Australia-based Bounty Oil & Gas has agreed to acquire PetroQuest Liberia Deep Water, securing exclusive access to negotiations for a production sharing contract covering the LB-32 offshore block in Liberia.
Under the proposed deal, Bounty will pay A$1.5 million in cash and issue more than 863 million ordinary shares to the vendors, along with 86.3 million shares associated with a previous exclusivity fee. The vendors could also receive as many as 1 billion performance shares if specified exploration and farm-out milestones are met.
Bounty is required to raise at least A$3 million as a condition of the acquisition. Separately, the company has secured firm commitments for a placement of about A$3.55 million, with Tribeca Investment Partners, L1 Capital Global Opportunities Master Fund and S3 Consortium, also known as Stocks Digital, backing the raising.
The acquisition gives Bounty access to negotiations for a PSC covering Block LB-32, which spans about 2,322 square kilometres in Liberia’s Harper Basin. The block is in deep water, ranging from about 1,500 metres to 4,200 metres, and is covered by approximately 656 square kilometres of 3D seismic and 753 line-kilometres of 2D seismic data.
The company has identified the Jupiter and Zeus deepwater fan prospects as areas of initial interest, although it said it has yet to directly review the 3D seismic data. Bounty plans to license the relevant data from TGS before completing its technical assessment and estimating the block’s prospective resources.
The vendors’ performance shares are partly tied to an independent report confirming at least 800 million barrels of P50 prospective resources, with a geological chance of success of at least 30%. The remaining performance shares would be linked to a binding farm-out agreement.
Bounty said it will not publish its own prospective resource estimate until an independent qualified evaluator has assessed the block.
Block LB-32 is not currently covered by a granted licence or an executed PSC. PetroQuest holds a letter of engagement from the National Oil Company of Liberia providing an exclusive right to negotiate a PSC with the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The transaction remains subject to due diligence, shareholder and regulatory approvals, the capital raising and either execution of the PSC or confirmation of a satisfactory pathway toward its grant. The conditions must be satisfied or waived by Dec. 31, 2026, unless the parties agree to extend the deadline.
Bounty currently holds oil and gas interests in Queensland, the Sydney Basin and Western Australia’s Carnarvon Basin.
