VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 30, 2021 /CNW/ - (TSX: AOI)
(Nasdaq-Stockholm: AOI) – Africa Oil Corp. ("AOI",
"Africa Oil" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has
received a substantial dividend from its investee company, Prime
Oil and Gas Cooperatief UA ("Prime"). Prime also has successfully
completed the September 2021
semi-annual redetermination of its reserves-based lending ("RBL")
facility. View PDF
Prime has distributed a $150
million dividend with a net payment to Africa Oil of
$75 million related to its 50%
shareholding. The Company has applied the full amount of
$75 million received, to reduce the
outstanding balance of its corporate loan facility ("Corporate
Facility") to $23 million. Africa Oil
has an approximate cash balance of $39
million and a positive net cash balance of $16 million, as of September 29, 2021. The Corporate Facility has a
three-year term from May 2021 and
provides Africa Oil with an undrawn availability of $62 million, until May
2022 and can be utilised for general corporate purposes,
subject to customary covenants.
Prime also has successfully completed its September 2021 semi-annual RBL redetermination
with its lending group. Total principal repayment for 2021 has been
determined at $436 million with
$189 million already repaid during
the first half of this year. Prime is expected to repay another
$84 million of its outstanding RBL
facility amount by end of September, reducing the outstanding
balance to about $1,030 million
($515 million net to AOI). This takes
Prime's total RBL repayment in the last 18 months to $795 million, representing a 43% debt reduction.
Prime is expected to have a cash balance of at least $500 million ($250
million net to AOI) after the dividend distribution and RBL
repayment as of September 30, 2021.
Keith Hill, Africa Oil's
President and CEO, commented: "I am very pleased to report another
sizeable dividend from Prime. Since the acquisition of our Prime
shareholding in January 2020 for
$520 million, we have received nine
dividends for a total amount of $350
million. Strong cash flows from our deepwater Nigerian
assets have allowed us to significantly deleverage at both Africa
Oil and Prime levels. I am delighted that we are now in a positive
net cash position at Africa Oil corporate level. Prime is also
looking to benefit from Nigeria's
new Petroleum Industry Act including the potential to extend our
license terms earlier than expected. We are set to benefit from
strengthening oil prices with less than 50% of our 2022 cargoes
hedged, providing us with significant oil price exposure. Overall,
I am confident that Africa Oil is well positioned to deliver on its
stated goal of shareholder capital return and I look forward to
updating our shareholders on these plans in due course."
Africa Oil also reports the following share capital and voting
rights update in accordance with the Swedish Financial Instruments
Trading Act. As a result of the exercise of 351,334 stock options
under the Company's stock option plan, the Company now has
473,929,450 common shares issued and outstanding with voting rights
as of September 30, 2021.
Africa Oil Corp. is a Canadian oil and gas company with
producing and development assets in deepwater Nigeria; development assets in Kenya; and an exploration/appraisal portfolio
in Africa and Guyana. The Company is listed on the Toronto
Stock Exchange and on Nasdaq Stockholm under the symbol
"AOI".
All dollar amounts are in United
States dollars unless otherwise indicated.
This information is information that Africa Oil Corp. is obliged
to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the
Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was
submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person
set out above on September 30, 2021
at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Forward Looking Information
Certain statements and information contained herein constitute
"forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation). Such statements and information
(together, "forward looking statements") relate to future events or
the Company's future performance, business prospects or
opportunities.
All statements other than statements of historical fact may be
forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve
discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs,
plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or
performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as
"seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect,
"may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting",
"intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar
expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be
"forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, ongoing uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from
those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including
statements pertaining to shareholder capital return programs,
future dividend payments to be received from Prime, , utilization
and drawdown under the Corporate Facility and strengthening oil
prices. No assurance can be given that these expectations will
prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not
be unduly relied upon. The Company does not intend, and does not
assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements,
except as required by applicable laws. Actual results may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements.
SOURCE Africa Oil Corp.