From Upstreamonline. Apologies if something similar has been...

From Upstreamonline. Apologies if something similar has been posted earlier.

Australias Karoon Gas has delayed the flotation of its Brazilian unit on the Sao Paulo bourse by a week, and is now expected to set the intial share price for the offering on Thursday.
News wires 15 November 2010 13:50 GMT
The delay was called in an attempt to whip up interest after investor demand fell below expected levels, according to Brazils Valor newspaper.

Karoon Petroleo e Gas, as the Brazilian subsidiary is known, has five blocks in the Santos basin and also holds assets in Perus .

The offer encompasses 1.03 million common shares, and underwriters have been working toward a price range of 1.025 to 1.275 Brazilian reais per share.

Lacklustre demand, said the newspaper, could be a sign of investor fatigue close on the heels of a similarly conceived flotation by Brazils HRT Participacoes.

The IPO raised R$2.6 billion (US $1.53 billion) to explore frontier acreage in the Solimoes basin and off Mozambique but, like Karoon offering, was for acreage that is in the early stage of exploration.

Karoon filed its investor prospectus with the Brazilian securities regulator (CVM) on 9 September and expects to conclude the operation during the current quarter.

Karoon Gas intends to retain ownership of around 70% to 75% in its Brazilian unit.

A commissioned report by DeGolyer & MacNaughton states that Karoons Brazilian and Peruvian assets have prospective resources of around 589 million barrels, on a net mean basis (net mean), and an unrisked mean estimate of 2.15 million barrels.

Published: 15 November 2010 13:50 GMT | Last updated: 15 November 2010 13:50 GMT