The Spanish group, which has a 22% holding in the Irish company, is planning to exercise its option for a sum of $75m, before it expires in May 2010.
In June 2008, Iberdrola invested $55m in Petroceltic and was granted an option to acquire a direct 49% interest in any single underlying asset within Petroceltic’s portfolio, for an extra $55m.
The proceeds are intended to be used to accelerate Petroceltic’s work programme across its existing portfolio, focusing primarily on the Isarene Permit in Algeria, where the company has issued tender documents for a minimum of seven wells. The two companies also established a joint committee to consider further upstream opportunities in North Africa and Italy.
Petroceltic is an upstream oil and gas exploration and production company with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and with interests in Algeria, Italy and Tunisia.
