Cyprus Opportunity Energy plc (CSE: GAS), a subsidiary of Israel Opportunity - Oil and Gas Exploration Ltd. listed its shares for trading on the Cyprus Stock Exchange last week, at a market value of €14 million. Sources inform ''Globes'' that Cyprus Opportunity plans to hold a public offering in 2013. It is a sister company of Israel Opportunity Energy Resources LP (TASE: ISOP.L).
Cyprus Opportunity is controlled by Israeli, Norwegian, and Cypriot shareholders. The Israeli shareholders are Rony Halman and Uri Aldubi, the general partners of Israel Opportunity. The Norwegian shareholders are the owners of AGR Group Inc., which is jointly bidding with Cyprus Opportunity for two of the offshore exploration licenses that the Cypriot government is offering - Block 2 and Block 8.
The two companies submitted their bids on May 11, as part of the 2nd Licensing Round tender for 12 offshore licenses. Cyprus Opportunity acquired 2D seismic data on which it has already performed preliminary analysis as part of its business strategy. The Cypriot government is due to publish the results of the tender in November. Cyprus Opportunity says that even if it does not win in the tender, it will continue to operate in the Cypriot offshore oil and gas exploration business through joint ventures with third parties.
Israel Opportunity owns 5-10% of the five of the deep-water Pelagic licenses - Aditya, Ishai, Lela, Yahav, and Yoad - covering 500,000 acres 170 west of Haifa, between Leviathan's Ratio Yam and Block 12, which includes the Aphrodite structure, in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Israel Opportunity owns 10% of the licenses, Beny Steinmetz and Teddy Sagi each own 42.5%, and AGR owns 5%.
Cyprus says that Cyprus Opportunity is the first oil and gas exploration company to list on the stock exchange. The Cyprus Stock Exchange is still recovering from a corruption and insider trading scandal from almost ten years ago.
25 consortia have filed 15 bids for the 12 licenses. Industry sources believe that the size of the signature fee that the bidders will offer the Cypriot government will be an important factor in selecting the winners. The Cypriot government and the gas developers will sign production sharing contracts.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 22, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012