LONDON, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Heritage Oil announced it would use its proceeds from the sale of its Ugandan assets to Italy's Eni to help finance its core operations in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Heritage announced it was walking away from a merger with Turkey's Genel Enerji following the sale of its Uganda assets to Italian giant Eni. The merger, the Financial Times reports, would have created the largest investor in the Kurdish provinces of Iraq.
Heritage during the weekend reached a deal with Eni to sells two oil blocks in Uganda that cover an area of more than 4,600 square miles in the energy-rich Albert Basin.
The company said it would use the proceeds from the transaction to finance exploration, appraisal and development of areas in Iraqi Kurdistan, "which remains a core area of focus."
Heritage in August announced the completion of its first testing at the Miran West-1 discovery in Sulaimaniya province.
In June, Heritage said it had raised $216.7 million from stock sales to finance work on a pipeline to connect the Taq Taq and Miran oil fields in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Eni deal requires approval from the Ugandan government.
