RAK to sell East African assets

RAK Gas, a state utility of United Arab Emirate Ras Al Khaimah, has put its East African assets up for sale.

The group has hired the London office of corporate adviser Taylor- DeJongh to sell assets in Tanzania, Somaliland and Egypt. Potential bidders have received a so-called "teaser notice", which provides some basic data on the exploration sites. The teaser is understood to state: "Following a strategic review of its activities, RAK Gas has decided to dispose of its directly held exploration interests."

The four assets, two of which are based in Tanzania, are expected to reach "several tens of millions of dollars", according to a gas industry source. RAK has a 100 per cent stake only in the East Pande block in Tanzania, the rest are minority interests of 20 to 25 per cent.

It is understood that RAK has decided to offload the stakes as it views them as non-core sites that do not provide any domestic gas supply. The stakes might be sold individually, but RAK would prefer to sell them in one bundle.