US private equity firm to invest up to US$500m in oil-gas exploration, production company
By RONNIE LIM 15 September 2009
Armed with a huge war-chest of US$500 million from a US-based private equity firm, the former founders of Pearl Energy have re-emerged to launch their new Singapore-based company KrisEnergy which will again focus on oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) in South-east Asia.
Like the former SGX-listed Pearl - which was sold to Abu Dhabi-listed Aabar Petroleum in 2006 - KrisEnergy looks set to debut on the Singapore Exchange, but further down the road.
BT first reported in May last year that the former Pearl trio - Keith Cameron, Pearl’s former managing director and CEO; Christopher Gibson-Robinson, its main technical man and Richard Lorentz, who was in charge of business development - were planning to start all over again, following Aabar’s sale of Pearl to Mubadala, a state-owned investment fund of the United Arab Emirates.
Yesterday, First Reserve Corporation, the leading private equity firm in the energy industry, announced that it had committed to equity investment of up to US$500 million in the Cayman Island-incorporated, but Singapore-based, KrisEnergy.
Will Honeybourne, managing director at First Reserve Corporation said: ‘The management team of KrisEnergy has an outstanding track record in a region where demand for oil and gas continues to grow at healthy rates in parallel with development and economic expansion.’
‘The company’s strengths lie in the long-standing experience of its people and its technical excellence in the discovery, development and monetisation of oil and gas resources. We are delighted to have the opportunity of providing KrisEnergy with finance and support to help it become a leader in this sector and geographic region.’
On the collaboration, Keith Cameron, KrisEnergy’s CEO, said: ‘We see significant opportunities in Asia to grow our business through acquisitions and organically, despite global economic uncertainties. This partnership provides us with the confidence and financial resources to bring our plans to fruition.’
The US$500 million credit line is for an open-ended period, and KrisEnergy can draw on it to fund its E&P purchases and operations, said Mr. Lorentz.
‘This is a lot of money, about ten times the US$56 million equity which we first established Pearl with,’ Mr. Lorentz said, when asked about the size of assets KrisEnergy could possibly buy.
First Reserve - which has invested about US$12.5 billion so far in energy projects worldwide - will hold an undisclosed majority shareholding in KrisEnergy, with the former Pearl trio and other senior management accounting for the balance.
KrisEnergy is already discussing potential E&P acquisitions with various parties, Mr. Lorentz said, but would not disclose where these sites are. This won’t necessarily be just in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines - Pearl’s former hunting grounds - but also others including Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Vietnam.
‘With oil prices at US$60 to US$70, there are opportunities available right now, as people had acquired E&P assets in the last two to three years at higher oil prices,’ he said.
‘The sharp downturn in oil and gas prices during 2008 and early in 2009 and the concurrent tightening of financial markets have resulted in a number of smaller E&P companies being unable to fund exploration and development obligations or trading far below their net asset values.’
Furthermore, current oil prices - while down from last year’s record high of US$147 - are attractive for E&P activity, considering that when Pearl first started out, oil was only at US$18 a barrel, he added.
So far, the former Pearl trio have assembled a team comprising six experienced E&P personnel, including geoscientists and engineers, and plan to build the number up to about 20 for its Singapore HQ which will back up its field teams, ‘with the numbers there depending on the size of the properties,’ said Mr. Lorentz.
Pearl Energy was producing over 20,000 barrels of oil and gas daily when it was first sold to Aabar Petroleum.
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Ex-Pearl Energy trio launch KrisEnergy
US private equity firm to invest up to US$500m in oil-gas exploration, production company
By RONNIE LIM
15 September 2009
Armed with a huge war-chest of US$500 million from a US-based private equity firm, the former founders of Pearl Energy have re-emerged to launch their new Singapore-based company KrisEnergy which will again focus on oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) in South-east Asia.
Like the former SGX-listed Pearl - which was sold to Abu Dhabi-listed Aabar Petroleum in 2006 - KrisEnergy looks set to debut on the Singapore Exchange, but further down the road.
BT first reported in May last year that the former Pearl trio - Keith Cameron, Pearl’s former managing director and CEO; Christopher Gibson-Robinson, its main technical man and Richard Lorentz, who was in charge of business development - were planning to start all over again, following Aabar’s sale of Pearl to Mubadala, a state-owned investment fund of the United Arab Emirates.
Yesterday, First Reserve Corporation, the leading private equity firm in the energy industry, announced that it had committed to equity investment of up to US$500 million in the Cayman Island-incorporated, but Singapore-based, KrisEnergy.
Will Honeybourne, managing director at First Reserve Corporation said: ‘The management team of KrisEnergy has an outstanding track record in a region where demand for oil and gas continues to grow at healthy rates in parallel with development and economic expansion.’
‘The company’s strengths lie in the long-standing experience of its people and its technical excellence in the discovery, development and monetisation of oil and gas resources. We are delighted to have the opportunity of providing KrisEnergy with finance and support to help it become a leader in this sector and geographic region.’
On the collaboration, Keith Cameron, KrisEnergy’s CEO, said: ‘We see significant opportunities in Asia to grow our business through acquisitions and organically, despite global economic uncertainties. This partnership provides us with the confidence and financial resources to bring our plans to fruition.’
The US$500 million credit line is for an open-ended period, and KrisEnergy can draw on it to fund its E&P purchases and operations, said Mr. Lorentz.
‘This is a lot of money, about ten times the US$56 million equity which we first established Pearl with,’ Mr. Lorentz said, when asked about the size of assets KrisEnergy could possibly buy.
First Reserve - which has invested about US$12.5 billion so far in energy projects worldwide - will hold an undisclosed majority shareholding in KrisEnergy, with the former Pearl trio and other senior management accounting for the balance.
KrisEnergy is already discussing potential E&P acquisitions with various parties, Mr. Lorentz said, but would not disclose where these sites are. This won’t necessarily be just in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines - Pearl’s former hunting grounds - but also others including Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Vietnam.
‘With oil prices at US$60 to US$70, there are opportunities available right now, as people had acquired E&P assets in the last two to three years at higher oil prices,’ he said.
‘The sharp downturn in oil and gas prices during 2008 and early in 2009 and the concurrent tightening of financial markets have resulted in a number of smaller E&P companies being unable to fund exploration and development obligations or trading far below their net asset values.’
Furthermore, current oil prices - while down from last year’s record high of US$147 - are attractive for E&P activity, considering that when Pearl first started out, oil was only at US$18 a barrel, he added.
So far, the former Pearl trio have assembled a team comprising six experienced E&P personnel, including geoscientists and engineers, and plan to build the number up to about 20 for its Singapore HQ which will back up its field teams, ‘with the numbers there depending on the size of the properties,’ said Mr. Lorentz.
Pearl Energy was producing over 20,000 barrels of oil and gas daily when it was first sold to Aabar Petroleum.
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