Irish oil and gas explorer Petroneft Resources said on Monday it had finalised a deal to acquire an additional 40 per cent interest in a Russian gas well for $2.9 million (€2.4 million).
The company, which operates in the Tomsk Oblast, Russia, said it has signed a sales purchase agreement with Belgrave Naftogas, formerly Arawak Energy Russia, in relation to licence 67. The deal increases PetroNeft's interest from 50 per cent to 90 per cent. Licence 67 contains two oil fields, Ledovoye and Cheremshanskoye.
David Sturt, chief executive with Petroneft, said, "This is an important step forward for Petroneft and is strong demonstration of our increasing confidence in and understanding of the quality of our assets.
Licence 67
“Our low-cost operational activity on licence 67 has already delivered first production. We are confident that the work we have done will provide a platform for significant future growth on this licence. This is another important milestone in delivering the true value of our assets and delivering value to shareholders.”
The deal is expected to close before March 12th.
As part of the deal, Belgrave Naftogas has the right to nominate a director to the board and has nominated Alastair McBain as a non-executive director with immediate effect.
Mr McBain (64) has over 37 years' experience in the international oil and gas industry, including with the Vitol group, becoming chief executive of Arawak Energy in 2002. He left Vitol in early 2020 to form Sarum Energy, a company which, through its Dutch subsidiary, owns a 50 per cent interest in licence 67.
