Dana Gas completes acquisition of Centurion
Posted: 15 January 2007
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Dana Gas PJSC said its agreement to acquire Centurion Energy International Inc has been approved and completed as planned.
“The $950 million deal provides Abu-Dhabi-listed Dana Gas with a strong strategic platform from which to grow its upstream activities in natural gas exploration and production throughout the Middle East Region and North Africa ,” the company said in a statement.
Centurion announced that at a special meeting of its security-holders held on 8 January 2007 to approve the corporate transaction, 43,867,337 votes representing 94% of the securities voted were voted in favour of the Plan of Arrangement with Dana Gas, and that it had also received formal approval from the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in Canada .
Centurion Energy, which will become a wholly-owned subsidiary and the upstream division of Dana Gas, is currently engaged in exploration and production operations from 10 development leases and four exploration licenses in Egypt , Tunisia , and offshore West Africa . With offices in Calgary , London , and Cairo , Centurion ended 2006 with estimated gas reserves of almost 100 million boe, production of over 31,000 boe/ day, expected revenues of approximately $165 million and expected operating cash flows of approximately $85 million.
“The acquisition provides Dana Gas with access to a team of over 150 highly skilled multidisciplinary management and technical staff, with a proven track record in finding, developing, and producing natural gas reserves in the Middle East region,” the company said.
“This acquisition gives Dana Gas an important strategic entry into the region’s upstream natural gas sector and provides it with a unique growth platform based on a solid base of existing assets and, very importantly, a strong team of experienced exploration and production professionals,” said Hamid Dhiya Jafar, Executive Chairman of Dana Gas.
The transaction achieves Dana Gas’ aim of accelerating its growth strategy through the acquisition of exploration and production (E&P) operations in the Middle East and North Africa region. Centurion’s assets complement Dana Gas’s existing gas chain activities and expertise in transportation, processing and marketing of natural gas and represent the entry by Dana Gas into the region’s upstream gas sector. The new acquisition will also expand the Company’s presence in North Africa , and in particular Egypt , where the past decade has seen the country's natural gas and LNG operations attract the attention and focus of many international oil & gas firms. With proven reserves of 70 trillion cubic feet and growing, Egypt is already among the top ten LNG producers in the world.
In a recent announcement, Egypt ’s Petroleum Ministry stated that in the past five years gross foreign direct investment (FDI) in oil, gas and petrochemicals amounted to $9.5 billion. The Ministry added that the target for the next five years is to secure FDI of $25 billion in petroleum projects. By 2010 annual exports, mainly of gas and petrochemicals, are set to reach $10 billion. |
