“All other clauses of the Exclusivity Agreement remain unchanged. We remind that on June 17, 2021 the parties signed an Exclusivity Agreement by which the seller has granted Romgaz an exclusivity right for a period of 4 months (until October 15, 2021) (the “Exclusivity Agreement”) with respect to the negotiations for the acquisition of all shares issued by (representing 100% of the share capital of) ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, company that holds 50% of the rights and obligations under the Concession Agreement for petroleum exploration, development and production in XIX Neptun Deep Block”, Romgaz said in a stock market report Tuesday.
On September 30, 2021, Romgaz announced in a stock market report that it initiated a non-binding process in order to obtain offers for financing in the amount of RON1.6 billion or the equivalent in euros, on the bank market, with a view to acquiring ExxonMobil’s 50% stake in the Neptun Deep gas exploration and drilling project in the Black Sea.
According to market sources, Romgaz is supposed to pay around USD$1 billion/euro (over RON4.2-4.9 billion) for the 50% stake in the Black Sea project. The amount of RON1.6 billion represents nearly EUR323.4 million, per ZF calculations.
At mid-2021, Romgaz had liquid assets worth nearly RON3.2 billion, under the form of government bonds and bank deposits, the equivalent of EUR650 million, that is why it needs a loan to fund the deal with ExxonMobil.
The contracting of the financing for which S.N.G.N Romgaz SA is in process of obtaining and assessing the offers from banks is subject to the following: completion of the negotiations with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Holdings Ltd. of the transaction with respect to the acquisition of all shares issued by (representing 100% of the share capital of) ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited; approval of the transaction by S.N.G.N. Romgaz SA General Meeting of Shareholders and the signing of the transaction documents; approval by S.N.G.N. Romgaz SA General Meeting of Shareholders of the contracting of the loan agreement.
The price offered by S.N.G.N. Romgaz SA for the acquisition of all shares issued by (representing 100% of the share capital of) ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited is confidential, being subject to the completion of the negotiation of the transaction documents, the approval of the transaction by S.N.G.N. Romgaz SA General Meeting of Shareholders, the signing of the transaction documents according to the legal and statutory provisions, as well as by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Holdings Ltd. obtaining the corporate approvals and by the fulfilment of the contractual conditions and will be brought to the shareholders’ knowledge on the date the S.N.G.N. Romgaz SA General Meeting of Shareholders will be convened, the report also reads.
ExxonMobil wants to withdraw from the Black Sea gas exploration and drilling project.
OMV Petrom, the largest energy company in South-Eastern Europe, which is 20% owned by the Romanian State, will be running the project after Exxon’s withdrawal, acting as operator for Neptun Deep block.
The Neptun Deep offshore block is estimated to hold natural gas resources amounting to as much as 84 billion cubic meters. Exxon and OMV Petrom have invested $1.5 billion in exploration of the block so far. The project entails investments of several billion euros.
Romgaz has a stock market capitalization of RON13.5 billion. SNG shares have been growing 24.6% since the beginning of 2021, amid deals worth RON423 million, per stock market data.