Tullow Gabon will assign and transfer certain of its existing participating stakes in Limande, Turnix, Moba, Oba and Simba assets to Perenco, in exchange for the latter’s existing participating stakes in the Kowe and DE8 assets
Tullow enters asset swap deal with Perenco. (Credit: Maria Lupan on Unsplash)
UK-based oil and gas company Tullow Oil, through its subsidiary Tullow Oil Gabon, has signed an asset swap agreement with Perenco Oil and Gas Gabon, a unit of Anglo-French oil and gas company Perenco.
The agreement involves the cashless exchange of certain Gabonese licences between the two parties and is expected to optimise Tullow’s asset portfolio.
Tullow Gabon will assign and transfer certain of its existing participating stakes in Limande, Turnix, Moba, Oba and Simba assets to Perenco.
In exchange, Perenco will assign and transfer certain of its existing participating stakes in the Kowe and DE8 assets to Tullow.
The transaction is expected to complete by the end of this year, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, including customary governmental and regulatory approvals.
Tullow Oil chief executive officer Rahul Dhir said: “This deal is an example of Tullow’s strategy in action as we continue to take proactive steps to optimise our portfolio to focus on high return producing assets and growth opportunities around existing infrastructure.
“Our Gabon assets are a valuable and important part of our asset base, and this transaction enhances our exposure to preferred fields. We look forward to working closely with our Partner to maximise their full potential.”
Tullow said that the transaction is in line with its strategy of expanding the important producing assets, low-risk exploration, and appraisal, around existing infrastructure.
The asset swap agreement will improve the balance between discovered resources, appraisal, and exploration assets in its Gabon portfolio.
It will strengthen Tullow’s position in the Kowe licence that contains the Tchatamba infrastructure, which will support potential developments in the future.
The Tchatamba complex includes three fields, Tchatamba Marin, Tchatamba South and Tchatamba West, located about 30kms offshore Gabon within water depths of around 50m.
In addition, the transaction will strengthen Tullow’s position in the Simba licence where several low-risk assets are located adjacent to infrastructure for near-term drilling programmes.
The Simba field is located about 25km west of the Tchatamba fields. It was discovered in 2003 by Simba-1 and is produced using Simba-2 well, a single crestal oil producer drilled and completed in December 2018.