LONDON (Alliance News) - Polo Resources Ltd Wednesday said one of the companies it has invested in is set to acquire substantial stakes in a series of oil and gas fields in the UK North Sea.
Polo Resources invested in Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad back in December last year, acquiring a 8.16% stake in the Malaysian-listed company.
On Wednesday, Polo said Hibiscus has gained shareholder approval to pursue a deal to acquire a 50% stake in licenses covering the Anasuria cluster of oil and gas fields in the UK Central North Sea from oil giants Shell and Esso.
Hibiscus will pay USD52.5 million to acquire those interests, which is not far off its market value of around USD56.0 million.
The deal is part of a partnership with Ping Petroleum UK Ltd. Hibiscus and Ping are both acquiring a 50% stake each in the licenses and the pair will jointly operate the fields.
According to Hibiscus' website, the licenses include the Guillemot A, Teal, Teal South and Cook fields, along with the related field facilities. Following the transaction, Hibiscus and Ping will jointly hold 100% of the Guillemot A, Teal and Teal South fields and a 38.65% stake in the Cook field.
The pair will also fully acquire the Anasuria Floating Production Storage and Offloading unit and the related equipment.
Polo said the estimated net production to the pair will be around 7,000 barrels of oil per day based on 2015 production levels, meaning around 3,500 barrels a day would be net to Hibiscus.
Polo shares were untraded Wednesday morning. They last closed at 2.82 pence.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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