Northern Petroleum sells stake in Vinkega gas field

Northern Petroleum has sold its interest in the Vinkega gas field for around €3.2m, equivalent to about £2.7m.

Northern said it considered that Vinkega was "not a prospect of sufficient size and structural appeal to have attracted a wildcat well on the Drenthe III licence

alone."

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The Vinkega gas field was discovered when Vermilion Oil & Gas Netherlands drilled the Vinkega-1 well on its Gorredijk Licence. The field has been mapped as underlying both part of the Gorredijk licence and part of the Drenthe III licence.

All the Drenthe III Licence interest holders have agreed to the sale of their respective Drenthe III interests in the Vinkega field to Vermilion, with Northern Petroleum Netherland's pro-rated share of the consideration being €3.1875m.

70% of the purchase price has already been paid on signing of agreement, with the remaining 30% payable following completion, which is subject to the usual governmental and other consents.

Derek Musgrove, Managing Director of Northern, said: "The sale will enable a smooth transition into production under Vermilion's team and make a useful financial contribution to our hopefully successful exploration activities on the Drenthe III licence in the near future."

The share price rose 6.58% to 81p by 12:59PM.

NR