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Aban Offshore has just got richer by $64 million, thanks to the termination of a joint venture.
Aban's subsidiary, Sinvest, had an equal joint venture with Petrolia ASA of Norway and the joint venture operated a Russian-made drillship called Deep Venture.
The drillship, taken on a bare-boat charter from the Russian owners, Arktik, had been the bone of contention between Aban and Arktik.
Arktik wanted the drillship back on the grounds that the charter agreement was not approved by the Russian authorities. Curiously, this claim was made after the day rates for deep drilling ships shot up.
In February, the Deep Venture was returned to Arktik, for which the Aban-Petrolia joint venture (called Venture Drilling) received a fee of $138 million.
Aban's share of this is the $64 million.
After the return of Deep Venture, there is nothing left in the Aban-Petrolia joint venture. Aban has therefore sold its 50 per cent stake in the venture to the partner, Petrolia.
For the stake sale, Aban gets $34 million. The other $30 million (out of the $64 million) comes to Aban as ‘dividend' from the joint venture.
Debt position
Aban Offshore had on its books debt of Rs 14,490 crore at end-March 2010. The $64 million, it is learnt, would be used to retire a part of the debt.
On the NSE today, the Aban Offshore share, of face value of Rs 2 each, closed at Rs 613, which was Rs 1.85 lower than the previous close.
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