Slow paperwork, court delays hit Oil Search-Santos merger process
The Oil Search-Santos merger process has been hit by slow paperwork and a delay in the first court hearing in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the two companies said on October 29.
“The indicative timetable in the merger implementation deed contemplated that the first court date would be on or around October 27, 2021,” Oil Search said in a statement.
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“Oil Search is in the process of obtaining the material necessary to finalise the scheme booklet and the matter has now been set down for a revised first court date of 10 November 2021,” it added. The company said it will release an updated timetable upon despatch of the scheme booklet.
Santos and Oil Search finalised the A$21bn ($15bn) merger deal in September this year. 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%. Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher last week said that the merger is on track for completion by year-end.
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.