Tag Oil Closes Tamarind NZ Deal

Canada-listed Tag Oil September 25 said it has closed the previously announced sale of its New Zealand assets to Tamarind Resources.

Tag Oil received the final approval from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals for the sale and transfer last month. In January this year, Tag got shareholders' approval to sell its oil and gas assets in the Taranaki Basin in New Zealand to Malaysia-based Tamarind for US$30mn.  

By exiting New Zealand, Tag will be in a better position to pursue its exploration prospects in Australia, including the producing petroleum mining license in the Surat Basin, it said in November when the deal was first announced.

“TAG will continue to assess its exploration prospects covering over 275,000 net acres in Australia, including the producing 25,000-acre petroleum mining license in the Surat Basin, along with other opportunities that are in the best interests of our shareholders,” TAG CEO Toby Pierce said.

In New Zealand, Tag’s operations include production from the Cheal and Sidewinder oil and gas fields with the Puka, Supplejack and Cardiff new pool discoveries under development. The company owns and operates three production facilities in the Taranaki Basin, which are linked directly to Taranaki’s main gas distribution pipeline.