BUDAPEST: Hungarian oil and gas company MOL today said it had agreed with Ithaca Petroleum Ltd. to buy its subsidiary in Norway Ithaca Petroleum Norge for an initial offer of $60 mln, Hungarian news agency MTI reported. The firm could also receive up to $30 mln from MOL as an additional bonus payment dependent on the exploration success of the existing license portfolio.
MOL will finance the deal from its operating cash flow, MOL said. The deal fits MOLʼs strategy to increase its exploration and development activities, the company added. IPNʼs portfolio includes 14 licenses in the Norwegian continental shelf, out of which three are operated by IPN.
The licenses provide an oil weighted exploration portfolio with net unrisked best estimate prospective resources of more than the equivalent of 600 million barrels of oil. Having now entered Norway, MOL plans to further expand its portfolio there by adding additional assets and licenses to IPN. MOL ultimately targets becoming “a well reputed offshore operator in the region,” it said.
