8th February 2010
|
| |
Uganda leaning towards approval of Tullow purchase of Heritahe Oil\'s assets
|
| |
Uganda’s government is “tending” toward approval of Tullow Oil Plc’s offer to purchase Heritage Oil Plc’s assets in the East African country, said Peter Lokeris, minister of state for mineral development.
“A few conditions are remaining, otherwise we are tending toward approval,” Lokeris said in a phone interview today from the capital, Kampala. Discussions are still being held on “taxation and how we are to handle monopoly.”
Lokeris didn’t give details of when the discussions will be completed.
Government backing for Tullow would end Eni SpA’s $1.5 billion rival bid for Heritage’s 50 percent interests in Blocks 1 and 3A in the Lake Albert region. Tullow, which already has stakes in the blocks, is seeking full ownership, derailing Eni’s efforts to secure a foothold in Uganda.
Energy Minister Hillary Onek on Jan. 21 provisionally backed Eni’s offer for the Heritage assets, countering an attempt by Tullow to block the sale. Further discussions about the dispute were held when Tullow officials, led by Chief Executive Aidan Heavey, visited the country on Jan. 22.
Uganda’s government is trying to maximize the benefits of its oil resources after economic growth slowed last year. Per- capita income in sub-Saharan Africa dropped for the first time in a decade in 2009, with 7 million more people falling into poverty in the region, the World Bank said on Jan. 21.
About 700 million barrels of resources have been found in the Lake Albert Rift Basin and another 1.5 billion barrels remain to be discovered, according to company estimates.
Tullow, Heritage, Tower Resources Plc and Dominion Petroleum Ltd. have been exploring Ugandan fields along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tullow plans to produce its first oil at Uganda’s Kasamene field this year.
by Enresol Information Desk |
| |
|
|
