Petroceltic Board Steps Down Following Survival Scheme Approval

The entire board of Petroceltic will step down after the Irish High Court revealed that it had approved the company’s latest survival scheme.

As a consequence of the scheme, Petroceltic Chief Executive Officer Brian O'Cathain and Chief Financial Officer Tom Hickey have also resigned from their respective executive roles. Following the approval of the scheme, Worldview Capital has now assumed full control of the company.

Earlier today, AIM confirmed that the existing share capital of Petroceltic had been cancelled.

"We look forward to working with the Petroceltic team to ensure the long term success of the company as it develops its assets," said Angelo Moskov, chief executive of Worldview Capital.

Petroceltic was not immediately available for comment. It’s outgoing CEO, O’Cathain, posted an image of former Petroceltic employees on Twitter following the news.

A court examiner had selected Worldview Capital Management, Petroceltic’s largest shareholder, to take control of the group in May. The company, which received a 3 pence per share offer from Worldview in February, was placed in examinership in March. Under Irish law, this process is equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and administration in Britain.

The board of Petroceltic, which operates in Algeria, Egypt, the Black Sea region and the Kurdistan region of Iraq, recommended that shareholders accept an all-cash offer from Worldview for the company back in April.

In response to the low oil price environment, Petroceltic sold off its interests in the North Thekah, North Port Fouad and South Idku exploration licenses in Egypt to its joint venture partner Edison International S.p.A in February, for a cash consideration of $9.5 million.

The move was part of a strategic initiative to focus the company’s efforts on the Ain Tsila development in Algeria, which enjoyed relative success recently.

In April, the first of up to 24 new development wells on the Ain Tsila gas and condensate field in Algeria revealed an initial off-take rate comparable to the AT-1 and AT-8 wells, each of which delivered flow rates in excess of 30 million cubic feet per day on test. The second well of the campaign, AT-13, penetrated a 240-foot gas and condensate bearing formation.

Worldview was not immediately available to comment on how it will progress the company’s assets going forward.

Reuters contributed to this article