CEB reports progress of identifying acquisition targets in RI

By Romel S. Gurky

CEB Resources Plc, AIM listed resource investment company, said it has made excellence progress in examining Indonesian oil and gas assets as the company seeks to make acquisition.

In a statement issued Friday to provide investors with update on the identification and evaluation of potential oil and gas asset acquisitions in Indonesia, CEB said a highly experienced team of industry professionals has been mobilized to Jakarta, Indonesia

?Material progress being made in examining potential oil and gas opportunities,? the company said, adding that the team has made assessment and site visits for high graded asset targets.

The company also confirmed short-list of six acquisitions which have potential to see significant increases in production and return on investment

CEB Managing Director, David Whitby, said: ?We have hit the ground running and have already identified multiple opportunities that meet our key criteria, being onshore, active producing fields close to infrastructure where the core competencies of our team will have the greatest impact on increasing oil production. In tandem with the ongoing due diligence, we have held constructive meetings with a number of motivated sellers, with the targets being pursued providing asset depth required for the long-term value growth of the company.?

The CEB board believes that Indonesia represents a significant opportunity. It is the most significant hydrocarbon producer in Asia. The country has numerous well-explored and prolific hydrocarbon basins attracting some of the world's largest E&P companies - including the likes of ConocoPhillips, Exxon-Mobil, and Total. Industry standard infrastructure, equipment, and services are readily available across the country, Whitby explained.

As announced on June 5, 2015, CEB and Corsair Petroleum (Singapore) Pte Ltd agreed to undertake due diligence on an initial two oil and gas concessions in Indonesia with a view to making an investment. Over the past 18 months Corsair has identified and screened over 60 opportunities, high graded 12, and is now well advanced with detailed technical and commercial evaluation of six potential asset acquisitions. A select team of industry and Indonesian veterans has been mobilised to Jakarta, which has over 250 years combined industry experience in over 35 countries, including over half a century in Indonesia.

CEB and Corsair have commenced due diligence enquiries on various assets. Work on six acquisition opportunities has thus far involved data room assessments and a number of site visits to locations across South Sumatra. Critically, the team has confirmed that these short-listed producing assets are well delineated with a strong value proposition, would benefit greatly from experienced oil field management, and only require the application of established technology to see significant increases in production and return on investment.

CEB and Corsair have agreed to structure the funding of the due diligence expenditures initially as loans to Corsair. As part of the arrangement, CEB will convert the loans into joint venture capital credits in a newly incorporated subsidiary shortly.

At this stage, CEB has advanced US$500,000 by way of the loans, of which approximately half has been spent in undertaking due diligence and acquiring data. The remainder of the Loans is likely to be spent on due diligence in due course. The loans constitute a substantial transaction under the AIM Rules and are unsecured, repayable on the first anniversary of the respective agreements and will accrue interest at a rate of 5 per cent per annum. Advances of the loans were made on May 8 (US$25,000), June 10 (US$250,000) and July 15, 2015 (US$225,000).

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak