“This is a most pleasing result for an IPO that was fully underwritten and is a strong vote of confidence in our oil and gas assets and forward exploration program,” said Entek’s executive chairman Joe Mercorella.

“It is also clearly a reflection of the strong investor interest in the Cooper Basin which is still producing new discoveries more than 40 years after oil and gas was first found in the Basin”.

“That investor interest is why we extended our closing date by 10 days to satisfy strong demand from eastern states’ equities markets,” added Mercorella.

The IPO offer of up to 17.5 million ordinary shares at $0.20 cents per share to raise up to $3.5 million was fully underwritten by Taylor Collison.

Entek will make its ASX debut with approximately 3,160 shareholders and 39.5 million ordinary shares on issue, notionally valuing the company at listing at $7.9 million.

Its major shareholder, with a 10% stake representing 4.2 million shares, will be Entek's parent company, Adelaide-based Lion Energy, whose shares will be held in escrow for two years.

Not wanting to sit on its laurels Mercorella said Entek planned to participate in five to seven wells before the end of calendar 2004.

The first of these, Hornet-1 in PEL 115, southeast of Moomba, is scheduled to spud later this month. PEL 115 surrounds the sizable Toolachee gas field and is adjacent to several other large producing gas and oil fields.

Entek has a 12.5% joint venture interest in six petroleum exploration licences covering in excess of 16,850sq.km in PELs 86, 87, 89 in the Eromanga Basin and PELs 104, 111 and 115 in the Cooper Basin, all within South Australia.

Victoria Petroleum NL is the operator across all six blocks.