MEO Australia aims to focus more on Cuba

MEO Australia aims to focus more on Cuba
Company is the only Australian-listed company with exposure to Cuba.
By Daniel J. Graeber | Sept. 12, 2016 at 6:12 AM

MELBOURNE, Sept. 12 (UPI) — Selling off parts of its holdings in a
potentially lucrative basin off the coast of Australia will help fund
opportunities in Cuba, MEO Australia said.

Billing it as one of the largest hydrocarbon opportunities offshore
Australia, the company said it was looking for financiers to help fund
later drilling planned for its Beehive prospect. MEO said it’s had four
expressions of interest from companies looking at technical data for the
basins and was looking to close out on any deal by the end of October.

Managing Director and CEO Peter Stickland said in a statement the deal
was at least partially aimed at funding developments in Cuba.

“Doing so would not only secure an exciting drilling opportunity for MEO
shareholders, but enable MEO to focus its resources on its Cuba
opportunities where it is the only Australian-listed company with
exposure to the Cuban oil and gas industry,” he said.

Strickland said Cuba is the company’s highest priority assets, drilling
a number of wells already in so-called Block 9. Some have recovered oil
and the company said it was highly optimistic because of the low
operating costs and potential for strong profitability levels offshore Cuba.

Estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey last year found there were
about 4.6 billion barrels of crude oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of
natural gas in the form of undiscovered, technically recoverable,
reserves in Cuba.

According to MEO, Cuba produces about 80,000 barrels of oil per day.
Canada’s Sherritt International, the only foreign company producing in
Cuba, estimates operating costs of around $9 per barrel.

The Cuban government in 2014 enacted legislation offering corporate tax
credits to encourage foreign investments. The U.S. government the same
year started easing a 54-year trade embargo on Cuba and later reopened
its embassy in Havana.

Source: MEO Australia wants to focus more on offshore Cuba – UPI.com –
www.upi.com/MEO-Australia-aims-to-focus-more-on-Cuba/9101473672185/