ARA blocks Wentworth's Ruvuma acquisition, uses pre-emption rights
A deal by Tanzania-focused gas producer Wentworth Resources to buy Scirocco Energy's 25% stake in the Ruvuma PSC appears to have fallen through, after project operator ARA Petroleum Tanzania triggered its pre-emptive rights.
Ruvuma PSC minority partner Aminex announced ARA's pre-emption September 1. Aminex it was delighted APT had corroborated its "confidence" in Ruvuma PSC's potential, with the deal coming in the wake of a reserves upgrade at the exploration-stage project last month.
Prior to the acquisition, ARA owned a 50% operated stake in Ruvuma PSA, followed by Aminex (25%) and the exiting Scriocco Energy (25%). Wentworth Resources, which earlier today posted its first-half financial update, had said it would pay up to $6mn for Scirocco's stake, building its existing upstream position focused around Tanzania's onshore Mnazi Bay concession
Situated in southeast Tanzania, Ruvuma PSC is part of eponymous Ruvuma basin that has spurred several high-profile gas discoveries in neighbouring Mozambique. The licence area contains ARA's flagship gas and condensate field Ntorya, scheduled to launch 2024.
A seismic acquisition campaign has been started to identify a location for a forthcoming exploration well, Chikumbi-1. Chikumbi-1 was originally set to launch in early 2022, but has been postponed to allow the seismic work to be completed. On August 1 Aminex revised Ntorya's in place prospective gas estimate, in risked terms, to 3 trillion ft3 based on the new seismic data.