Gasol plc ('Gasol' or 'the Company')
Acquisition of stake in Afgas Infrastructure Limited
Gasol plc (AIM: GAS) is pleased to announce that it has acquired 75% of the equity of Afgas Infrastructure Limited ("AIL"), a project company established to support the gas infrastructure-related activities in the Gulf of Guinea region of African Gas Development Corporation, for a cash consideration of £400,000. African Gas Development Corporation recently announced a joint venture with Sociedad Nacional de Gas, G.E.
Value Generation
AIL, a subsidiary of African Gas Development Corporation, will participate in the development of gas-gathering and processing systems in the Gulf of Guinea, including the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of relevant infrastructure.
AIL will be supported by each of Acergy (NASDAQ NM: ACGY; Oslo Stock Exchange: ACY), formerly named Stolt Offshore, and AMEC (LSE: AMEC). As previously announced, on 6 December 2006, Heads of Agreement have been signed by African Gas Development Corporation with these companies.
By making a major investment in AIL, Gasol will benefit from the potentially significant revenues accruable to AIL via tariff charges and tolling fees applied to the transportation of gas via the pipelines and use of associated infrastructure.
Management
David Mortimer has joined Gasol plc in a consultancy role following a lengthy career in the development of international gas projects with British Gas and Royal Dutch Shell. Mr Mortimer, who was previously active in the Gulf of Guinea region as Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Gas Limited, has assumed the position of Director of Technical Services in connection with the gas infrastructure activities of AIL.
Haresh Kanabar, Chief Executive of Gasol plc, commented: "This acquisition and addition to our management team are very much in line with our strategy of identifying and securing appropriate acquisition, investment and strategic alliance opportunities for the successful delivery of our corporate objectives. They mark significant steps in the realization of Gasol's ambition to become the premier independent integrated natural gas company in West and Central Africa."
Download the press release (PDF).
For further information:
Gasol plc
Haresh Kanabar, Chief Executive
+44 (0)20 7297 0010
Jefferies International Ltd
Toby Hayward
Oliver Griffiths
+44 (0) 20 7618 3500
Buchanan Communications
Mark Court
James Strong
+44 (0)20 7466 5000
Editor's Notes
Gasol plc
Gasol plc was formed in February 2005 to identify and secure acquisition and investment opportunities in the oil and gas sectors. It joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 16 March 2005 and has since refined its strategy to focus on opportunities in liquefied natural gas in the Gulf of Guinea region of West and Central Africa. Gasol made its first acquisition, of a 20 per cent shareholding in African LNG Holdings Ltd, in September 2006. Gasol shares trade under the ticker symbol GAS.
Further information is available from the Company's website, www.gasolplc.com
African Gas Development Corporation
African Gas Development Corporation is a company founded by Dr Rilwanu Lukman (former Secretary General of OPEC) and Mr Ethelbert Cooper, also founders of Afren plc. African Gas Development Corporation is the parent company of both AIL and African LNG Holdings.
Afren
Afren plc (www.afren.com) was established in December 2004 by a management team including Dr Rilwanu Lukman with the vision to become the leading pan African independent Exploration and Production company. Since the Initial Public Offering in March 2005, Afren has rapidly expanded its African portfolio across five countries; Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, Congo and Angola. Afren has a 6.5% equity interest in Gasol.
Acergy
Acergy (www.acergy-group.com) is a global leader in seabed-to-surface pipeline gathering and transportation, engineering, procurement, construction and installation services for the offshore oil and gas industry. Acergy has a market capitalization of approximately US$3.8 billion and 7000 employees worldwide.
Amec
AMEC (www.amec.com) is a project management and engineering services company that designs, delivers and supports infrastructure assets for customers in the oil and gas industry. AMEC has a market capitalization of US$ 2.3 billion and 20,000 employees worldwide.
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