Davy Research |
|
Petroceltic
(PCI LN)
Announces agreed merger with Melrose Resources
17 August 2012
Job Langbroek
| Closing Price: | 8p | Rating: | Outperform | 30/06/09 |
FACTS: Petroceltic has announced (August 17th) an agreed merger with Melrose Resources. To complete the transaction, Petroceltic will offer 17.6 shares for each Melrose Resources share, such that on completion existing shareholders of Petroceltic will hold 54% of the enlarged group and former Melrose shareholders will hold 46%. Melrose will also distribute a special dividend to its shareholders amounting to 4.7p per share. The deal is subject to a scheme of arrangement by both sets of shareholders and is due to complete in October.
Melrose has production assets in Egypt and Bulgaria. Its exploration activity is focused offshore Romania, where it holds an interest in two licences, and in the French Mediterranean offshore. In the year to end-2011, on a net working interest basis, Melrose produced 34,000 boe to its account. Of this, the majority arose in Egypt (both liquids and gas) with the balance from two projects in the Bulgarian Black Sea. At the end of 2011, Melrose had proven and probable reserves of 84.2m barrels. Of these, 74.5m boe are located in Egypt with 9.9m boe in Bulgaria.
Petroceltic has a 56% interest in the Ain Tsila gas development project in the Isarene licence in southern Algeria. It also has exploration interests in Italy, both onshore and offshore in the Adriatic Sea, as well as in Kurdistan, northern Iraq. The Algerian gas project has been declared commercial following a gas sales marketing agreement with Sonatrach. The development group, which includes Enel and Sonatrach as well as Petroceltic, estimates that the field contains 2.1 trillion cubic feet of gas, 108m barrels of condensate and 67m barrels of LPG. For now, these are classed as contingent resources. First gas is planned for Q3 2017.