(Reuters) - Australian oil and gas explorer FAR Ltd <FAR.AX> on Thursday said it completed a conditional placement to raise A$146 million ($99.08 million) to fund capital expenditures to first oil for the Sangomar oil field development project in Senegal.
Financing for the project has been in a limbo amid an arbitration in which FAR has challenged operator Woodside Petroleum's <WPL.AX> purchase of 35% stake in Sangomar in 2016. The arbitration is due to be resolved by the end of this year.
In October, the company had said capital costs to develop the oil field have risen 40% to $4.2 billion, as the project partners decided to buy rather than lease a ship for the project.
FAR also said it would conduct a share purchase plan to shareholders to raise an additional A$30 million.
The placement price of A$0.0425 per share represents a 21.3% discount to the stock's last closing price on Dec. 9, the company said in a statement. Shares were on a trading halt since Dec. 10.
On Thursday, the stock fell as much as 27.8% in early hours of trading, hitting their lowest since Aug. 2014.
Earlier in the month, the final field development plan for the Sangomar oil field was submitted to Senegal government, a joint project owner, paving the way for partners to proceed with final investment decisions.
(Reporting by Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
