Melrose Romanian plans holed
Sterling said it had decided to withdraw a request made to the Romanian authorities to assign a 32.5 per cent working interest in the Pelican and Midia blocks to Melrose. Under the deal Melrose was to have become the operator of two gas field development
David Thomas, chief executive of Melrose, which also has interests in Egypt, Bulgaria and Turkey , said the company was currently reviewing the implications of "this unforeseen event on its future business plans". "We understand that this recent development is in response to the protracted delay experienced securing the assignment approval, which has impeded development and exploration activity on the concessions," said Thomas.
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Hide Ad"Whilst it is a disappointing outcome, we retain a positive outlook on our other western Black Sea initiatives and will be providing an operational update on these and other areas in the near future."
Analysts said the development was disappointing.
Richard Rose of Oriel Securities said : "This news is not good for Melrose, with the Romanian developments and exploration upside a key part of the company's forward growth strategy."
Shares in Melrose closed down 54.8p, or 16.8 per cent, at 270p.