Horizon said yesterday it had agreed with BOS International on terms of the committed offer of finance. BOS International’s credit committee had also approved the offer, subject to the Maari partners proceeding with the development, satisfactory due diligence, and completion of documentation.

Horizon said a financial investment decision for the offshore Taranaki field was scheduled for the end of September and that its 10% share of technically recoverable P50 oil reserves was estimated to be 5-6 million barrels. This gave total recoverable P50 reserves of 50-60 million barrels of oil and project costs of up to US$400 million.

The Maari finance facility – which would incorporate development funding, completion support, hedge instrument funding and borrowing base facilities – could be expanded to accommodate funding requirements of Horizon’s other potential development assets.

Horizon chairman Fraser Ainsworth said the finance package would also help the company meet other obligations.

“Further, the capacity of the finance facility to expand to meet the debt financing requirements of the company’s prospective future development projects, notably Block 22/12 offshore China, places the company in an advantageous position for its anticipated growth program,” Ainsworth said.

The PEP 38413 partners are: operator OMV NZ (69%), Horizon Oil (10%), Todd Petroleum Mining (16%) and Highlands Oil & Gas (5%).