New Bentley field owner by June end?

Xcite Energy’s Bentley field in the UK North Sea could have a new owner by the end of June.

This is according to FTI Consulting which has been appointed liquidator of the company after Xcite failed to raise funds for debt payment.

The company, the operator of the undeveloped Bentley field in the UK North Sea, failed to pay $152 million in debt when bonds issued in 2014 matured on October 31, 2016.

On November 1, 2016, the Bond Trustee made demand on Xcite to repay the debt in full. Xcite then confirmed that it could not repay the debt claimed in the demand.

The creditors then applied to court to place Xcite into liquidation, and the court on December 5 appointed joint liquidators of the company.

Xcite’s material assets are the licenses its subsidiary XER holds in four blocks in the UK North Sea, the most significant of which is the Bentley field license.

The Bentley field is one of the largest undeveloped fields in the North Sea, containing some 550 MMstb in-place of 10°-12° API heavy oil.

Xcite Energy holds and operates 100% of the Bentley field located on the East Shetland Platform in the UK Northern North Sea, 8 km southeast of the Statoil’s Bressay field, and 15 km east of the Enquest’s Kraken field.

The XER assets have been put up for sale prior to the court action, but the process has since December been monitored by liquidators, who are working to seal the deal as soon as possible due to Xcites cash constraints.

If the available cash is exhausted XER will cease to operate and the licenses will likely be revoked resulting in little or no value being available to XEL’s stakeholders, the liquidators said in one of the recent announcements.

Closure expected on by June 30

In a statement on Wednesday, the joint liquidators said discussions were at an advanced stage with one party on the disposal of the shares Xcite Energy Limited holds in Xcite Energy Resources (XER).

The liquidators said they were continuing talks with all requisite stakeholders to achieve completion prior to June 30, 2017.

Furthermore, the liquidators reiterated that “unfortunately the transaction will not result in a return of any value to shareholders.”

In order for XEL’s shareholders to receive a distribution from the company, realizations from its assets and the proceeds of any claims must exceed $152 million, which apparently is not the case with the offer liquidators are dealing with.

The liquidator previously said 26 potentially interested parties had been contacted during the sales process but only four made concrete offers, none of which would have made any return to shareholders.

While names of the companies were not disclosed, the liquidators have said that the potential buyer list included companies with large development capabilities, tax paying sector companies, large and small “Independents” as well as private equity backed sector companies.

Offshore Energy Today Staff