Australian oil and gas company Santos will sell a 50 per cent interest in the Mereenie oil and gas field in the Northern Territory to Macquarie Group, which will join Central Petroleum as owners of the asset.
The move by Santos is the continuation of a company strategy to offload its non-core assets. The company launched a new initiative earlier this month that will see it spin-off its non-core assets into a new company.
It is also Santos’ second sale at Mereenie in the past two years. In September 2015, Santos sold a 50 per cent share in the gas field to Central Petroleum, which took over as operators of Mereenie following the deal.
For Macquarie, the agreement helps it edge closer to Central Petroleum, a company it made a failed takeover bid for in November.
What Macquarie will pay for Santos’ stake is yet to be disclosed.