Egdon Resources and iGas Energy shares rise 14.17% to 7.25p and 10% to 85.8p respectively as UK lifts fracking ban
Hours ago the UK government officially lifted its ban on fracking in England. The government cited Russia's war on Ukraine and its "weaponization of energy" as justification for exploring all available means of achieving energy security, adding that strengthening the country's energy supply was an "absolute priority".
The moratorium on fracking (hydraulic fracturing) had been in place since 2019 amid concerns that the practice set off minor earthquakes and conflicted with the UK's 2050 net zero goal.
PM Liz Truss said that fracking would be allowed where it was supported by local communities. Her government also capped energy prices at £2500/year for typical household usage (around 34p/kwh for electricity and 10p/kwh for gas), putting further pressure on the government to bring prices down.
Shares in oil and gas companies rose on the news. Egdon Resources and iGas Energy saw shares rise substantially today as they are heavily invested in shale gas. Oil and gas explorers operating outside of the UK also gained in solidarity, including Nostrum Oil and Gas which operates in Kazakhstan, up 11.64% today.
Atlantic Lithium shares rise 10.38% to 46.8p on Ewoyaa lithium project update
In other energy news, Atlantic Lithium said its Ewoyaa lithium project in Ghana now has a post-tax net present value of US$1.33bn, with free cash flow of US$2bn from Life of Mine (LOM) revenues of US$4.84bn, over a reported 12.5-year mine life.
The company reported an internal rate of return of 224% and payback in less than five months, with average LOM EBITDA of US$248m per year.
The figures come from a new pre-feasibility study, managed by Atlantic, that incorporates an increased JORC resource of 30.1Mt at 1.26% Li2O, as announced by the company on 24 March 2022.
Lennard Kolff, interim CEO, commented:
"We are delighted to release our Pre-Feasibility Study for the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana, which further illustrates Ewoyaa as an industry-leading lithium asset, generating in excess of US$4.84bn in revenues over a 12.5-year mine life.
The Study outlines a robust 2Mtpa operation which can deliver excellent cash flows, an exceptional 20-week payback and a post-tax NPV8 of US$1.33bn producing a coarse, premium DMS SC6 product including credits from DSO fines and feldspar by-products."
Biome Technologies shares plummet 52.94% to 80p on revenue warning for FY22 and FY23
Biome Technologies reported a pretax loss of £667K in 1H22, narrowed some from £790K in 1H21. Revenues declined 7.7% to £2.4m. New customers of the bioplastics division, acquired in the past few years, grew three-fold in terms of revenue contribution in 1H, now accounting for 32% of revenues.
What tanked Biome shares was the company's updated outlook for FY22 and FY23. Biome believes revenues in both years would be "substantially below current market expectations", mostly due to ongoing supply challenges and uncertainty around demand.
Biome said anticipated 2H22 revenues from its bioplastics division's supply of biodegradable coffee filter material to a large US customer are now expected to be "significantly lower than previously anticipated" due to "various engineering matters within the customer's facilities".
Biome said it is taking a "very cautious approach" and considers that further delays and a scaling back of volumes are "inevitable" in the shorter term.
Paul Mines, CEO, added:
"Growth has been limited in both divisions in the first half by ongoing supply challenges. The trading environment for Biome Bioplastics is becoming more difficult with a number of factors impacting our revenue expectations for this year and 2023. We continue to work with our customers on new products that we believe will unlock more value and I am particularly encouraged by the diversification of our customer base and applications in both divisions."