Carizzo to Sell Huntington Stake to Iona

Carizzo to Sell Huntington Stake to Iona

Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its wholly owned subsidiary Carrizo UK Huntington Limited, and all of its interest in the Huntington Field in the UK North Sea to a subsidiary of Iona Energy Inc. for a cash consideration of $184 million.

Carrizo expects to net approximately $116 million, after payment of approximately $70 million to retire and close our UK credit facility, working capital adjustments and transaction related costs. This transaction is expected to close on or before the end of January, and is subject to customary closing conditions and purchase price adjustments.

 Carrizo President and CEO, S. P. “Chip” Johnson, IV commented on the sale, “It has been a long and bumpy road for all participants in this project since Carrizo geologists defined the Huntington exploration prospect and our partners drilled the discovery wells; now that the project is close to first production and its value much more tangible, our reinvestment opportunities for the net proceeds from this sale are so compelling that we have made the decision to harvest our investment. We expect to apply the net proceeds of this transaction to fund a portion of our 2013 capital investment needs and for other general corporate purposes.

Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. is a Houston-based energy company actively engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas primarily in the United States and United Kingdom. Our current operations are principally focused in proven, producing oil and gas plays primarily in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, the Niobrara Formation in Colorado, the Barnett Shale in North Texas, and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia.

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Press Release, December 30, 2012