Austral Pacific to sell gas, oil interest to Horizon
OIL and gas exploration company Austral Pacific Energy Ltd has agreed to sell its 28.92% stake in a Papua New Guinea petroleum retention licence to Horizon Energy.
The deal includes a 10.7% interest in another licence, PRL 5.
Austral, a listed junior explorer based in New Zealand but incorporated in Canada, plans to use the proceeds of sale to help accelerate loan repayments.
Under the company’s debt facility with Investec, Austral owes US$18.65 ($NZ23.39) million (K49 million) which it hopes to cut to US$11 million (K28 million) by May, a reduction of US$7.5 million (K19.67 million).
Chief executive Thom Jewell said it was a good time to reduce the company’s debt profile, strengthen the balance sheet, and retain its focus on the growth of production from its core assets.
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