Santos has executed a conditional agreement to sell its 50.353% operated interest in Petroleum Retention Licence No. 5 (PRL 5) in Papua New Guinea to a wholly owned subsidiary of P3 Global Energy Company Limited, a Thailand-based privately held energy company, for $20 million.

Santos’ interest in PRL 5 is not material or strategic to Santos’ operations and is not part of the PNG LNG project. There is no current production from PRL 5. Santos’ 2009 production guidance of 53-56 mmboe and proved and probable reserves are unchanged following the sale of PRL 5.

The sale of PRL 5 is part of Santos’ ongoing program to monetise non-core assets. As previously announced, Santos has executed a conditional agreement to sell its 9% interest in the Kakap Indonesian joint venture.

The net gain or loss on asset sales to be reported in the 2009 first half accounts is unlikely to be material.

Tags: Santos