Photo by: Bloombeg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australian oil and gas major Santos has received an offer from Malaysian listed Sona Petroleum to acquire its stake in the Stag oilfield, in the Carnarvon basin.
Santos, which holds a 66.7% interest in the Stag project, and its partner Quadrant Energy, would be paid a combined $50-million for the project, offshore Western Australia.
The Stag project started production in 1998 and was currently producing at a rate of 4 600 bbl/d from ten active wells. The oil is processed through a fixed central production facility platform with a 50 000 bbl/d capacity, from where it is then transported by pipeline and shipped to customers in Asia.
Sona said in a statement to the Malaysian bourse that the Stag oilfield had potential development and exploration opportunities and, as such, Sona Petroleum would be able to enter into production, development and exploration stages of the upstream value chain by completing just one transaction.
The transaction would be subject to Sona shareholder approval, as well as Foreign Investment Review Board approval.
Santos in September announced a review of all options to restore and maximise shareholder value. The options included possible asset divestment as part of its ongoing portfolio management, provided fair long-term value could be realised.
Reports have also emerged that Quadrant was hoping to acquire Santos’s 45% interest in their jointly operated gas business in a deal valued at A$1.5-billion. However, neither Santos nor Quadrant have confirmed the speculation.