Premier Oil to sell Pakistan oil business

Premier Oil has agreed to sell its Pakistan oil business for a cash consideration of $65.6m to Al-Haj Energy.

Al-Haj has paid a deposit of $15m and will cough up a further interim deposit of $10m within the next 60 days.

Premier said the deal, which is expected to complete by the end of this year, is in line with its stated strategy to dispose of non-core assets, with the proceeds from the sale to be used to reduce net debt.

The company expects to record a book gain on disposal estimated at $40m.

Chief executive Tony Durrant said: "We are pleased to have reached agreement to sell our Pakistan business. While now non-core for Premier, our Pakistan business has consistently outperformed our expectations over the years and this is testament to the hard work and skill of our team in Islamabad."

At 1005 BST the shares were up 4.4% to 63.42p.