United Oil and Gas wraps up acquisition of Rockhopper Egypt

United Oil and Gas has completed its previously announced $16 million acquisition of Rockhopper Egypt from Rockhopper Exploration to enter into the producing Abu Sennan block in Egypt.

The deal, which was announced in July 2019, was closed after satisfying preceding conditions.

Rockhopper Egypt holds a 22% non-operating stake in the onshore Abu Sennan concession. The production share of Rockhopper Egypt for the year 2018 from the Egyptian concession was nearly 813 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

In the first half of February 2020, the Abu Sennan concession produced an average of 7,900 boepd from a total of 17 wells, of which 1,700 boepd is the share of United Oil and Gas.

The Abu Sennan block, which is located in the Western Desert region of Egypt, is made up of seven development concessions, each having a producing field, and also an exploration licence that spans 644km2. Kuwait Energy Egypt is the operator of the Abu Sennan concession with 25% stake while the other partners are Global Connect (25%) and Dover Investments (28%).

United Oil and Gas completes acquisition of Rockhopper Egypt. Image courtesy of OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

Brian Larkin – United Oil and Gas CEO said: “At over 1,700 boepd, our 22% share of production at Abu Sennan and the revenues it generates are material.  This does not take into account any future growth arising either from the ongoing infill drilling programme at Abu Sennan or the multiple exploration targets that have been independently estimated to hold gross unrisked prospective resources of 29.4 mmboe.

“Production has increased significantly over the last 12 months, reaching 7,900 boepd in February 2020. This highlights the potential of the assets and we look forward to working with our new partners to fully deliver on this promise.”

The acquisition of Rockhopper Egypt is said to be a major milestone for United Oil and Gas as it transforms it into a full-cycle exploration and production company. United Oil and Gas, which was established in 2015, has an onshore exploration asset in Italy in the form of the Podere Gallina licence, and in the UK has an onshore asset in PL090 licence alongside two offshore assets – P1918 and P2480.