Brage acquisition expected to be completed in end-November 2021
No outstanding queries anticipated from authorities
Increase in oil prices will have a positive effect on the transaction going forward
Increase in equity in PL433 Fogelberg discovery from13.3 per cent to 15.65 per cent will further strengthen contingent resources asset base
OSLO, 1 November 2021 – The completion of Lime Petroleum AS’s (“LPA”) acquisition of 33.8434 per cent of the Brage Field (the “Acquisition”) is now expected to be completed in end-November 2021. LPA has been actively engaging the authorities and does not anticipate any further outstanding queries regarding the Acquisition. The effective date of the Acquisition, upon completion, will be deemed to have taken place on 1 January 2021, as is the norm for transactions in the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Oil prices were around US$70 when the Acquisition was first announced in June 2021 and have since increased to above US$80. The rise in oil prices will have a positive effect on the transaction and LPA’s revenue going forward. Upon completion, the Acquisition will add about 3,440 barrels of oil equivalent per day (net). LPA’s revenue from its share of production from the Brage Field will be effective from 1 January 2021. LPA’s deferred tax assets and tax refund receivables will total NOK 644 million (approximately US$77 million) as at 1January 2021, upon completion of the Acquisition.
On 15 June 2021, LPA entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Repsol Norge AS (“Repsol”), to acquire Repsol’s 33.8434per cent interests in the Brage Field, for a post-tax consideration of US$42.6million. In July 2021, LPA completed the issuance of NOK 500 million(approximately US$60 million) of 2.5-year senior secured bonds (the “Bonds”),a portion of which would be used to partly finance the Acquisition. The Bonds were oversubscribed by more than 100 per cent and books were closed within three days.
Of note, there was a change of government in Norway on 14 October 2021, following general elections in the country in mid-September 2021.
Separately in the North Sea, LPA’s call option for the right to a 20 per cent farm-in to the Lyderhorn PL1041 licence had lapsed on 1 October 2021.
In the Norwegian Sea, LPA has increased its interest in PL433 Fogelberg from 13.3 per cent to15.65 per cent, after taking up its proportional share of DNO’s interest in the partnership as of 1 September 2021. The licence, which contains theFogelberg discovery, is now operated by Spirit Energy Norway AS and the other partner company is PGNiG Upstream Norway AS. The PL433 partnership is moving the discovery towards production with the submission of a Plan for Development and Operations (PDO) likely in end-2022, and production start-up potentially in 2025.
Meanwhile, the drilling of the Fat Canyon prospect in the Norwegian Sea licences PL937/B, in which LPA has 15 per cent interests, started on 29 September 2021 and is ongoing. The well should take at least 40 days to complete.
About Lime Petroleum AS
Lime Petroleum AS (“LPA”) was established in2012 and is located in Oslo. The company was pre-qualified in February 2013 and has since built a portfolio of licences focusing on mature areas close to existing oil and gas infrastructure. The organisation has vast expertise in oil& gas exploration and production, both from Norway and internationally and uses high-quality seismic data and the unique Rex Virtual Drilling technology together with conventional seismic attributes and analysis of the petroleum systems in its exploration efforts. LPA benefits from the Norwegian tax system with 78 per cent cash-back for exploration expenditures.