*Appoints Clark and Ferdjani as Non-Executive Directors
By Emeka Ugwuanyi
Savannah Energy PLC says it has completed acquisition of ExxonMobil’s entire upstream and midstream asset portfolio in Chad and Cameroon, including operatorship of the upstream assets (through the acquisition of the former operator, Esso Exploration and Production Chad, Inc.)
Savannah is also announced the publication of a Supplemental Admission Document in relation to the ExxonMobil Transaction. This follows Savannah’s 13 December, 2021, signing of a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with ExxonMobil, which has an economic effective date of 1 January 2021, and the publication of its 31 December 2021 Admission Document containing details on, inter alia, the ExxonMobil Transaction.
The ExxonMobil Transaction constituted a reverse takeover transaction pursuant to AIM Rule 14 and, accordingly, was subject to, inter alia, shareholder approval which was granted on 24 January 2022. The ExxonMobil Transaction has now been completed, said Okwudili Onyia, Savannah Energy’s Communications Manager in a statement to the media.
Following the completion of the ExxonMobil transaction, Savannah now owns a 40 per cent interest in the Doba Oil Project and an effective 40 per cent indirect interest in the Chad-Cameroon export transportation system
The Doba Oil Project comprises interests in seven producing fields – Kome, Miandoum, Bolobo, Moundouli, Maikeri, Nya and Timbre – with a combined gross 2P Reserve base of 142.3 million barrels (MMbbls) as at 1 October 2022 and expected 2022 gross production of 28,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).
The Chad-Cameroon export transportation system comprises a 1,081 km pipeline and the Kome Kribi 1 floating storage and offloading facility, offshore Cameroon (along with all associated facilities). The Chad/Cameroon pipeline is 30” in diameter with a nameplate capacity of 250,000 bopd and an estimated pipeline throughput in 2022 of 124,000 bopd, from more than 15 fields.
The Company’s proposed acquisition of PETRONAS (E&P) Overseas Ventures SDN. BHD.’s interests in the same assets in Chad and Cameroon are not a condition of the ExxonMobil transaction, he added.
Commenting on the transaction, the Andrew Knott, CEO of Savannah Energy, said: “We are delighted to announce the completion of our US$407 million acquisition of ExxonMobil’s upstream and midstream businesses in Chad and Cameroon. I would like to warmly welcome our new employees to the Savannah family and look forward to building our in-country businesses with them as we embrace the multiple growth opportunities available to us.
“In Chad, our focus will immediately turn towards making the investments we believe the Doba Oil Project needs to significantly increase production volumes from current levels and the advancement of our up to US$500m/500 MW of renewable power projects. We expect our investments in these projects to provide significant increased tax revenues and electricity access for the people of Chad. In Cameroon, we hope to see the COTCo and TOTCo businesses grow further over the course of the coming years through additional third-party customer throughput volumes. We are also actively considering investments in other opportunities to pursue Projects that Matter in country.
“Outside of Chad and Cameroon, we expect that, in the coming months, we will further augment our corporate growth profile through the announcement of additional hydrocarbon asset acquisitions and the initiation of new utility-scale renewable energy projects (in addition to our existing up to 750MW project pipeline).
“Lastly, I would like to the opportunity to express my gratitude to all those who contributed to the successful completion of this transaction and, in particular, our host country stakeholders, my incredibly dedicated and passionate colleagues and the ExxonMobil deal and in-country teams. Thank you all.”
On re-admission and total rights, the Company’s issued share capital currently comprises 1,306,098,819 ordinary shares. Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange plc for re-admission of the Company’s 1,306,098,819 ordinary shares to trading on AIM, which is expected to take place at 8.00 a.m. on 13 December 2022.
As the Company does not hold any shares in treasury, this figure of 1,306,098,819 Ordinary Shares may continue to be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Further to the Company’s announcement of 7 June 2022, the Company is pleased to announce that the proposed appointments of Sarah Clark and Dr Djamila Ferdjani as Non-Executive Directors of the Board will become effective on completion of the ExxonMobil Transaction. The appointment of Sylvie Rucar has been delayed due to personal reasons and is now anticipated to become effective during early 2023.
Sarah Clark was an elite level athlete for 18 years and is a former British, European and Commonwealth champion in the sport of judo, who competed at three Olympic Games for Great Britain. She is currently CEO of Edinburgh, Judo one of the UK’s largest, most successful and fastest growing judo clubs catering for beginners to Olympic medallists. Sarah currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of JudoScotland (the governing body for judo in Scotland).
Sarah has worked extensively in mentor, role model and leadership positions with organisations such as the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, the Youth Sport Trust and the Winning Scotland Foundation. In these roles, her focus has been to deliver personal and group development programmes to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and communities. She has also worked extensively with individuals and companies delivering programmes around the positive learnings businesses can take from the elite level sport world.
Dr Djamila Ferdjani is a medical doctor, entrepreneur and social activist. She founded the Pro-Santé Polyclinic in Niger, of which she was President and CEO. Djamila formerly served as a technical consultant to the Islamic Development Bank and as a Professor of Health Prevention and Promotion at the African Development University.
She is a founding Board member of Afrikajom (the leading Pan African human rights focused think tank) and is the founder and President of MedCom NGO (a Niger focused medical and educational NGO). She is a former a member of the executive committee of the Orange Niger Foundation. She regularly speaks at African focused Human Rights events, including those organised by the World Bank, Oxfam, Plan International, the G5 Sahel, The Open Society Initiative for West Africa, the National Democratic Institute and TEDx. Dr Ferdjani has been named by the United Nations Population Fund as one of the 100 women leaders in Niger and by Facebook as one of 19 African LeadHERs breaking boundaries in the fields of media, entertainment, education and business.
