Iraq oilfield operators agree to $600m merger

UK-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum has signed a merger deal with Bermuda-based ShaMaran Petroleum to create one of the leading private oil producers in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

The all-share deal is valued at $601 million, the company said in a statement.

Under the agreement, Euronext-listed ShaMaran shareholders will receive 0.075 Gulf Keystone shares for each ShaMaran share held at a 23 percent premium as of close on October 19.

After the deal closes, shareholders of each company will own about half of the combined company.

Gulf Keystone, the surviving legal entity, plans to move its primary listing to Euronext Oslo Børs’ main list and will discontinue its London listing, the statement said.

Listing of ShaMaran shares will cease after the transaction is completed.

The boards of both Gulf Keystone and ShaMaran have unanimously approved the proposed merger. Special general meetings are expected in December to finalise approval.

The combined company will benefit from increased scale and diversification, with combined estimated reserves of 323 million barrels and production of 53,000 barrels of oil per day.

Iraq has awarded several contracts to companies from France, the US, China and other countries as part of plans to expand its oil production capacity.

This week BP and its US and Turkish partners have taken over operations at four oilfields in northern Iraq as Baghdad seeks to increase crude production and natural gas supplies.

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