April Yee
Shares of Heritage Oil, the Nigerian producer, jumped more than 22 per cent after a Qatari investment company offered to buy it for US$1.55 billion.
Al Mirqab Capital, which is controlled by the ruling Al Thani family, made the bid for Heritage at a 25 per cent premium over the company’s then share price. Since the announcement, bullish investors have pushed up Heritage share price by yesterday afternoon to nearly 313.6 pence a share, close to the 320 pence bid.
If it goes through, Qatar would get a piece of the pie of a producer whose future has also been shadowed by the North American shale revolution.
The rapid spread of hydraulic fracking in the US, which involves shooting a mixture of sand, water or chemicals into the ground, has made America a net oil-product exporter and could soon make it the world’s top oil producer, according to projections. On the gas front, companies are taking advantage of cheap feedstock to revive aged petrochemical plants and prepare the infrastructure for liquefied gas exports to Asia.
That threatens Nigeria, which counts the US among its top oil buyers, and Qatar, whose economy is built atop the world’s single biggest gasfield.
Al Mirqab is run by chief executive Jassim Bin Hamad JJ Al Thani, who also serves as the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank, the Islamic investment bank QInvest, Damaan Islamic Insurance, and the reinsurance company Q-RE.
Heritage Oil’s prime asset is its share in the OML 30 licence in Nigeria, which currently provides about 15,600 barrels per day. Production has already climbed by about a fifth since the start of the year.
The company’s founder, Tony Buckingham, will remain a 20 per cent shareholder and advisor for five years or more after the deal, according to a statement from Heritage.
“The independent committee of Heritage’s board believes that the offer represents an attractive and certain value,” said Michael Hibberd, the chairman.
ayee@thenational.ae
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