SCS Corporation, a subsidiary of oil and gas explorer Hyperdynamics, will sell a 40 per cent stake in its primary asset in offshore Guinea to Irish exploration group Tullow.

Hyperdynamics, which has seen its liquidity shrink due to higher-than-expected drilling costs, said in April it was looking to sell about half of its 77 per cent stake in the 25,000sq-km licence.Under the agreement, Tullow will pay Hyperdynamics $27 million for its past costs and carry a share of future expenses up to $100 million.

Tullow will also carry SCS’s share of costs associated with an appraisal well of the initial exploration well, if drilled, subject to an additional gross expenditure cap of $100 million.

The sale is expected to close by the end of the year following an approval from Guinea’s mines and geology ministry. – (Reuters)