Sona Petroleum’s dreams of becoming an independent oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company have been put on hold after shareholders vetoed its proposed acquisition of the Stag offshore oilfield in Western Australia.
Just over 77% of voters rejected the proposed deal at an extraordinary general meeting of Sona Petroleum’s shareholders on April 26, which means Sona has not been able to meet the conditions precedent of the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) before the April 30 deadline.
Malaysia-listed Sona said the sellers have been notified that the conditions have not been met and plans to announce any further developments “in due course”.
Shareholders’ rejection of the deal scuppers Sona’s plans to transition from being a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to an independent oil and gas E&P company with revenue-generating assets and activities. Sona needs the oilfield as a qualifying asset to be recognised as an E&P company by the Securities Commission Malaysia.
The SPA for the oilfield in offshore Western Australia was signed in November 2015 by Sona E&P (Perth) and the sellers Quadrant Northwest and Santos Offshore.
The purchase price was initially set at $50m when the SPA was signed last year, but this was reduced to $25m in February 2016 after an independent valuation firm determined that depressed oil prices had impacted the field’s fair market value.
The Stag oilfield, which is located 60 km offshore from Western Australia in the Dampier sub-basin, currently produces 4,000 bpd from 10 active wells, but a planned development aims to increase its production by 35% by 2018.
Its proven reserves have been assessed at 13.3m stock tank barrels (stb), 17.2m stb of proven and probable reserves and 25.6m stb of proven, probable and possible reserves.
石油圈
