Bass: Acquisition of Tangai-Sukananti approved by Pertamina, transaction on track for completion
Wednesday, January 18 2017 - 04:53 AM WIB
ASX-listed Bass Strait Oil Company said on Wednesday that PT Pertamina EP, an upstream subsidiary of Indonesian state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, has approved the transaction which will see Bass complete the acquisition of a 55 percent interest in the Tangai-Sukananti KSO, South Sumatra basin, from ASX-listed Cooper Energy Limited.
Cooper Energy was awarded in 2010 a contract by Pertamina to operate and develop the Sukananti, Tangai and Bunian Oil Fields (Tangai-Sukananti KSO) in onshore South Sumatra.
?This approval satisfies the last remaining condition precedent associated with the Share Sale Agreement executed by Bass and Cooper Energy on October 19, 2016, before shareholders vote to approve the transaction at a General Meeting to be held on Monday February 13, 2017,? Bass said in a statement.
It added that the Notice of Meeting (NOM) was dispatched to shareholders January 12, 2017.
As part of the transaction, Bass said it will assume operatorship of the asset and the services of Cooper Energy?s current Indonesian based team. This highly skilled team has been managing the asset since inception of the project in 2010. More recently the team has been undertaking production optimization activities which have seen oil production rate increase from 500 barrels per day to between 600 to 800 barrels per day (100% JV share).
Bass expects to grow this team as it seeks to acquire further oil assets in the region. Bass believes it is uniquely placed, with this team on the ground in Indonesia, and its cash generating initial acquisition, to identify and complete further acquisitions and development projects in the region.
Bass said it can confirm that the improvements in production rates as announced in November 2016, have continued. It is expected that this will produce a materially increase net cash flow for the first quarter of 2017. Bass will advise the market when the final production results for the quarter have been received and confirmed.
?The effective date for the acquisition is October 1, 2016, meaning all oil sales post this period are to the benefit of Bass,? Bass said.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak