Russian private-sector upstream firm Lukoil’s A$220m ($171m) takeover offer for Australian independent Far will not trigger US sanctions on the 100,000 b/d Sangomar oil field offshore Senegal, project operator Australian independent Woodside Petroleum said.
Last week, Lukoil made its second attempt to buy into Sangomar through a bid for Far, which owns 13.67 percent of the project.
Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said the bid does not prompt pre-emptive rights in the Sangomar project as the transaction is for Far’s publicly traded shares and not directly for the company’s stake in Sangomar: “The Lukoil offer will not trigger the US sanctions as it is below the 33 percent threshold for the sanctions to become applicable to the project.”
The move by Lukoil prompted Far to defer its shareholder meeting, which was to vote on a pre-emptive offer from Woodside. This may cause complications for Woodside, which wants to reduce its stake in Sangomar to 40-50 percent this year.
The US sanctions on Russia stem from Moscow’s invasion of the Ukraine in 2014.
For more information visit www.woodside.com.au
