VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 28,
2024 /CNW/ - (TSX: AOI) (Nasdaq-Stockholm: AOI)
– Africa Oil Corp. ("Africa Oil", or the "Company") is
pleased to announce the completion of Africa Oil SA Corp.'s
("AOSAC") strategic farm down agreement ("Agreement") with
TotalEnergies EP South Africa S.A.S. ("TotalEnergies") and
QatarEnergy International E&P LLC. ("QatarEnergy") for the
Orange Basin Block 3B/4B, offshore South
Africa, announced on March 6,
2024. AOSAC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Africa Oil. View
PDF version
AOSAC has retained a direct 17.00% interest in Block
3B/4B
and transferred the operatorship of the block to TotalEnergies.
Transaction Highlights:
- Maximum transaction value of up to $46.8
million to Africa Oil.
- Africa Oil will receive, subject to achieving certain
milestones defined in the Agreement, staged cash payments for a
total cash payment of $10.0 million
of which $3.3 million is now due, and
the remaining balance in two successive payments conditional upon
achievement of key operational and regulatory milestones.
- Africa Oil will also receive a full carry of its 17.00%
retained share of all JV costs, up to a cap, repayable to
TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy from production in case of
exploration success and development, which is expected to be
adequate to fund the Company's share of drilling for up to two
wells on the licence.
Under a separate agreement between Africa Oil, AOSAC, Eco
(Atlantic) Oil & Gas Limited ("Eco") and Eco's subsidiary,
Azinam Limited ("Azinam"), signed in July
2024, AOSAC will acquire an additional 1.00% in Block
3B/4B
from Azinam ("Eco Agreement") subject to the satisfaction of
customary conditions precedent, including approvals from the
government of South Africa.
Africa Oil Chief Executive Officer, Dr Roger Tucker, commented: "Africa Oil has an
unrivalled position amongst its Independent E&P peer group in
the world-class Orange Basin. This includes our interest in the
Venus discovery and the follow-on appraisal and exploration upside
on Block 2913B, offshore Namibia. This farm down with TotalEnergies and
QatarEnergy, two companies with deep geological knowledge of the
basin, will facilitate exploration activities on Block 3B/4B, and extends
our near-term scope for testing significant upside potential in our
portfolio."
About Block 3B/4B
Block 3B/4B covers an area of 17,581 km2 within
the Orange Basin offshore South
Africa in water depths ranging between 300m and 2,500m.
This block lies to the southeast and on trend with number of oil
discoveries including the Venus discovery. There is approximately
14,000 km2 of 2D seismic and 10,800 km2 of 3D
seismic over Block 3B/4B and a large opportunity set of exploration
prospects has been identified.
AOSAC has a 17.00% interest in Block 3B/4B (26.25% prior
to completion of the Agreement) with TotalEnergies holding a 33.00%
operated interest; QatarEnergy holding 24.00%; Ricocure
(Proprietary) Ltd ("Ricocure") holding 19.75%; and Azinam holding
6.25%.
On the completion of the Eco Agreement, which is subject to the
satisfaction of customary conditions precedent, including approvals
from the government of South
Africa, the interests in Block 3B/4B will be
comprised of: 18.00% held by AOSAC; 33.00% held by TotalEnergies;
24.00% held by QatarEnergy; 19.75% held by Ricocure; and 5.25% held
by Azinam.
Eco Agreement
In July 2024, Africa Oil and AOSAC
signed the Eco Agreement with Azinam, pursuant to which Azinam has
agreed to sell and assign a 1.00% interest in Block 3B/4B to AOSAC in
exchange for the cancellation of all common shares in Eco and
warrants over Eco common shares held by Africa Oil. The Company
holds 54,941,744 Eco shares and 4,864,865 in Eco warrants, combined
constituting approximately 16% of the total securities in Eco and
also constituting the entire security holding of Africa Oil in Eco.
Through its current shareholding in Eco, Africa Oil has an indirect
0.93% interest in Block 3B/4B.
About Africa Oil
Africa Oil Corp. is a Canadian oil and gas company with
producing and development assets in deepwater Nigeria and an exploration/appraisal portfolio
in west and south of Africa. The
Company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and on Nasdaq
Stockholm under the symbol "AOI".
Additional Information
This press release contains inside information that Africa Oil
Corp. is required to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse
Regulation. The information was submitted for publication,
through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at
07:30 a.m. EDT on August 28, 2024.
All dollar amounts are in United
States dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Forward Looking Information
Certain statements and information contained herein constitute
"forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation), including in respect of Block
3B/4B,
completion of the Eco Agreement and potential drilling of the first
exploration well in 2025, and the potential of the Venus discovery
or the broader Orange Basin. Such statements and information
(together, "forward looking statements") relate to future events or
the Company's future performance, business prospects or
opportunities.
All statements other than statements of historical fact may be
forward-looking statements. Statements concerning proven and
probable reserves and resource estimates may also be deemed to
constitute forward-looking statements and reflect conclusions that
are based on certain assumptions that the reserves and resources
can be economically exploited. Any statements that express or
involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations,
beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future
events or performance (often, but not always, using words or
phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue",
"estimate", "expect, "may", "will", "project", "predict",
"potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should",
"believe" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical
fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, ongoing uncertainties
and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ
materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking
statements, including statements pertaining to dividend
distributions, share repurchase programs, the 2022 Management
Guidance including production, cashflow from operation and capital
investment estimates, performance of commodity hedges, the results,
schedules and costs of exploratory drilling activity, uninsured
risks, regulatory and fiscal changes, availability of materials and
equipment, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations,
duration of the drilling program, availability of third party
service providers and defects in title. No assurance can be given
that these expectations will prove to be correct and such
forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. The
Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to
update these forward-looking statements, except as required by
applicable laws. These forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties relating to, among other things, changes in
macro-economic conditions and their impact on operations, changes
in oil prices, reservoir and production facility performance,
hedging counterparty contractual performance, results of
exploration and development activities, cost overruns, uninsured
risks, regulatory and fiscal changes, defects in title, claims and
legal proceedings, availability of materials and equipment,
availability of skilled personnel, timeliness of government or
other regulatory approvals, actual performance of facilities, joint
venture partner underperformance, availability of financing on
reasonable terms, availability of third party service providers,
equipment and processes relative to specifications and expectations
and unanticipated environmental, health and safety impacts on
operations. Actual results may differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Africa Oil Corp.