Canadian oil company TAG Oil has made an offer of NZ$650 million to buy 100% of New Zealand-owned oil and gas producer Greymouth Petroleum, the Wall Street Journal reports.
TAG already has operations in New Zealand in the Taranaki, East Coast and Canterbury basins.
Greymouth's current majority owners Mark Dunphy and Peter Masfen are currently seeking a High Court order to force minority owner, former chief operating officer John Sturgess, to sell his 14% stake in the company due to an alleged breach of his fiduciary duty. See more here at BusinessDay.
Sturgess wants a Court order for the 100% sale of the company to TAG Oil, the WSJ reported.
On its website, Greymouth Petroleum, established in 2000, says it is "one of the few fully integrated New Zealand owned and operated oil and gas production and exploration companies in New Zealand."
"Greymouth holds a significant suite of oil and gas development and exploration properties in New Zealand (the Taranaki Basin and Great South Basins). In New Zealand, Greymouth engages in the production of, development of, and exploration for, oil and gas reserves," it says.
"The Greymouth Group ranks second amongst New Zealand owned, privately held petroleum production companies when measured in barrels of oil equivalent produced per day; and in the top four amongst New Zealand and foreign-owned oil production companies with New Zealand oil and gas production.
"Greymouth Group companies also offer wholesale natural gas and electricity to commercial end users.
"In November 2007 Greymouth, through its wholly owned Chilean operating unit PetroMagallanes, was awarded rights to explore, exploit and produce petroleum in four permits covering an area of 9,000 sq km in, and adjacent to, the Straits of Magellan in Chile.
"PetroMagallanes is the second largest permit holder by area in Chile (after the Chilean State)."
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