The company said that the acquisition would add roughly 20% to its oil production for 2004 as well as 18.45 million barrels of proven and probable developed producing reserves.
The purchase of Chevron Niugini will be funded initially by a $US90m short term bridging facility along with the proceeds from the sale of its stake in the Porgera gold mine.
Oil Search has also taken the operatorship of the Kutubu, Moran, Gobe Main and SE Gobe oil fields and a number of exploration licenses from ChevronTexaco as of Friday the 17th.
"Taking over the operatorship of PNG's oil fields is probably the most significant event in Oil Search's corporate history. I would like to express our sincere thanks to ChevronTexaco for their outstanding efforts in leading the development of the oil fields in Papua New Guinea," said Peter Botten, Oil Search's managing director.
"Over the past decade, Oil Search has grown rapidly. In the early 1990s, our average interest in PNG's oil fields was 7%. Now Oil Search owns over 70% of the country's discovered oil reserves and over 50% of the country's gas resources."
