A sale and purchase agreement has been signed by New Zealand Oil & Gas and Mitsui E&P Australia for Mitsui’s 4 per cent interest in the Kupe gas and light oil field. The transaction was announced in May and was subject to the Kupe joint venture participants’ pre-emptive rights and other consents and approvals. An NZX waiver was required for a transaction with a related party because the parties had previously been joint venture participants together in Kupe.
The other Kupe joint venture participants have not exercised pre-emptive rights, and the NZX waiver has been granted. The transaction remains subject to other consents and approvals (including regulatory approvals). The effective date of the transaction is 1 January 2017.
Kupe is offshore from South Taranaki. It comprises an offshore remote-operated production platform, a pipeline and umbilical cable to shore, and an onshore production facility near Hawera. New Zealand Oil & Gas previously held 15 per cent of Kupe, which it sold to Genesis Energy on 1 January 2017.
Kupe is operated by Lattice Energy Resources (Kupe) Limited, which together with its related companies has a 50 per cent interest. Genesis Energy, through its subsidiaries, holds a 46 per cent interest.