Carlyle will form a new Mediterranean-focused oil and gas company led by former BP CEO Tony Hayward after the private equity fund agreed to acquire Energean's assets in Egypt, Italy and Croatia for up to $945million.
The deal will allow Carlyle to tap into the eastern Mediterranean gas market that has grown rapidly in recent years as demand in Egypt soars and Europe seeks alternatives to Russian gas.
The new company will initially produce up to 47,000 barrels of oil per day in the three countries, but it will seek to grow output by upgrading existing assets and through other acquisitions in the Mediterranean.
Investment fund Carlyle has acquired, grown and sold several oil and gas companies, including Neptune Energy in the North Sea, Assala Energy in Gabon and SierraCol in Colombia, also led by Tony Hayward.
Mr Hayward led BP for more than three years before stepping down in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
"This acquisition provides a strong platform to build a standalone regional champion in the Mediterranean, one of the fastest growing natural gas markets in the world," Hayward, chairman designate of the new company, said in a statement.
Bob Maguire, Co-Head of Carlyle International Energy Partners, said: “We are delighted to acquire this portfolio of high-quality assets in Italy, Egypt and Croatia, countries that are actively encouraging new gas development, which we believe will play a central role in the energy transition.
"We look forward to supporting the transformation of these assets into a scalable E&P platform in the Mediterranean through the execution of near-term developments, unlocking organic growth opportunities, M&A, and accelerating the delivery of existing decarbonisation plans.”
FTSE 100
The UK's flagship share index, the FTSE 100, was up nine-points at 8,279 shortly after opening this morning.
Brent crude oil futures were up 0.07%, trading at $85.65 a barrel.
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