Savannah terminates $1.25bn deal for Petronas’ South Sudan assets

London-listed Savannah Energy has terminated a $1.25bn deal to acquire Malaysian Petronas’ oil and gas assets in South Sudan, as the two parties could not agree on the terms to complete the transaction, Savannah announced on August 7.

The deal, signed in December 2022, involved Savannah taking over Petronas' positions in three blocks in South Sudan, comprising 64 producing fields, the first of which came on stream over two decades ago. Last year, Petronas netted 153.2mn barrels/day of oil output from these assets.

“Despite the substantial efforts of all parties since that time, it has not been possible to complete the proposed transaction on the envisioned terms and the original sale and purchase agreement is terminated,” Savannah stated.

Savannah noted that it remains in active discussions with relevant parties regarding an alternative potential transaction related to the acquisition of the Petronas assets.

In a separate statement, Petronas announced its unilateral withdrawal from operations in South Sudan. “The decision was made following a two-year period of divestment initiatives in alignment with Petronas’ long-term investment strategy amid the changing industry environment and accelerated energy transition,” Petronas said.