Mubadala Development Company today completed the acquisition of Pearl Energy, a major Southeast Asian oil and gas exploration and production company, from Aabar Energy.
This transaction is part of Mubadala’s strategy to become an active operator in the international upstream petroleum sector, said a statement.
Mubadala, an investment and business development company at the forefront of Abu Dhabi’s economic diversification, is building on the emirate’s reputation as a reliable global energy supplier to retain market share both domestically and internationally. Mubadala’s interests include oil and gas assets in Qatar, Oman, Libya and Algeria, as well as power utilities and renewable energy solutions through the Masdar initiative, it said.
This acquisition marks a significant step forward in Mubadala’s plan to achieve international growth in this sector.
“We will leverage our current oil and gas assets, reserves and experience to establish an international exploration and production platform,” said Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, COO of Mubadala. “The Pearl transaction enhances Mubadala’s profile by adding active operating capabilities. Our plans are to continue this trend with more acquisitions at a corporate and asset level.”
Since 2002, Pearl has assembled a portfolio of exploration, development and production assets in 21 contract areas and production sharing contracts covering a gross acreage of more than 135,000 sq. km in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The company’s net production was approximately 19,000 barrels of oil per day at the end of 2007 from three fields in Indonesia and the flagship Jasmine offshore field in the Gulf of Thailand.
Pearl’s work program for 2008 comprises 13 seismic acquisition programs and the drilling of 24 exploration wells across its portfolio. In addition, it will drill 47 development wells largely related to the ongoing expansion of the Jasmine oil field in Thailand.
Pearl’s strong technical team has decades of collective experience in finding and developing oil and gas resources in Southeast Asia and the Pearl brand is firmly established in the region where demand for hydrocarbons continues to rise in tandem with economic growth.
“Mubadala is committed to building on existing relationships with the governments of host countries, partners, suppliers and contractors,” continued Al Muhairi. “We will consider future acquisition opportunities to further integrate Pearl’s portfolio, increasing its value and efficiency.”
Goldman Sachs advised Mubadala on this transaction. - TradeArabia News Service