Investment in Ratio Petroleum Energy Limited Partnership
The Board of Westmount is pleased to announce that it has made market purchases of 1,200,000 participating share units in Ratio Petroleum Energy Limited Partnership (“Ratio Petroleum”) for an average price of ₪0.974 per unit, commencing on 25th January 2018 and completing on 31 May 2018. The total consideration, including transaction costs, of ₪1,187,068 (equivalent to £248,406) has been funded from Westmount’s existing cash resources.
Ratio Petroleum is an oil and gas exploration company focused on the development and production of international hydrocarbon assets. The company completed its IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in January 2017 and currently holds assets in Guyana, Suriname, Malta, Philippines and Ireland. In Guyana, Ratio Petroleum holds a 25 per cent carried interest in the Kaieteur Block, located adjacent to and in the same geologic basin as the Stabroek Block which has delivered seven substantial oil discoveries since 2015, with reported discovered recoverable resources in excess of 3.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels to date.
ExxonMobil, which is the operator of both blocks, acquired a 5700 km2 3D seismic survey on the Kaieteur Block in 2016 and this dataset is currently undergoing processing and interpretation with a view to evaluation of a future drilling program. As a result of these purchases, Westmount holds approximately 1 per cent of Ratio Petroleum’s participating share units. This investment is consistent with Westmount’s strategy of seeking exposure to opportunities in the prolific Guyana-Suriname Basin, which the Board considers to be a major emerging hydrocarbon province.
For the 2017 financial year, Ratio Petroleum recorded a loss before tax of ₪8,889,000 and had total assets of ₪105,074,000. Further disclosure with respect to Ratio Petroleum’s business and financial position is available through the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange website at www.tase.co.il.
The currency symbol “₪” denotes Israeli new shekels.
