Canadian Adds Argie Oil Assets

Canadian oil and gas exploration and development company Crown Point has agreed to pay CAD53.75m ($54.1m) to acquire Antrim Argentina. The target company, a unit of Antrim Energy, controls 3 oil and gas concessions in Argentina that produce roughly 1,550 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, Crown Point says. As agreed, the Canadian oil company will pay Antrim a combination of CAD10.26m in cash and 35.76m shares of Crown Point, valued at a 20-day average weighed price of roughly CAD1.216 per share. The deal would leave Antrim shareholders with a 34% stake in Crown Point. Casimir Capital advised Crown Point on the transaction. Crown Point and Antrim Argentina officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The assets at stake include 3 concessions in the Tierra del Fuego area of the Austral basin and a 50.1% stake in the Cerro de Los Leones exploration concession, plus a working capital surplus of CAD7.4m. The concession areas have total proved reserves of 3.8m boe, 6m boe of proved plus probable reserves, known as 2P reserves, and 7.2m boe of proved plus probable plus possible reserves, or 3P reserves. Based on Crown Point estimates, the deal involves valuing each barrel of 3P reserves at CAD6.44 per barrel, a CAD7.66 per barrel of 2P reserves and CAD12.13 per barrel of proved reserves. As for average daily production, the deal values the average daily barrel produced at CAD29.94 per boe. The transaction increases Crown Point’s 2P reserve holdings in Argentina by 353%, the company notes, and cements its footprint and asset portfolio in the South American country. The deal is expected to be completed in May and will require the approval of regulatory authorities and at least two thirds of Antrim shareholders.