Melrose Resources Seeks Buyer For Permian Basin Assets In US

6th Jul 2010 09:55

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Oil and gas explorer Melrose Resources PLC (MRS.LN) Tuesday said it is seeking a buyer for its mature oil fields in Texas and New Mexico in order to focus on its projects in Europe and North Africa. Melrose said it has asked its advisers to sound out potential interest in its Permian Basin oil fields because it would rather spend its resources on other, "strategic" investment opportunities in its portfolio. The Permian Basin fields contain proven reserves of 23.3 million barrels of oil equivalent and another 15.9 million of possible reserves, according to Melrose's 2009 annual report. Melrose has exploration projects and producing wells in Egypt, Bulgaria, Turkey and France and was Monday granted two exploration blocks covering 2,000 square kilometers offshore Romania. Edinburgh-based Melrose said it will use any money raised from the sale of the U.S. assets to pay down its borrowings and fund its activities elsewhere. The company's net debt stood at $483.5 million at March 31. At 0844 GMT, shares in Melrose were down 3 pence or 1% at 286 pence, underperforming a 0.3% higher Dow Jones U.K. Smaller Companies index. -By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 06, 2010 04:55 ET (08:55 GMT)