Amerisur Resources to buy Colombia oil assets for $4.85m

Shares in Amerisur Resources surged on Thursday as the Oil and gas producer announced it will buy assets in Colombia for $4.85m in order to position the company for “significant growth” the Caguan-Putumayo basin.

The assets, subject to approval by the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH), are to be bought from Meta Petroleum Corporation and Pacific Stratus Energy Colombia Corporation, who are both owned by Pacific Exploration and Production, a Canadian listed firm.

The deal includes a 60% stake in the Put-9 contract area, 58% in the Mecaya, all of the Terecay, and 50.5% in Tacacho.

The company will be the operator in all contracts with the exception of Put-8.

A 2% overriding royalty interest will be paid to Pacific Exploration and Production for Amerisur’s net production from the Terecay block and a 1.2% overriding royalty interest on net production from the Put-9 block.

Following completion of the acquisitions, the company will own the Temblon field with 60% of the exploration area, a 50% stake in Put-8, 60% in Put-12, 58% in Mecaya, and the whole of Platanillo, Andaquies, Put-30, Terecay, Coati and Tacacho, in the Caguan-Putumayo basin.

Chief executive John Wardle said: "The working interests we have acquired are strategically located close to our OBA transfer system, thus potentially securing rapid and basin leading margin monetisation of new reserves in these blocks, and expose the company to the full suite of exploration opportunity in the basin.

“The blocks contain a variety of attractive prospects, with analogues to the Platanillo field, other interesting structural traps, including some already proven to contain oil through existing, tested legacy wells."

Shares in Amerisur Resources were up 10.6% to 22.95p at 1033 GMT.