Frontier Oil firms up $50-million IPO plans

MANILA, Philippines – Upstream petroleum firm Frontier Oil Corp. (FOC) said it is finalizing plans to raise up to $50 million through an initial public offering (IPO) at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

FOC has already secured shareholder approval to buy all shares in Australian oil exploration firm Frontier Gas Pty. Ltd. as part of its acquisition of oil and gas projects prior to public listing.

“Bioprospect Ltd. has been advised that FOC shareholders have approved the acquisition of Bioprospect’s 50-percent interest in Frontier Gasfields,” the Australian firm said in its website.

In exchange, Bioprospect will own 430 million new shares in FOC. The new shares are equivalent to a 35-percent ownership in Frontier Oil on a pre-IPO basis.

“Should the IPO raise the maximum targeted amount of $50 million, Bioprospect would hold approximately 13 percent of the issued common stock of FOC,” the company said.

The issuance of new shares is subject to the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bioprospect said.

FOC, which now holds a 25-percent stake in Frontier Gasfields, will also buy the remaining 25 percent shares from minority stockholders.

Frontier Gasfields has a 15-percent stake in Service Contract (SC) 69 offshore block within the Visayan Basin and it has the option to acquire a five-percent share in the 9,880-square kilometer SC 55 located in offshore Palawan.

In June, FOC said it is buying into several gas projects before going public.

To date, FOC holds a 50-percent interest in SC 52, an onshore oil and gas block located in the Cagayan Valley. It is also the project’s operator.

In February, the SC 52 consortium started the $5-million Nassiping-2 oil exploration project in Cagayan Valley.