Medco to sell Novus assets

Medco to sell Novus assets

PT Medco Energi Internasional, Indonesia's biggest publicly traded oil company, said shareholders have approved its plan to sell some assets of Australia's Novus Petroleum Ltd. to two companies.

Medco's Finance Director Sugiharto said the company would sell some of Novus's assets in Indonesia and Australia worth US$110 million to Santos Ltd., Australia's biggest natural gas producer. Medco had bought Novus for A$350 million ($240 million).

Medco will also sell Novus's assets worth $31.9 million to Silk Route Investments, owned by United Arab Emirates-based Nasir Ali Shah Bukhari and his family, Sugiharto told reporters in Jakarta after the company's shareholder meeting.

The company will keep seven of Novus's assets, namely five exploration areas in the Middle East and two Indonesia areas, he said. Medco expects to complete the sale to Santos and Silk Route by the end of this year. -- Bloomberg