Elixir Energy halts trading

Gas explorer Elixir Energy Limited was placed in a trading halt on the Australian Stock Exchange on February 3 on its own request.

The owner of the Nomgon IX coal-bed methane (CBM) production sharing contract (PSC) in southern Mongolia requested the halt as it is pending an announcement with respect to an imminent operational update in connection with the Nomgon-1 exploration well. The trading halt request is pursuant to Listing Rule 17.1 of the exchange.

Normal trading is expected to commence on February 5 or when the announcement is released to the market.

Investors had been selling off Elixir shares in bulk after the company’s disappointing operations update in mid-January. The oil and gas explorer reported that a testing at the Ugtaal-1 well showed the coal quality was at the “lower end” of expectations and blamed it on the weakened permeability results.

In an attempt to offset the bad news, Elixir announced the spudding of the second well in the Nomgon project. The Nomgon-1 well sits roughly 37 kilometers southwest of Ugtaal-1. Elixir said recent fieldwork has reaffirmed the strong potential in the area for coal seam gas exploration.

The company has proposed its subsequent plans for 2020 to the Mongolian petroleum regulator, which includes a mixture of further low cost seismic and drilling.

As of February 3, Elixir shares are down five percent and worth 0.02 AUD. The company has a 9.52 million USD market cap.