Pandion Gains Cara Stake
Friday 23 June 2017
Start-up Pandion Energy has been pre-qualified by the authorities as a licence-holder on the Norwegian continental shelf and has now taken over licences off the country formerly held by Tullow Oil, including a stake in the Cara discovery.
The Oslo-based company, backed by private-equity player Kerogen Capital, was formed in November last year through a management buyout to acquire the Tullow assets, formerly held by Spring Energy before it was acquired by the UK independent.
Pandion now holds a 20% interest in Engie E&P-operated production licence 636 that hosts the Cara oil and gas find, which the French operator aims to exploit as a subsea tieback to the nearby Gjoa platform in the northern North Sea after recently awarding feasibility studies to TechnipFMC and Aker Solutions.
This was among a total of 12 licence stakes acquired by Pandion in its takeover of Tullow’s Norwegian subsidiary. Aker BP also picked up eight licences in the Tullow sell-off of its Norwegian assets.
Pandion also has its sights on further exploration, appraisal and development opportunities off Norway after pre-qualification from the authorities and completion of the Tullow transaction.
Kerogen has made an initial funding commitment of $100 million and this could increase to $300 million as Pandion develops its portfolio.
The company’s strategy is “focused on participating in discoveries with resource upside and enhancing their value through appraisal drilling, near-field exploration and moving the assets up the development curve”, according to a statement.
Chief executive Jan Christian Ellefsen said “we have built up a pipeline of investment opportunities spanning from exploration assets to development projects”.
“With all required approvals in place, we are now ready to capture these opportunities through acquisitions, farm-ins and licensing rounds,” he added.
The company’s management team has a 10-year track record of experience off Norway, both with Spring Energy and subsequently with Tullow.