Africa Equity Investment has acquired Aker Energy, operator of Ghana’s Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block.
The transaction hands the company a 50% stake in the ready-to-develop asset, which contains the ultradeepwater Pecan field, located in >2,500metres of water, with 2P reserves volume estimated at around 450–550Million barrels of oil equivalent.
Aker Energy’s management team will remain in place after the consummation of the deal and will keep working on the project, including the submission of the plan of development (PoD) for the Pecan field to Ghanaian authorities by the end of April 2023.
AEI is a subsidiary of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), who is always looking for a high value, energy infrastructure deal on the continent. AFC originally invested in Aker Energy in 2019, after the latter issued subordinated convertible bonds to the multilateral finance development institution, of $100Million. “The bonds have a coupon of 5.5% per year and will be converted to equity in the event of an Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) of Aker Energy, at an agreed discount to an IPO offering price of 1.85% per year”, Aker Energy said in a statement at the time. The bonds have a maturity of five years, with an option to extend with another three years. The proceeds from the bonds were be part of the financing for the development of the Deepwater Tano. The investment has since increased to $200Million and AFC president and CEO Samaila Zubairu had been sitting on the Aker Energy board.
The Pecan complex was discovered in 2012 by Hess Corporation who sold to Aker Energy in 2018. Aker had meant to fast track the project but had run into headwinds in the last 30 months.
Aker has indicated that the field could produce as much as 110,000Barrels of oil per day. What it hasn’t said, in public, is how long the peak production could last. The project could cost up to $4Billion.
