CALGARY, Alberta, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The following was released on
behalf of the Board of Tracer Petroleum Corporation, by David Robinson,
President and CEO:
Tracer Petroleum Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: TCXXF) ("Tracer" or the
"Company") reports that it has entered into an agreement with Roc Oil Company
Limited ("ROC"), a Sydney-based company publicly listed on the Australian
Stock Exchange (ASX), whereby ROC will provide to Tracer a staged financing
over a period up to 15 months and up to a discretionary maximum of
US$4 million. The financing will take the form of a convertible loan and will
be used by Tracer to pursue specified, significant upstream petroleum
development opportunities in the Islamic Republic of Iran that are identified
by Tracer and ROC.
ROC is an Australian-based energy company with interests in the United
Kingdom, Australia, West Africa and selected parts of Asia. ROC has a diverse
shareholder base, including very large corporations and high net worth
individuals located in Australia, North America, the UK, Asia and the Middle
East. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000 ROC reported cash flow of
C$43 million on gross sales revenue of C$70 million and year-end assets of
C$229 million. As of March 31, 2001 ROC reported a cash position of
C$54 million, a record quarterly revenue of C$20 million and a record net
unaudited after tax operating profit for the quarter of almost C$6 million.
ROC will initially loan funds to Tracer during a due diligence period
ending July 31, 2001, and will have the option to lend further funds to Tracer
beyond this date, subject to Tracer meeting certain project pursuit
milestones. Tracer has also given ROC the Right of First Refusal to
participate with Tracer in other upstream petroleum development opportunities
in Iran, up to a 25% equity level. ROC also has the option of appointing up
to three members of the Board of Directors of Tracer.
If/when ROC has provided funding to Tracer to the amount of approximately
US$863,000, it will have the option of continuing to fund Tracer directly, or
it can convert the loan and accrued interest into either a 50% interest in
TEPCO Ltd., the wholly-owned subsidiary of Tracer that will hold the Iranian
project(s), or into a direct 50% interest in the project(s). ROC will then be
required to provide further funding to TEPCO, via either loans or direct
investment in the project(s), for a total of US$3,137,000.
If ROC elects not to convert its loan amounts and accrued interest into a
direct interest in TEPCO Ltd. or into a direct interest in the project(s), it
has the option to provide funding up to US$4 million directly to Tracer. Up
until the Maturity Date of May 1, 2003, ROC will also have the option of
converting any and all amount of this funding and accrued interest into shares
of Tracer at a conversion price that is the lesser of US$0.80 per share or
80% of the weighted average closing price for the previous 20 trading days,
subject to a floor price of US$0.40 per share. ROC will also receive up to
5,000,000 share-purchase warrants, exercisable at US$0.80 per share on or
before May 1, 2003; the final number of warrants issued to ROC will depend
upon how much of the US$4 million is loaned to Tracer.
"With the backing of such a reputable oil company as ROC, which is run by
a proven oilpatch team, Tracer is now in a very strong position to
successfully complete negotiations in Iran for one or more significant
upstream petroleum projects," commented Tracer's Chief Executive Officer,
David R. Robinson.
Added Dr. John Doran, ROC's Chief Executive Officer, "This investment fits
well with ROC's "sensible contrary" strategy; our stated desire to increase
our presence in the Middle East and our need to maintain in-house executive
focus on current projects in other parts of the world. We look forward to
seeing the end result."
For further information on Roc:
Roc Oil Company Limited, Dr. John Doran,
Chief Executive Officer, ph. 011-61-2-8356-2000
ROC website: http://www.rocoil.com.au
This release contains "forward-looking statements" as per Section 21E of
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Although the
Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking
statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations
will prove to have been correct. Management is currently reviewing many
options and there is no assurance that they will not make decisions other than
those now contemplated. The Company is subject to political risks and
operational risks identified in documents filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including changing and depressed oil prices, unsuccessful
drilling results, change of government and political unrest in its main area
of operations.
For more information please contact Mr. David Harrison, Corporate
Secretary, at 403-290-1676 at the Company's headquarters:
TRACER PETROLEUM CORPORATION, Suite #910, 441 - 5th Ave. S.W.,
Calgary, AB, T2P 2V1 Canada
Phone: 403-290-1676 or Fax: 403-264-5285,
"e-mail" tracerinfo@tracerpetroleum.com or
web site, http://www.tracerpetroleum.com
SOURCE Tracer Petroleum Corporation
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.tracerpetroleum.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/121391.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 121391
CONTACT:
David Harrison, Corporate Secretary of Tracer
Petroleum Corporation, 403-290-1676
|
