BP, ADNOC place $2b bid for 50% of Israel's NewMed Energy

Published March 28th, 2023 - 09:48 GMT
BP, ADNOC bid for Israel's NewMed Energy
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ALBAWABA — Gas giants British Petroleum and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company on Monday placed a $2 billion nonbinding offer to purchase 50 percent of NewMed Energy, a subsidiary of Delek Group, the Israeli company said Tuesday.

 

The offer comes as many European countries are working hard to reduce their dependence on Russian gas since it invaded Ukraine, in a bid to fill the Eurozone's energy needs.

 

The deal would see the BP-ADNOC consortium acquiring a 45 percent stake in the publicly held NewMed Energy and 5 percent of issued capital from Delek Group.

 

The consortium said it intends to form a new joint venture as part of the deal that will be “focused on gas development in international areas of mutual interest including the East Mediterranean. This proposed transaction with NewMed Energy would be a significant first step in establishing this dynamic joint venture together with ADNOC,” BP said in a statement.

 

The offer price is $3.38 per share, reflecting a 72 percent premium above the pre-deal market price, NewMed Energy said in a press release.

 

NewMed, which holds 45 percent of Israel's Leviathan offshore gas field, said it had appointed an audit committee to examine the deal.

 

The proposed acquisition may be followed by other BP-ADNOC gas deals in the Mediterranean and beyond, according to a BP spokesperson, adding that the consortium intends to “explore a range of mechanisms for the formation and potential further expansion of their new partnership”.

 

If successful, the acquisition would “strengthen the broader strategic partnership between ADNOC and BP across oil and gas, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage technology and would deepen the partners’ longstanding relationship,” BP said.

 

The Leviathan offshore gas field is estimated by NewMed to hold 605 billion cubic meters of natural gas, along with 34.1 million barrels of condensate, supplying gas to Israel, as well as neighboring Jordan and Egypt.

 


 

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