Niko completes sale of North Ganal PSC to Ophir

Canadian oil and gas firm Niko Resources Ltd said Wednesday that it has completed the sale of its 31 percent interest in North Ganal PSC, in East Kalimantan, to LSE-listed Ophir Energy Ltd for net cash consideration of US$1.5 million after working capital adjustments.

Ophir in April of last year completed the acquisition of four other Niko Resources? oil and gas assets in Indonesia including West Papua IV, Aru, Kofiau and Halmahera-Kofiau PSCs in eastern Indonesia. As has been previously reported, Ophir was also in the process of acquiring another Niko Indonesian asset called North Makassar Strait PSC.

But Niko said in the Wednesday statement that ?the transaction for the proposed sale of the company?s interest in one additional Indonesian PSC (North Makassar Strait) will not proceed under mutual agreement of the parties.?

As Niko discontinued operating activities related to its Indonesian assets, the company said it has closed down its Indonesian office.

Elsewhere, the statement said that as at December 31, 2015, the company?s exploration subsidiaries that previously held interests in Indonesian PSCs had $62 million of accounts payable and accrued liabilities and $139 million of recorded liabilities for unfulfilled exploration work commitments.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak