Invictus shareholders vote against employee share ...

Invictus shareholders vote against employee share scheme

Invictus Energy shareholders opposed an employee securities plan after the relevant resolution only got 49.39% of the vote.

Invictus Energy which is exploring Zimbabwe's Muzarabani oil and gas reserves is domiciled in Australia.

Resolution 11 would have given the company authority to issue up to 43.8 million shares, with the intention to “attract, motivate and retain key employees”. The company would have had the option of granting these over three years.

The resolution’s failure will reduce the number of shares the company can issue to keep employees. The company has 874.9 million shares currently.

Resolutions 9 and 10 received support from only 52.75% and 51.49% respectively. Shareholders approved the other resolutions with ranges of 87.95% to 96.96%.

Invictus did not immediately comment on the results of the voting.

Dream deferred

Invictus has made great progress in Zimbabwe. The Mukuyu-1 well has reached a measured depth of 3,923 metres, with the company reporting elevated gas shows.

Managing director Scott Macmillan said the results were encouraging, despite some issues with wellbore stability. The company plans to drill a sidetrack to gain further insight, after being unable to run wireline logs beyond a depth of 3,030 metres.

When the company drills the sidetrack, it will have the benefit of knowledge gained from the first well, Macmillan said. “We had to be conservative with mud weights and well design,” he said.

“We’ve had a difficult time drilling this basin, because it’s the first well, but it’s been worth it to have a result like this. We’re very pleased that we’re nearly there,” Macmillan said. “It’s disappointing we have to execute the sidetrack but it gives us a much better opportunity of fulfilling the ultimate objective of this well.”

The Mukuyu-1 results are a “dream deferred”, he said.

The well has found hydrocarbons, which marks a first step for “energy independence for Zimbabwe and the ability for Zimbabwe to supply energy to adjacent countries”.