Petroceltic farm-out nears completion

Irish exploration firm, Petroceltic International has all but concluded its planned secondary farm-out at its highly-rated Ain Tsila gas discovery in Algeria, with the country’s government signing off on the deal.

The $180m asset sale has been described by management as being “a major commercial milestone” for the Dublin-based company.

Yesterday’s announcement basically copper-fastened the deal previously announced last October, under which Algerian State oil company, Sonatrach — previously a junior partner in the field — agreed to purchase an additional 18.4% from Petroceltic, to boost its overall shareholding to just under 43.4%.