Santos completes asset sale to Ophir

Australian LNG operator Santos said on Friday it has completed the sale of its non-core Asian assets to London-based Ophir Energy.

To remind, the deal was announced in May this year.

The deal includes Santos’ interests in the Sampang PSC and Madura Offshore PSC in Indonesia, and Vietnam Block 12W PSC.

Completion for certain exploration assets in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Vietnam remains subject to customary consents and regulatory approvals expected in the coming months, Santos said in its statement.

Santos has received cash proceeds of $144 million at completion, which represents the sale price of $221 million after standard adjustments including net free cash flows generated by the assets and received by Santos from the transaction effective date of 1 January 2018 through to completion.

Strong free cash flows have reduced Santos’ net debt to about $2.2 billion as at 31 August 2018, Santos said.

This amount will be further reduced by the Asia sale proceeds received in September and leaves Santos “well placed” to reach its $2 billion net debt target by October, more than a year ahead of schedule, it said.