Heritage Oil is an independent

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

-based oil and gas exploration and production company. Its activities are focused on

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and Russia. In June 2014, the company was acquired by a fund owned by the former chief executive of

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), sovereign investment fund, or social wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...

History

The company was formed in 1992, to exploit oil reserves in Africa, the Middle East and Russia. It was first listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

in 2008, and moved its head office from

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

also in 2008. In April 2009, the company disposed of its interests in

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

in order to focus on its core assets. In May 2009, the company discovered a major oil field following test results at the Miran gas field in

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languag ...

. In November 2012, they decided to sell their remaining 49% interest to

Genel Energy Genel Energy plc is an oil company with a registered office in Jersey and field office in Turkey. The company is listed at the London Stock Exchange. It has its exploration and production operations in Northern Iraq with plans to expand its activit ...

to repay a $294m (£185m) loan. In 2012/2013, Heritage made a strategic investment (app. 20%) in PetroFrontier Corp. and exploration of Australia's highly prospective Northern Territory situated in Georgina Basin. In 2012, Heritage oil formed a joint venture in Nigeria called Shoreline to purchase a 45% stake in OML 30, an onshore oil block formerly owned by Shell PLC. The firm announced positive financial results in 2013, after major successes with this oil field, which achieved record gross production in August 2013. A strong growth in revenues was also reported thanks to these successes in Nigeria, as well as in Russia. Investors were also boosted by the news that the firm had expanded its portfolio in a promising region of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, with drilling to commence on new sites in these areas in 2014. In October 2013, Heritage Oil considerably expanded its exploration portfolio after it agreed to farm-in two licences onshore

, an increasingly attractive area for oil exploration and a region in which the firm now has four licences. In November 2013, Heritage signed a joint venture agreement with Bayelsa Oil Company Limited, the state-owned oil company of the

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yena ...

government, to establish an indigenous

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

oil company called Petrobay Energy Limited. The deal positioned the company to become a significant contributor to the development of the Nigerian oil and gas industry as Bayelsa contains many of the largest crude oil and natural gas deposits in the country. The deal also opened up access to further oil ventures and opportunities in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. In February 2014, Heritage Oil's stock jumped the most it had in 18 months after a report on massive production increases at the firm's OML 30 well in

, as well as the successful conclusion of tax rebate negotiations in the country. The prospect of a dividend pay-out for investors also contributed considerably to the firm's share price rise. In June 2014, the company was acquired by a fund owned by the former chief executive of

's sovereign wealth fund.

Operations

The company is the operator and holds 50% interests in two licences in the Albert Basin of the

Western Rift Valley The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

. Recent exploration activity has focused on the eastern shores of Lake Albert, which straddles the border of

and the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, and Kurdistan. The company is also active in Russia,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Ownership

In 2006 Micael Gulbenkian stepped down from his position as CEO and Chairman of Heritage Oil. He was replaced by Michael Hibberd, who was appointed as Chairman and Tony Buckingham, who was appointed as CEO. As of 31 December 2008,

Tony Buckingham Anthony Leslie Rowland "Tony" Buckingham is a former North Sea oil-rig diver and is currently an oil industry executive with a significant share holding in Heritage Oil Corporation. Heritage is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange since 1999. I ...

owned 33.1% of the company. In 2014, Heritage Oil was acquired for $1.6 billion by Energy Investment Global, a subsidiary of Al Mirqab Capital, a Qatari investment fund. Terms of the sale included Buckingham remaining as an advisor with a 20% holding for five years. In December 2017, Naeem-Atiq Sadiq was appointed as CEO of Heritage Oil. In 2018, Heritage Oil announced the appointment of Michele Faissola as executive director.

References

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External links

Official site
Non-renewable resource companies established in 1992 Companies of Jersey 1992 establishments in Jersey Oil companies