Oil Search shareholders approve Santos merger

Papua New Guinea (PNG)-focused Oil Search on December 7 said its shareholders have voted in favour of the proposed merger with Santos.

The resolution to approve the merger was approved by the requisite majority of Oil Search shareholders with 95.07% of votes cast in favour, the company said. The merger remains subject to certain conditions, including approval from the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission of Papua New Guinea and the National Court of Justice of PNG. The securities commission of PNG approved the merger on December 6.

If the PNG court approves the merger, it is anticipated that the deal will become legally effective on December 10, Oil Search said. The company will then apply for its shares to be suspended from trading in PNG and Australia with effect from the close of trade on December 10. 

After the completion of the deal, Oil Search shareholders will own approximately 38.5% of the merged entity and Santos shareholders will own about 61.5%.

The combined entity will be among the world’s top 20 oil and gas companies and have assets across Australia, Timor-Leste, PNG and North America. It will have production of about 116mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe)/year based on 2021 output, and reserves and resources of 4.87bn boe.