Zenith International withdraws from the agreement to purchase oil fields belonging to the Austrian company OMV in Shabwa
English - Monday 04 September 2023 الساعة 07:40 pm
Aden, NewsYemen, exclusive:
Zenith International Energy Production and Development Company, based in Canada, announced its withdrawal from the deal to purchase oil sectors in the Yemeni governorate of Shabwa belonging to the Austrian company (OMV Yemen).
The company published a statement confirming its withdrawal from the purchase deal that was announced in early January of the year 2023; The company justified its withdrawal by not meeting the conditions required to complete the agreement between the two parties
Zenith confirmed the recovery of the first deposit of $4,323,800 million, in addition to accrued interest, after it was agreed with (OMV Yemen) to terminate the agreement.
Zenith, which owns a 49% stake in OMV Yemen, agreed on January 3, 2023 to purchase the remaining shares in a deal worth more than $21.6 million for its subsidiary, Zenith Netherlands.
In its announcement, the company confirmed that its strategic focus is currently focused on pursuing opportunities to develop income-generating energy production assets, in addition to low-risk exploration activities in assets with current production.
The agreement included the sale of the largest assets of the Austrian company in Yemen in the Al-Uqla oil field (S2, 3 and 70) in Shabwa Governorate, which produces an average of 6,000 barrels per day, after it was producing about 15,000 barrels per day before the Houthi war in Yemen.
The deal also includes the sale of two smaller fields in eastern Yemen, along with an estimated 571 billion cubic feet of recoverable gas.
The Yemeni Ministry of Oil had announced its rejection of the agreement, and that it had conditions governing production-sharing agreements. Foremost among them is compliance with the criteria for abandonment, which stipulates that, in the event of abandonment, the company must be well-known and international, with financial capacity and technical competence.
The Ministry affirmed that Zenith Company does not have the financial and technical competence and capacity approved by the Ministry and the Oil Authority, and does not apply to the standards regulating cases of abandoning ownership of the share owned by OMV.
The Ministry reaffirmed that it did not give any approval or indication to accept the Zenith Company, holding OMV and Zenith Corporation legally responsible for that.
