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PetroFrontier acquires Texalta in NT consolidation
Australia-focused company

PetroFrontier will acquire Calgary-based Texalta in a move that will consolidate ownership of exploration permits in the Southern Georgina basin.


Upstream staff 22 March 2011 01:28 GMT
PetroFrontier was one of the first companies to start exploration of the basin,

while Texalta Australia holds a 50% working interest in two exploration permits covering 2.3 million hectares in the basin, located in Australia?s Northern Territory.

Petrofrontier will pay C$1.58 ($1.61) cash and issue 0.45 of its shares for every Texalta share held, with a caveat that no more than C$10 million in cash will be paid out to shareholders.

In an announcement, Petrofrontier said the transaction would give it 100% ownership of exploration permits EP 103 and EP 104 as well as a 75% interest in EP 127 and EP 128 ? giving it a total ownership interest of 85.5% of the basin.

The company said only eighteen wells had been drilled on the basin to date, which it described as ?one of the last remaining virtually unexplored, hydrocarbon prospective, onshore sedimentary basins in the world.?

The acquisition would help PetroFrontier accelerate its planned 20 well horizontal drilling program, with the company currently preparing to move a drilling rig to the location of exploration well Baldwin-2, on EP 103,

with a spud date expected in the second quarter of 2011.

Drilling has been delayed as a result of road bans throughout Queensland caused by significant flooding earlier in the year.

The company will also acqurire about 115 barrels of oil equivalent per day of high netback, light oil production at Wordsworth and Queensdale in southeast Saskatchewan, as well as exploration properties at Carlyle, Saskatchewan and Joarcam, Alberta.

Published: 22 March 2011 01:28 GMT | Last updated: 22 March 2011 02:01 GMT