By Juzel L. Danganan
MANILA, Jan. 20 (PNA) — Stakeholders of Otto Energy Ltd’s have approved the sale of the company’s 33 percent working interest at Galoc Production Company W.L.L. to Nido Petroleum, which holds the primary stake for Galoc field in Palawan or service contract 14.
”It is confirmed the resolution to approve the sale of shares in the Galoc Production Company W.L.L. put to the General Meeting of Otto Energy Limited held on Jan. 20, 2015 was passed on a show of hands,” Otto Energy disclosed at the Australian stock exchange Tuesday.
The Australian firm noted the transaction will be closed in two weeks, with another Australian company Nido Petroleum.
Last Dec. 17, Otto Energy reported receiving the full USD 10.8 million deposit for its 33 percent interest share in the Galoc Block from Nido Petroleum.
It was preceded by a down payment of USD 1 million, shortly after the signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) on Dec. 12, with the entire deal amounting to USD 108 million.
Nido Petroleum previously said the financing for the transaction would be paid through its current cash capital and a USD 120 million loan from Bangchak Petroleum Public Company Limited of Thailand, which holds 81.41 percent stake in Nido.
After Otto Energy turns over the 33 percent share, Nido Petroleum will become the service contract operator for SC 14.
Nido’s Managing Director Phil Byrne recently said the company was planning to boost the Galoc block’s production to 20,000 barrels by 2017, a jump from its fourth quarter average output of 6,703 oil barrels per day.
Relatively, the Galoc field had produced a total of 616,708 barrels during the fourth quarter, with Otto netting 203,514 barrels and earnings of about USD 16.66 million for the period.
Meanwhile, the remaining interest in the Galoc block is held by Galoc Production Company No. 2 Pte Ltd at 26.84 percent, Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corp. and Linapacan Oil Gas & Power Corp. at 7.79 percent, Philodrill Corp. at 7.21 percent and Forum Energy Philippines Corp. at 2.28 percent.
Nido Petroleum is a South East Asian oil and gas exploration and production company, with projects in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Otto Energy is an oil and gas company listed in the Australian Stock Exchange, engaged in exploration, development and production. It has projects in the Philippines and Tanzania.
On the other hand, Bangchak Petroleum is involved with refining, marketing and selling of petroleum products in Thailand. (PNA)