FAR Ltd. shareholders have approved the sale of the company’s assets offshore Senegal to Woodside Petroleum at the Apr. 28 reconvened general meeting.
The vote, 97.25% for and 2.75% against, spells the conclusion of a year-long saga during which FAR received offers from ONGC of India, Lukoil of Russia, and Remus Horizons of Guernsey in addition to the Woodside bid.
Lukoil and, most recently, Remus withdrew. ONGC was pre-empted by Woodside which is a member and operator of the Senegal joint venture.
The to and fro of bids caused the general meeting to be postponed several times as FAR scrambled to keep shareholders informed of the various offers.
Woodside will acquire FAR’s 13.67% of Sangomar oil field development along with 15% of FAR’s interest in the surrounding Rufisque/Sangomar/Sangomar Deep (RSSD) permits for $45 million.
The acquisition also includes reimbursement of FAR’s share of working capital (including cash calls) from Jan. 1, 2020, until completion of the deal, and FAR’s entitlement to contingent payments capped at $55 million.
FAR will work with Woodside and seek to finalize the remaining conditions precedent (including approval from the Sengalese government) and completion tasks for the sale.
Following completion, Woodside’s participating interest in the RSSD JV will increase to 82% for the Sangomar exploitation area and 90% for the remaining RSSD evaluation area.
Woodside plans to begin development drilling this year and progress the project to a first oil target date of 2023.
Senegal national company Petrosen holds the remaining 10% interest in the Senegal RSSD area.
FAR expects to have about $130 million in cash at closing, which will be used to rebuild and to fund exploration work offshore Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.