BPH Energy to seek shareholder approval for Clean Hydrogen share issue deal

BPH Energy (ASX: BPH) will need to seek approval from its shareholders for the proposed issue of shares in investee company Clean Hydrogen to BPH.

In releasing its June 2024 quarterly report, BPH revealed that the shares will be issued in satisfaction of a debt owed by Advent Energy (in which BPH has a direct 35.8% interest) to BPH.

As a result of an ASX decision to exercise its discretion, BPH must seek shareholder approval for a loan conversion agreement dated 10 October 2023 executed between itself, Advent and Clean Hydrogen.

Option issue

Clean Hydrogen has issued 760 share options to BPH and 190 to Advent with an exercise price of approximately $4,460, exercisable immediately, with the option to convert into shares in Clean Hydrogen expiring ten years from the date of issue.

BPH exercised 24 of these options during the second quarter of 2024 by paying Clean Hydrogen a total exercise price of around $107,000.

The new cash injection will be used by Clean Hydrogen to design, build, and test a reactor that can produce a minimum of 3.2kg and as much as 15kg of hydrogen per hour and to submit at least two new patents in an agreed geography, relevant to the production of hydrogen from proprietary technology.

Oil and gas development

Elsewhere, BPH and Advent – operator of and 85% stakeholder in the large PEP-11 permit off the New South Wales coast – are pressing on with their oil and gas development plans in eastern and northern Australia.

Advent subsidiary Asset Energy continues to progress the applications for the variation and suspension of work program conditions and related extension of PEP-11.

Due to the critical need for new domestic supplies of gas on the east coast, Asset has decided to commence work necessary for environmental approvals in advance of the PEP-11 licence application approval, in order to be prepared to drill the proposed Seablue-1 well on the large Baleen prospect as soon as possible thereafter.

Asset is also investigating the availability of a mobile offshore unit to drill Seablue-1.

RL1 licence

Advent’s wholly-owned subsidiary Onshore Energy continues to assess future activities in the large RL1 retention licence in the Bonaparte Basin.

Advent was offered a renewal of RL1 in early May by the Northern Territory government for a five-year term, which it has accepted.

The Bonaparte Basin is a highly prospective, petroliferous basin with significant prospective potential for reserves of oil and gas.

RL1 is 166 square kilometres in area and covers the Weaber gas field, originally discovered in 1985.