Sale of gas interests to close next year

THE sale of Ramco Energy’s interests in the Seven Heads gas field off the coast of Kinsale will not be completed until next year, the troubled company said yesterday.

Ramco told the London stock exchange it had completed the sale of its oil services division to management for £14 million (€20m), but attempts to sell its Seven Heads interests were ongoing.

“It is now expected that this transaction will not close until next year,” the company said. Shares were unchanged on the news.

In a separate development yesterday, Tullow Oil reported disappointing news from recent drills in Africa. But the markets shrugged off the news after early falls and allowed the share price to bounce back in late trading.

The company said it would abandon work on its Faucon-1 well off the coast of Mauritania after completing its drilling programme there. It also said similar work off the coast of Angola had been completed and that two wells would be plugged and abandoned.

Chief executive Aidan Heavey said: “Although we believe the Faucon well is most unlikely to lead to a commercial development, it significantly upgrades the prospectivity of Tullow’s regional position in Mauritania and Senegal, where further work is planned for 2006.”

He said Tullow remained “committed to developing a long-term business in Angola”.

Shares in Dana Petroleum plunged 10% in London, however, after it released a drilling update. The company, which also has an interest in the Faucon-1 well, reported progress in its operations in Egypt, Algeria and Morocco.