Clontarf Energy PLC said on Thursday that its annual loss widened following the decision to abandon the Australian Sasanof-1 well.

The lithium and oil gas exploration and production company focused on South American and Africa said its pretax loss widened to £4.8 million in 2022 from £463,501 in 2021.

The company said this was due to the decision to plug and permanently abandon the Sasanof-1 well on June 6 following the discovery that no commercial hydrocarbons were intersected.

The Sansanof-1 well is off Western Australia, and is a dry hole. The company’s impairment of exploration and evaluation assets ballooned to £4.1 million from £62,074 the prior year.

‘These conditions represent a material uncertainty that may cast doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern,’ said Clontarf.

This was after Clontarf said on Monday that all the conditions for a joint venture agreement with NEXT-ChemX Corp had been satisfied.

NXC is a Los Angeles-based ion extraction technology developer. Clontarf said it had paid NXC $500,000 and issued 385 million new Clontarf shares to the company, in preparation for a potential 50:50 joint venture.

Clontarf records no revenue nor dividend for the year.

‘Clontarf has progressed its interests in Bolivia, Australia, and Africa, maintaining cordial communications with the relevant authorities, and has continued to operate efficiently on minimal expenditure,’ said Chair David Horgan.

Shares in Clontarf Energy were up 19% at 0.11 pence in London on Thursday.

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