News

April 16, 2009

Northern Buys Out Cash-Strapped ATI Oil As It Makes Progress In Italy And The Netherlands

Northern Petroleum has ended a relationship forged four and a half years ago by agreeing to acquire ATI Oil for £11.3 million. Back in November 2004, AIM-quoted Northern agreed an Italian asset trade with ATI Oil in exchange for a 38.72 per cent shareholding in the oil minnow, just ahead of its admission to the OFEX market. Northern’s MD Derek Musgrove and FD Chris Foss joined the ATI board and many investors came to view ATI as a quasi Italian subsidiary of Northern.

ATI held a 50 per cent  interest in 16 licences both onshore and offshore Italy, with Northern being the 50 per cent partner and operator of the acreage, which altogether covered some 8,450 sq km, equivalent in size to over 40 North Sea blocks. The idea was to give greater visibility to the Italian asset base through the creation of an independent and operationally focused E&P. After all, these were quality assets, more than enough to justify a stand-alone company: the offshore areas...