Oil Search MENA Limited's Egyptian assets include a 70% interest in Area 'A', adjacent to the Gulf of Suez in the Eastern Desert, a 49.50% interest in the East Ras Qattara concession and a 30% interest in Block 6 in Mesaha.
Assets in Yemen consist of a 35% stake in Block 15, 32.5% in Block 35, 42.33% in Block 49, 34% in Block 74, and 28.33% in Block 43 (the Nabrajah block).
The sale transaction took place in February 29 but its completion is expected to be halfway through the year as the deal is subject to government and joint venture partner approvals.
Oil Search managing director Peter Botten said the sale of the MENA assets was signalled in March after a strategic review.
"One of the main conclusions of the review was that, while the company had successfully built a valuable, diversified portfolio of assets in the MENA region, a number of the licences were not material in the context of our growing gas portfolio," he said.
"The sale of these assets will provide cash and reduce near term capital requirements,
freeing up funds to facilitate the delivery of Oil Search's share of the PNG LNG project. It will also enable the company to refocus its organic growth programme on areas of greater materiality going forward."
To ensure a smooth transition to Kuwait Energy, Oil Search will remain involved in the operations for three to six months after the transaction is complete.
Botten said some of their assets in the MENA region will remain in the company's hands.
"A number of licences have been retained, with Oil Search's remaining asset base in the MENA region comprising Blocks 3 and 7 in Yemen, Area 18 offshore Libya, the recently acquired Tajerouine and Le Kef permits in Tunisia and the Bina Bawi concession in Kurdistan, Iraq," he said.
"Oil Search is also at an advanced stage of negotiations for additional areas in Kurdistan. Consistent with our revised strategy of focusing on more material assets, we believe that each of these licences has the potential to have substantial upside, the value of which can be better captured following further evaluation and de-risking."
