Gabon’s National Oil Company to Buy US Firm

Officials agreed to acquire Carlyle’s Assala Energy after it used its right to pre-empt the sale of the business for $1.3bn to France’s Maurel & Prom, the firms said on Friday. Maurel & Prom had agreed in August 2023 to acquire Assala Energy for $730m, a deal which also included rolling over a $600m credit facility. The office of Gabon’s presidency said the deal would allow the country to secure and manage its natural resources and boost its finances. Carlyle’s non-US energy arm CIEP first invested in Assala in 2017 when it acquired Shell’s ageing operations in Gabon for $628m. Gabon produces about 200,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude oil, making it the second-smallest Opec producer.

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