
Oman’s Renaissance Services SAOG, a service provider to the oil and gas industry, is considering an initial public offering for its Topaz Energy & Marine unit, according to people familiar with the matter.
Renaissance, which has a market capitalization of about $379 million, could seek a valuation of about $1.5 billion for the Dubai-based business, the people said. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are advising on the share sale, which could take place next year in London, said the people, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t public.
Valuation and location are still being discussed and no final decisions have been made, the people said. Renaissance may also choose to retain its stake in the division, for now, they said. Renaissance had abandoned a London IPO of the unit in 2011 and considered selling it a year later. Topaz raised $203 million in May to refinance its debt.
“Given the extensive 3D seismic that exists, these results will be integrated with the existing data set, which should allow for further improvements,” they said in a note.
Explorers have returned to Namibia with the rally in crude this year, hoping to revive prospects in the southern African nation that went quiet after at least 14 wells failed to find commercial oil deposits. Exxon Mobil Corp. bought stakes in Namibian fields in August, while Chariot Oil & Gas Ltd. has contracted the Ocean Rig Poseidon — the same rig used by Tullow — to drill a well this year.
“The Cormorant-1 frontier exploration well was a bold attempt to open a new oil play,” Tullow’s exploration director, Angus McCoss, said in a statement. “We will analyze the data gathered before deciding on any future activity.”