Global investment firm Carlyle is leveraging its expertise in carving out exploration and production (E&P) assets by building a standalone natural gas-weighted business focused in Croatia, Egypt and Italy.
The binding transaction with London-based Energean plc is estimated to be worth more than $900 million. Energean’s portfolio is 80% weighted to natural gas. Carlyle plans to use the assets to develop more resources in the Mediterranean, an area teeming with natural gas prospects.
Croatia, Egypt and Italy “are actively encouraging new gas development, which we believe will play a central role in the energy transition,” Carlyle International Energy Partners (CIEP) co-head Bob Maguire said.
The strategy would be to transform the assets “into a scalable E&P platform” by executing “near-term developments.” Unlocking organic growth opportunities, potential mergers and acquisitions, as well as “accelerating the delivery of existing decarbonization plans” are on the drawing board.
The Energean portfolio being sold produces about 47,000 boe/d “in markets that are supportive of new gas development,” Carlyle executives noted. Included is a 40% stake in Cassiopea, Italy’s largest gas field in terms of reserves. Eni SpA is operator with a 60% interest.
In addition, Energean is selling 100% of Abu Qir, one of the largest gas producing hubs in Egypt. Abu Qir is in the West Nile Delta of Egypt.
Carlyle has previously invested in several international E&Ps. They include Germany’s Neptune Energy, Gabon’s Assala Energy and Colombia’s SierraCol Energy.
SierraCol Executive Chair Tony Hayward has been tapped to chair the Mediterranean E&P. He formerly was CEO of BP plc in the late 2000s. He stepped down in 2010 following the Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico and has since led other international energy companies.
“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 said.
Equity for the purchase is to come from the CIEP platform, which invests in energy opportunities in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. The transaction is set to be completed by year’s end.
“This deal represents an exciting new chapter for Energean,” CEO Mathio Rigas said. The company is realizing “a significant return on the investment made when we acquired this portfolio over four years ago…Carlyle is the right custodian of the asset base and will create an excellent home for our colleagues.”
