Predator Oil & Gas acquires Challenger Energy’s subsidiary Columbus Energy St. Lucia

LONDON: Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc, a Jersey-based oil and gas company, announced a transaction with Challenger Energy for the acquisition of its St Lucia-based subsidiary, Columbus Energy (St. Lucia) Limited. The subsidiary holds various entities representing all of Challenger Energy’s business, producing assets, and operations in Trinidad and Tobago.

Caribbean Rex Limited (CRL), 51% owned by Predator’s subsidiary T-Rex Resources, is making the acquisition. CRL aims to facilitate future consolidation of tax losses between CEG Trinidad and T-Rex. CRL is 49% owned by West Indian Energy Group Limited, which has a history of increasing production from onshore fields.

The acquisition includes three producing fields: Goudron, Inniss Trinity, and Icacos, averaging 272 barrels of oil per day under contracts with Heritage Petroleum and the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries.

The acquisition could expedite drilling the Snowcap-3 well, targeting 2C oil resources of 1.4 million barrels and 2P oil resources of 12.91 million barrels. Assets will be used across T-Rex without extra costs, creating synergies.

Management’s familiarity with the Inniss-Trinity field and new technologies could significantly increase production. The operational team will work with local staff and service contractors to enhance production and reduce costs.

An initial deposit of $250,000 was satisfied via the issuance of 4,411,641 unrestricted Predator shares. The completion payment of $750,000 will include $250,000 in cash and $500,000 in shares. Deferred payments of $750,000 will be made in three $250,000 installments through 2025-2027. CRL assumes $4.25 million in liabilities, managed by WIEGL for 12 months.

Contingent payments up to $2 million are based on production rates exceeding 750 barrels per day until 2027. Completion awaits Heritage Petroleum’s approval and a shareholder meeting to approve the sale.

Paul Griffiths, Predator’s CEO, stated the acquisition supports plans to drill Snowcap-3 and raise production using the company’s expertise. He emphasized the opportunity for high-value drilling while maintaining focus on gas resources in Morocco.

Predator aims to complete the transaction by April 30, 2025, contingent on necessary approvals. Failure to secure approval will result in the forfeiture or refund of the deposit, depending on the circumstances.