote on the proposals at a general meeting on September 22, following the plans first announced on August 28.
The Plymouth-based company runs Sutton Harbour Marina, King Point Marina and Plymouth Fisheries.
Red faces?
Futura Medical shares slid 35 per cent after the sexual health group raised £1.6million at a heavily discounted 0.2p, a sum close to its entire market capitalisation, while simultaneously launching a formal sale process for the whole business or its assets.
Sellers cashing out now at rock-bottom prices could end up red-faced if that process, centred on potentially selling the business or its assets, including its Eroxon gel product, an over-the-counter product for erectile dysfunction, pays off.
Premier African Minerals dropped 28 per cent after the company outlined plans to seek authority to issue tens of billions of new shares to fund its Zulu lithium project and strengthen its balance sheet, alongside a 10-for-one share consolidation.
Borders & Southern shares fell 9 per cent on Friday after Argentina’s president Javier Milei vowed to speed up sanctions against oil explorers near the Falkland Islands, naming Rockhopper Exploration as a primary target while also referencing licence-holders including Borders & Southern in the South Falkland Basin.
Orcadian goes off-grid
Finally, while Elon Musk dreams of data centres in space, unlimited solar power, zero water for cooling and no neighbours to annoy, Orcadian Energy has a more grounded pitch, literally.
The AIM-listed group, whose shares are up 6 per cent this week, has signed a joint development agreement with an American offshore data centre operator to explore powering a floating data centre off its Earlham and Orwell gas fields in the Southern North Sea.
Earlham’s gas is too rich in carbon dioxide to pipe ashore, so burning it locally for power and reinjecting the carbon dioxide gives it a use at last.
Sitting off-grid avoids Britain’s network connection queue, while seawater cooling is essentially free.
Nothing is confirmed: the deal is non-exclusive and Orcadian’s resource estimates await independent verification within a 90-day window.
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