Hibiscus Buys Malaysia, Vietnam Assets From Repsol

Malaysian oil and gas company Hibiscus Petroleum has completed the buy of Repsol’s interests in oil and gas assets in Malaysia and Vietnam.

To remind, when the agreement was initially announced in June 2021, the parties stated that the purchase price was $212.5 million.

Hibiscus Petroleum said following the completion that out of the $212.50 million price tag, the net amount paid at completion was $123.65 million after taking into account various adjustments including the deposit paid of $15.00 million.

It is worth noting that Hibiscus acquired the assets via its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Peninsula Hibiscus. It bought the entire equity interest of Repsol subsidiary Fortuna International Petroleum Corporation on January 24, 2022.

The acquired asset portfolio, which Hibiscus Petroleum dubbed as a high-quality one, comprises interests and operatorship in five production sharing contracts (PSCs) in Malaysia and Vietnam.

The portfolio includes PM314, PM305 offshore Peninsular Malaysia where Hibiscus now owns 60 percent interest. The third one is the 2012 Kinabalu Oil PSC offshore Sabah where the stake is also 60 percent Sabah.

The remaining two are PM3 in the Commercial Arrangement Area between Malaysia and Vietnam where Hibiscus now holds 35 percent and the 70-percent-owned Block 46 in Vietnamese waters.

With this acquisition, the company’s average daily oil and gas production is projected to increase almost threefold.

“As the operator of the newly acquired assets, the Group is well-positioned to build on its successful operational track record in its other producing assets in the United Kingdom and Malaysia," Hibiscus stated.

“The completion of this acquisition brings to a close the process which began when we first bid for these assets and opens a new chapter in the group’s next phase of growth. We welcome onboard the Repsol team into the Hibiscus family and look forward to working together on further enhancing value from these assets in 2022 and beyond,” Hibiscus Petroleum's Managing Director, Kenneth Gerard Pereira, said.

"Almost 50 percent of the production comprises gas. The addition of gas production is expected to present a better balance to our group’s asset portfolio in terms of price stability, markets, and operations. Such diversification represents a key aspect of our energy transition strategy as natural gas has been regarded as an important bridging fuel as the world transits to a lower-carbon energy mix.”

“Finally, this transaction has been made possible with the strong support of our shareholders, industry regulators both in Malaysia and Vietnam as well as our business partners. Our current partnership with Petronas and Petronas Carigali will be further strengthened and we are excited to forge a new working relationship with PetroVietnam as we expand our geographic footprint into Vietnam,” Pereira added.

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