UK-based oil and gas exploration and production company Baron Oil has agreed to acquire Singapore-based exploration & production company SundaGas.
Under the terms of the agreement, Baron would acquire the entire issued share capital of SundaGas (Holdings).
As part of the transaction, Baron will issue two of its shares to each SundaGas shareholder. In the combined company, Baron will hold a 33% stake and the rest will be owned by SundaGas. The combined company will be named as SundaGas PLC.
SundaGas’s main assets to be acquired by Baron Oil
SundaGas’ two main assets, which will be acquired by Baron Oil, include the Chuditch offshore block in Timor-Leste, and the Telen block in offshore Indonesia.
SundaGas Banda Unipessoal (SGB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SundaGas, holds a 75% operated working interest in the Chuditch block.
Located approximately 185km south of Timor-Leste, Chuditch PSC covers approximately 3,571km2, in water depths of 50-100 metres. The block contains the Chuditch-1 gas discovery, which was drilled by Shell in 1998 and encountered a 25m gas column.
Under the agreement, Baron is entitled to be issued a stake of 33.33% in SundaGas (Timor-Leste Sahul) (SGTL), the holding company of SGB.
Also, SundaGas Indonesia Telen owns 100% working interest in the Telen Production Sharing Contract (Telen PSC), offshore Indonesia. It contains the Hiu Marah drill-ready prospect.
Baron executive chairman Malcolm Butler said: “The SundaGas team brings impressive management and technical expertise in south-east Asia and it makes sense for us to combine forces with them. The Chuditch production sharing contract has the potential to contain a substantial gas accumulation and is an asset of significant value.
“This proposed transaction will be transformational for our shareholders and we look forward to reporting back on progress in due course.”
The completion of the transaction is subject to several conditions including the execution of a detailed legally binding sale and purchase agreement (SPA).