New Zealand Oil & Gas has completed the previously announced acquisition of Mitsui’s four per cent interest in the Kupe gas and light oil field, offshore New Zealand for NZ$35 million.
The transaction, announced in May, was subject to the Kupe joint venture participants’ pre-emptive rights and other consents and approvals. An NZX waiver was required for a transaction with a related party because the parties had previously been joint venture participants together in Kupe.
According to NZOG, the other Kupe joint venture participants have not exercised pre-emptive rights, and the NZX waiver has been granted.
The transaction remains subject to other consents and approvals (including regulatory approvals). The effective date of the transaction is January 1, 2017.
Kupe is located offshore from South Taranaki. It comprises an offshore remote-operated production platform, a pipeline and umbilical cable to shore, and an onshore production facility near Hawera. New Zealand Oil & Gas previously held 15 per cent of Kupe, which it sold to Genesis Energy on January 1, 2017.
When the Mitsui deal was announced in May, NZOG’s Chief executive Andrew Jefferies says Mitsui’s Kupe interest was a good portfolio fit for New Zealand Oil & Gas.
He said: “The sale of our 15 per cent interest to Genesis Energy in 2016 achieved a premium reflecting the asset’s strategic importance to Genesis and certain unique attributes.
“The acquisition of Mitsui’s 4 per cent interest provides ongoing income from an asset we see as high quality, in our heartland, and it is an appropriate investment in relation to our size and scale. It provides us with rights in the event of any further transactions in the joint venture, along with further prospectivity within the licence area. “The combined transactions allow us to better diversify our portfolio.”
Kupe is operated by Lattice Energy Resources (Kupe) Limited, which together with its related companies has a 50 per cent interest. Genesis Energy, through its subsidiaries, holds a 46 per cent interest.
Offshore Energy Today Staff