ICE, the oil and gas exploration company focused on its highly prospective Block CI-705 acreage offshore Côte d’Ivoire, is pleased to announce the execution of a farm-out agreement with VAALCO Energy Côte d’Ivoire (2), Inc. (« VAALCO »), a subsidiary of VAALCO Energy Inc. (NYSE: EGY). VAALCO is a Houston based oil and gas operating company with acreage located in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Gabon and Canada.
Under the terms of the agreement, VAALCO will acquire a 70% interest in Block CI-705 and will assume Operatorship of the block. VAALCO will carry ICE’s retained interest during the exploration phase, including the costs associated with the licensing of 3D seismic data and, in the event the joint venture progresses to the exploration drilling phase, VAALCO will carry ICE in full on up to two wells. ICE will also receive a cash payment at completion predominantly relating to certain historical costs incurred on the block.
Philippe NDA, Chief Executive Officer of ICE, said:
« We are delighted to welcome VAALCO as a partner. We have secured a partner with considerable technical and financial resources and a track record of exploration and development success in Africa. ICE’s technical team has made great efforts over the past year to assess the prospectivity of Block CI-705 and we are very pleased that this potential has also been recognised by VAALCO. We look forward to working with VAALCO and bringing our expertise and understanding of the Côte d’Ivoire basin to help realise the potential from Block CI-705. This farm-out brings in a significant industry partner for ICE and substantially improves ICE’s strategic position in the Côte d’Ivoire oil and gas sector.”
Latham Watkins acted as legal advisor for ICE and Stellar Energy Advisors acted as advisors for the farm-out process.
