Dart Energy subject of major takeover deal

Dart Energy, which has a number of coalbed methane (CBM) assets in the UK and further CBM sites under development, will be bought by oil and gas explorer, IGas, for £117 million.

The deal, which is subject to board and regulator approvals but expected to conclude in September, will see Dart shareholders take a 30.5% stake in the enlarged IGas company.

"The transaction further strengthens our position financially, operationally and also significantly increases our licensed acreage as we seek to unlock the untapped energy resource that exists in Britain," IGas chief executive, Andrew Austin said.

IGas said it planned to sell all non-UK assets owned by Dart. These include license interests in Australia, Germany, Belgium, Indonesia and India.

Dart has two advanced CBM projects in Indonesia (South Sumatra) and Australia (New South Wales), on which no significant activity was carried out during Q1 2014.

Dart will also cancel its listing on London Alternative Investment Market (AIM), which had been scheduled for 12 May.

Dart Q1 2014 results

In its Q1 2014 results released last month, Dart Energy’s CBM assets provided a boost for the company.

The company commenced drilling at a CBM exploration well at Churton-1, which was completed in March. The well was drilled to 778 m, with over 4 m of coal recovered for testing. Initial results are expected during Q3 2014.

Drilling at a CBM project in Lound will also be completed in the coming weeks.

Both drilling projects comprise part of the agreed work programme with GDF-Suez.

Dart also announced that other than its key CBM assets at Airth and Solway in the UK, planning permissions and permits for CBM projects in the country also advanced over Q1. Preparation work for exploration and appraisal programmes, including identification of drilling locations and securing key contractors, also made significant headway throughout the quarter. 

Edited from various sources by Sam Dodson

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/cbm/14052014/dart_energy_subject_of_major_takeover_deal_cbm33/