Cash-strapped KrisEnergy in deal to sell Indonesia O&G project stake to BP
SINGAPORE (Nov 19): KrisEnergy, the upstream oil & gas (O&G) company undergoing restructuring, has revealed it is selling its stake in an offshore oil & gas project to energy giant BP.
The upstream company focused on the production and development of oil & gas in Southeast Asia has been working on plans to restructure hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and expects the sale to help it allocate its capital to fund near-term development.
KrisEnergy plans to sell its 30% stake in the Andaman II project to BP Exploration Operating Co, a holding entity for BP's exploration and production subsidiaries.
Shares in KrisEnergy were halted from trade in August, when the company announced plans to seek temporary protection from creditors while it sought to restructure debt.
Shares in KrisEnergy have fallen 59% to 3 cents since Aug 13.
See: As KrisEnergy readies new restructuring plan, retail bondholders wary of being suckers again
KrisEnergy said the deal was a conditional sale and purchase agreement and has to be approved by the Indonesian government.
In its Tuesday filing, KrisEnergy did not specify what the purchase price was.
KrisEnergy first announced the said asset sale in October, but it did not disclose who the buyer was then.
Global giants of the oil & gas industry are planning to sell assets that could fetch a total Us$27.5 billion ($37.4 billion), according industry watchers.
They are disposing mature assets on a massive scale to finance higher-yielding investments elsewhere and to please shareholders who are calling for stricter capital discipline.
