Sintana Energy has reached an agreement to acquire Challenger Energy under an all-shares offer valued at about £45 million ($60.2 million).
Challenger is an AIM-quoted E&P company holding interests in two exploration blocks offshore Uruguay: AREA OFF-1 (Chevron as operator with 60%, and Challenger with 40%) and AREA OFF-3 (Challenger, 100%). The company also has exploration interests offshore the Bahamas.
Sintana is a TSXV-quoted oil and gas exploration company. Its portfolio in Namibia includes a 4.9% indirect interest in the Galp-operated deepwater Mopane discoveries in PEL 83, and indirect interests in four other Namibian offshore blocks.
To the north, the company has entered a heads of term agreement to acquire a 5% indirect share of KON-16 in Angola's onshore Kwanza Basin.
A combination of the two companies would create an Atlantic-margin focused oil and gas exploration specialist. The increased scale, they claim, would provide opportunities to deploy their combined strengths in future oil and gas projects.
Challenger expects required permits to be issued shortly for seismic acquisition to start on AREA OFF-1 either later this year or early in 2026.
Having completed the first phase of a technical work program for AREA OFF-3, a formal farm-out process is underway. Challenger hopes to select a suitable partner during the first quarter of 2026.
