BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 14
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Outrider Management LLC, a California-based investment firm, has asked Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia to award it the license to produce oil and gas from Block 12 in the country's Karu Basin, Trend reports via Georgian media.
The award would allow Georgia to derive more value from the field and enable 'Outrider' to recover its investment in the troubled company that currently holds the license.
'Outrider' is the largest stakeholder in the existing licensee, Frontera Resources Corporation, and has sought Frontera's liquidation over the firm's unpaid debts, which now total over $35 million in principal and interest.
Georgia sued Frontera for breach of contract and won a favorable ruling from an international arbitration court in the Netherlands in April.
Outrider's principal, Stephen Hope, said Georgia can resolve Frontera's debt problem and remove any doubts about the country's continuing goodwill toward the US by awarding a new license to 'Outrider', a responsible American company with expertise in emerging market investments and a history of working in the oil and gas sector.
Hope said his company wants to be constructive and helpful by stabilizing the existing production and recruiting a skilled operator that can explore and assess the field, which contains an estimated 700 million barrels of oil in a challenging structure.
Hope said he looked forward to discussions with the Georgian government to seek a resolution that works for both sides.
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