Australian oil and gas company Karoon Energy said Friday that the Brazilian national oil regulator ANP had approved, with conditions, Karoon's acquisition of the Bauna offshore field from Petrobras.
The field is located in shallow waters in the Santos Basin in concession BM-S-40, 50-60km from Karoon’s Neon and Goiá discoveries, and 50km from Karoon’s Clorita exploration area.
Karoon agreed to buy a 100% stake in the Baúna offshore oil field, in the southern Santos Basin, Brazil from Petrobras in July 2019.
In a statement on Friday, Karoon Energy said: "Karoon is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of the Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis (“ANP”) has approved with conditions, at a board meeting on 22 October 2020 (Brazil time), the assignment of the rights and obligations under Concession Contract BM-S-40 related to the Baúna field."
"Once written confirmation of the ANP’s board approval is issued, a further condition precedent to transaction close under the Baúna sale and purchase agreement and the last outstanding regulatory condition precedent will be satisfied," Karoon said.
Baúna includes 6 oil production wells, 3 water injection wells, and 1 gas injection well exploiting 2 reservoirs (Baúna & Piracaba). All wells are subsea completions with tie-ins back to the TeekayOcyan-owned FPSO Cidade de Itajaí.
"Transaction close still remains subject to certain conditions precedent, including FPSO charter assignment. In relation to the FPSO charter assignment, Karoon does not consider that this will delay transaction close," Karoon said Friday.
"Karoon is aiming to close the transaction on 30 October 2020 and will keep the market updated on progress," the company said.
The Baúna field, for which Karoon will pay up to US$ 665 million, started its operations in February 2013. Its output in July 2020 was about 16,000 barrels of oil per day.