Petroleum Africa
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Monday, August 21, 2023
Maurel et Prom (M&P) has inked a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Carlyle International Energy Partners for the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Assala Energy Holdings and all of its subsidiary entities which will give it access to the Group’s entire upstream and midstream asset portfolio in Gabon.
The SPA followed a bid process approved by M&P’s board of directors.
Assala’s assets are highly complementary to M&P’s existing presence in Gabon and the combination will offer significant operational and financial optimization opportunities. The acquired assets are strategically located adjacent to M&P’s existing assets in Gabon, with midstream infrastructure to be acquired including the Gamba oil terminal and connected pipelines, which will allow M&P to control the transportation and distribution of all of its production within the country. Both M&P and Assala operate nearly all of their oil production, which provides meaningful leverage to optimize operations and costs across the combined portfolio.
Assala produced 40.7 kbopd on a consolidated working interest basis for the first half of 2023, with consolidated working interest 2P reserves estimated by M&P at 97 mmbbls as of 31 December 2022. The Transaction will enable M&P to reach critical scale with proforma consolidated working interest production for the group of 67.8 kboepd (including 64.4 kboepd of operated production) in the first half of 2023, of which 56.5 kbopd in Gabon.
Transaction Highlights
The Transaction will create a leading onshore operator in Gabon, benefiting from:
Simultaneous to the Transaction and based on the same economic terms as M&P’s acquisition, the Gabonese government will increase its participation in Assala’s subsidiary Assala Gabon from 25% to 27.5%, with an option to increase it by another 12.5% on similar terms over the next five years. This demonstrates the strong partnership and the alignment of interest between M&P and the Gabonese government.
Olivier de Langavant, Chief Executive Officer of M&P, stated: “The acquisition of Assala represents a step change for M&P. The combination of our portfolios provides the Group with a large operated base of long-life, low-cost onshore assets offering long-term visibility and substantial development potential in a stable country where M&P has been operating for over fifteen years. Assala’s management has done a great job in turning around the assets acquired from Shell in 2017, and M&P intends to continue building on this success story with the ongoing support of the combined workforce. The support of our controlling shareholder Pertamina allows us to benefit from attractive financing terms for this acquisition, which will further enhance value creation for all our shareholders.”
The Transaction remains subject to various approvals, including from the Republic of Gabon and CEMAC (Communauté Economique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale) merger control clearance. The closing of the Transaction is expected between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024
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