Operator to buy 40% in Senegal’s RSSD project, not Lukoil

MOSCOW, Aug 17 (PRIME) -- Australia’s Woodside, operator of the Rufisque, Sangomar and Sangomar Deep (RSSD) shelf project in Senegal, will use a preemptive right to buy a 40% stake in the project to bar Russian oil major Lukoil from acquiring the stake, Cairn Energy PLC – the owner of the stake – said in a statement on Monday.

“Further to our announcement on July 27, 2020 of the proposed sale of Cairn’s interests in the Sangomar field offshore Senegal to Lukoil, Woodside has exercised its right to pre-empt on the same terms and conditions. In the event that no other joint venture parties pre-empt prior to the deadline of August 26, 2020 then Woodside will acquire Cairn’s entire interest in the project,” the statement read.

On July 27, Lukoil said that it had signed an agreement to buy the 40% stake in the RSSD project for U.S. $300 million, and that the deal also included a possible bonus of up to $100 million from Lukoil after the project starts production.

Within the blocks of the project, two fields were discovered previously: the Sangomar and FAN fields. Lukoil estimated recoverable hydrocarbon reserves of the Sangomar field at about 500 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company planned to launch production at the field in 2023 with the projected annual production capacity of 5 million tonnes of oil.

Woodside owns a 35% stake in the project, while FAR owns 15%, and Senegalese national oil company Petrosen has a 10% stake.

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