A huge volume of shares in Samson Oil & Gas changed hands after the junior oil and gas explorer said it had entered into a binding deal to sell some of its US acreage for up to $US79 million ($A91.5 million).
Shares in Samson were up 0.6 cents, or 18.18 per cent, at 3.9 cents on volume of 124.5 million shares.
The Perth-based company said it had agreed to sell 24,166 acres of its 40,240 acre holdings in Goshen County, Wyoming, to a large US-based oil and gas producer.
The purchase price is expected to be between $US61 million ($A70.7 million) and $US79 million pre-tax.
"Samson has been actively seeking an industry partner for the Goshen County project," the company said in a statement.
"Samson's board of directors recognised that full development of the project would require more capital than was then available to the company so that a partial sale of its holdings would be prudent to realise the maximum value from the project."
Under the agreement, Samson will retain an average 4.8 per cent royalty interest in the southern portion of the landholdings.
The transaction is expected to be complete by July 26.
The deal will allow Samson to repay a debt facility that matures in May next year and finance its activities in the US.
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SSN Price at posting:
3.9¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
