Malaysian Tamarind Gets NZ Okay to Buy Tag's Assets

Malaysia-based Tamarind Resources has received approval from the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office to go ahead with the purchase of Canada-listed Tag Oil’s New Zealand assets, Tag said March 5.

Consent has been granted under New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Act 2005 for the transfer of ownership of Tag’s Taranaki Basin assets to Tamarind NZ Onshore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tamarind. The deal got approval from Tag's shareholders in January this year.

Closing of the transaction is subject to the final pending approval from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals for the transfer of operatorship to Tamarind, Tag said.

In New Zealand, Tag’s operations include production from the Cheal and Sidewinder oil and gas fields with the Puka, Supplejack and Cardiff new pool discoveries under development. The company owns and operates three production facilities in the Taranaki Basin, which are linked directly to Taranaki’s main gas distribution pipeline.