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Cooper Energy completes Santos’ Victorian gas assets purchase

January 11, 2017

Cooper Energy completed the purchase of all of Santos’ Victorian gas assets except the 10 percent interest in the Minerva gas field. 

According to the company’s statement, Cooper Energy has paid initial consideration of $61 million plus working capital adjustments to the LNG player, Santos.

Subsequent conditional consideration of $20 million is payable on the earlier of the Final Investment Decision for the Sole gas project or a sell-down by Cooper Energy of an interest in the Victorian gas assets.

The assets acquired include interests in producing gas assets, gas projects and plant in the Otway and Gippsland Basins:

  • a 50 percent interest in the producing Casino-Henry gas project in the offshore Otway Basin;
  • a 50 percent interest in retention licences VIC/RL11 and VIC/RL12 in the offshore Otway Basin;
  • a 50 percent interest in the VIC/P44 exploration acreage offshore Otway Basin;
  • a 50 percent interest in the Sole Gas Project in the Gippsland Basin, taking Cooper Energy equity in this project to 100 percent;
  • a 50 percent interest in the Orbost Gas Plant in the Gippsland Basin, taking Cooper Energy to 100 percent ownership of the plant; and
  • a 100 percent interest in the depleted Patricia Baleen gas field in the Gippsland Basin.

The acquisition came into effect on January 1, 2017.

It is expected that the outstanding conditions precedent (which do not include pre-emptive rights) for the acquisition of a 10 percent interest in the Minerva gas project and plant will be satisfied in due course at which point Cooper Energy will pay consideration of $1 million to effect completion of that asset.

The Minerva gas field is expected to cease operation in the 2017 calendar year and production from the field is expected to contribute 0.1 million boe of the 1.6 million boe production forecast for the company in the current calendar year.

The process of transferring operatorship to Cooper Energy has started and is expected to be completed by mid-2017, Cooper Energy said in its statement.