Nigeria’s Oando (OANDO.LG) said on Monday that it has delayed the completion of its $1.79 billion deal to buy Conocophillips’ (COP.N) Nigerian assets by two months to January.
Oando has been seeking equity and bank loan funding for the deal and to finance its transition from a marketer of refined petroleum products into an upstream business focused on oil and gas exploration and production.
The deal to acquire Conoco’s fields, which were producing about 43,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) last year and have proven reserves of 213 million barrels of oil equivalent, was scheduled to close in November.
But analysts have long questioned whether Oando can persuade investors to deliver the funds. It is listed in Toronto (OER.TO) and Johannesburg OAO.J and has commitments from banks for several hundred million dollars in loans.
The statement through the Johannesburg stock exchange added that Oando would pay a $15 million deposit by December 6, on top of the $435 million deposit it has already paid.
This leaves about $1.23 billion to pay after adjustments, the company said.
Oando chief executive Wale Tinubu has said that the company’s upstream business will account for about three quarters of its assets after the Conoco acquisition, against 40 percent now.
REUTERS
