EurOil: Energean makes strategic sale of assets to Carlyle Energy valued at $945mn

The operator of Israel’s offshore Karish gas field in the East Mediterranean, Energean, has announced the sale of its Egyptian, Italian and Croatian portfolio to Carlyle International Energy partners for an “enterprise value” of $954mn, of which $820mn is “firm,” the company said in a statement released on 20 June.

The deal, which is set to be complete by the end of this year, will prove financially beneficial to Energean as it represents substantial returns on the 2020 investment. The company said it would be provided with sufficient cash proceeds at closing that would enable it to repay in full the $450mn PLC Corporate Bond and facilitate a special dividend of up to $200mn.

“This sale enables Energean to rationalise the portfolio and focus on its gas-weighted, gas-development strategy, underpinned by the Karish Field in Israel and recent farm-in to the Anchois field in Morocco,” the statement said. “This strategy aims to maximise asset monetisation through a develop and operate model, free cash flow generation and returns to shareholders.” It added that the transaction will optimise the assets by “divesting later life assets, removing over 60% of the group’s decommissioning liabilities, and improving free cashflow generation in the short to medium term.”

Energean acquired the assets (the portfolio) in Egypt, Italy and Croatia from Edison E&P in 2020 for $284mn. The sale comes as new wells at the projects in Italy and Egypt are about to start production, the Financial Times reported.

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