South Korean oil and gas company SK Innovation Co. said Sept. 27 it agreed to sell its 17.6% stake in two natural gas fields in Peru to Argentina’s Pluspetrol for $1.05 billion.
SK E&P Co. in-house counsel Se Young (Sam) Jeong, who is based in Houston, led the transaction for SK. A graduate of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, he worked with SK senior counsel Claudia Trevino internally and hired Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Justin Stolte to lead the deal because he says he worked with Stolte on prior transactions.
Stolte, a partner in Houston, worked with a team that included Houston associates James Robertson, Ashley Nguyen, Jordan Silverman and Monika Kluziak and others.
Separately, Stolte previously represented SK on its agreement to buy private oil and gas explorer and producer Longfellow Nemaha last year. Years back, Stolte worked with SK’s lead commercial executive Gerald Pyle when the two were part of Apache Corp.’s business development group.
The transaction has to clear Peruvian regulators. The deal could include additional contingent payments after closing.
Camisea blocks 56 and 88 are in one of the largest natural gas and condensate fields in South America. They feed a liquefied natural gas facility in Peru, which SK owns along with Dallas-based Hunt Oil, Royal Dutch Shell and Marubeni.
Pluspetrol already held an interest in the blocks along with Hunt, Tecpetrol, Repsol and Sonatrach.
SK Innovation plans to use the proceeds to diversify its portfolio into other energy sectors, including the battery and materials business, and expand its presence in Asia and North America, according to a report in The Korea Herald.
Pluspetrol explores for and produces oil and gas mainly in Latin America and Africa.