LONDON-LISTED HARDY Oil & Gas has sold its Nigerian business to Inergia Petroleum in a $4.5 mn deal.
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">LONDON-LISTED HARDY Oil & Gas has sold its Nigerian business to Inergia Petroleum in a $4.5 mn deal.
The move comes as Hardy focuses on developing its Indian assets.
The sale will see Nigerian newcomer Inergia take Hardy's 20 per cent stake in each of the Oza and Atala marginal fields in Nigeria.
Oza lies in in the north-western sector of OML 11, near Port Harcourt, with three suspended wells in the field and a concession area of 20 sq km.
Atala is in OML 46, covers 34 sq km in Bayelsa state.
The deal is conditional on the approval of Hardy shareholders and should be completed immediately following shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, due to be held next month.
Hardy's non-executive chairman Paul Mortimer said: "Hardy's original entry into Nigeria was driven by its strategy to increase production in the near term since most of the exploration efforts on blocks in India have long lead times to production.
"As a result of significant delays in executing the work programmes in Nigeria, the board believes it is appropriate for Hardy to exit Nigeria and focus its efforts exclusively on its exploration and development programmes in India."
