Oando Energy Resources, an affiliate of Oando Plc, has said it will soon conclude the acquisition of the Nigerian oil and gas business of ConocoPhillips.
The company, in a statement on Friday, said its financing confidence to conclude the $1.7bn transactions remained high.
The Chief Executive Officer, Oando Energy Resources, Pade Durotoye, said, “We remain determined to conclude the COP acquisition as soon as possible and increase our market share and infrastructure within the sector.”
He specifically said that the company had paid an initial deposit of $435m to ConocoPhillips, adding that the net purchase price payable to complete the acquisition of the remaining assets associated with the COP acquisition was estimated to be $1.22bn.
To conclude the deal, he said the company had received commitment letters for up to $815m of bank credit facilities, with $465m drawn from internationally placed reserve-based lending facility led by BNP Paribas, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.
The indigenous company said it had also received commitment in the form of a $350m Senior Secured Loan jointly arranged locally in Nigeria by FBN Capital and FCMB Capital Markets.
Once the deal is concluded, the OER boss said the company’s daily production would substantially increase from 4,500 bpd to 45,000 bpd.
This, according to him, will make the company the largest indigenous producer behind the International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria.
The company said this was in consonance with its intention to increase growth margin value for shareholders in the upstream through a focused portfolio growth in production, cash margins and improved returns on capital deployed.
It said OER successfully conducted five drilling campaigns in Nigeria Abo Field (OML 125), Ebendo Field (OML 56) and Qua Iboe Field (OML 13) in the first half of 2012.
The acquisition, Durotoye said, would also pave the way for other indigenous companies to address operational boundaries within Nigeria and position themselves as global players, thus providing unprecedented opportunities for local and international investors in Nigeria.
The deal to acquire Conoco’s fields, which were producing around 43,000 barrels of oil per day last year and have proven reserves of 213 million barrels of oil equivalent, is scheduled to close by mid-2013
