Malaysian firm Sona Petroleum Bhd. is to be liquidated following the overwhelming shareholder veto of the proposed purchase of producing Stag oil field offshore Western Australia.
Datuk Seri Hadian Hashim, Sona managing director, said the company is in the process of appointing a liquidator, and investors can expect a distribution of about 48¢/share. This figure is based on the company’s trust account of $135.64 million at yearend 2015.
The timeline of the payout, however, will depend on how long the liquidation process takes and clearance to be made.
In April, the Sona board failed to convince shareholders of the viability of the $25-million Stag field acquisition (OGJ Online, Apr. 28, 2016).
Field owners, Quadrant Energy Ltd., Perth, and Santos Ltd., Adelaide, subsequently notified Sona about the termination of the sales and purchase agreement, effective June 2.
Sona originally agreed to buy Stag for $50 million in early November 2015, but the purchase price was reduced to $25 million following negotiations with the sellers in the first months of this year to take into consideration the lower world oil prices.
Stag field lies 60 km offshore of Dampier and has been on stream since 1998. It has a production capacity of 5,500 b/d via a fixed platform connected to the Dampier Spirit floating storage and offtake vessel.
Sona had planned to enhance the field’s production, including the drilling of infill wells to accelerate oil recovery.
Remaining reserves are believed to be 13 million bbl of proved oil, 16.2 million bbl of 2P oil, and 24 million bbl of 3P oil.
The field is owned 33.33% by operator Quadrant and 66.66% by Santos.