Africa Oil Completes Kenyan Farm-out Deal With Maersk Oil
Africa Oil reports that it has completed the previously announced (November 9, 2015) farmout with Maersk oil and gas related to Kenyan Blocks 10BB, 13T and 10BA having received $427 million.
Africa Oil Corp. farm-out with Maersk Oli and Gas received approval from the Government of Kenya
This amount represents US$344 million of reimbursed past costs incurred by Africa Oil prior to the agreed March 31, 2015 effective date of the farm-out and US$83 million representing Maersk’s share of costs incurred between the effective date and December 31, 2015, including a carry reimbursement of US$15MM of exploration expenditures.
An additional US$75 million development carry may be available to Africa Oil upon confirmation of existing resources, which is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2016. Upon Final Investment Decision, Maersk will be obligated to carry Africa Oil for an additional amount of up to US$405 million depending on meeting certain thresholds of resource growth and timing of first oil.
The resulting interests in each of Africa Oil’s Kenyan blocks are as follows:
| Kenya Block 10BB | Africa Oil – 25% | Maersk – 25% | Tullow – 50%* |
| Kenya Block 13T | Africa Oil – 25% | Maersk – 25% | Tullow – 50%* |
| Kenya Block 10BA | Africa Oil – 25% | Maersk – 25% | Tullow – 50%* |
| Kenya Block 12A | Africa Oil – 20% | Tullow – 65%* | Marathon – 15% |
| Kenya Block 9 | Africa Oil – 50%* | Marathon – 50% | |
| *-denotes Operator |
The farmout of 50% of Africa Oil’s interest in the Rift Basin and South Omo Blocks remains subject to Ethiopian government approval, which is expected in the near term. At completion of the Ethiopian portion of the Maersk farmout the respective working interests in each of Africa Oil’s Ethiopian blocks will be as follows:
| Ethiopia Rift Basin | Africa Oil – 25%* | Maersk – 25% | Marathon – 50% | |||||
| Ethiopia South Omo | Africa Oil – 15% | Maersk – 15% | Tullow – 50%* | Marathon – 20% | ||||
| *-denotes Operator |
Keith Hill, Africa Oil’s CEO, commented, “We are very pleased to have completed the Kenyan portion of our farmout to Maersk. We feel Maersk will be an excellent partner in terms of technical and financial strength and experience critical to moving the development project forward. This transaction puts Africa Oil in the enviable position of not requiring any additional equity financing prior to first oil and will allow us to weather the current difficult oil price environment should it continue into 2016.”