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ublicly-listed oil and gas firm PT Medco Energi Internasional (MEDC), through its subsidiary Medco Yemen Malik Limited, has finalized the sales purchase agreement (SPA) in its attempt to acquire a participating interest in the Malik Block 9 in Yemen.

Medco president director and chief executive officer Lukman Mahfoedz said on Tuesday that the firm had signed the settlement documents for the SPA to take over a 25 percent stake in the block from Dubai-based Reliance Exploration & Production DMCC.

“The Block 9 acquisition is in line with Medco’s effort to be actively involved in the Middle East and North Africa,” he said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

“We believe that the firm’s role in the block will create a positive impact for the government of Yemen, partners in the block as well as Medco’s operational and financial performance.”

The acquisition is worth US$90 million, as the Post previously reported.

After the acquisition plan was endorsed by the Yemeni Oil and Mineral Resources Ministry on Nov. 24 and the settlement documents were signed, Medco effectively had a 21.25 percent participating interest in the block, after calculating the Yemen Oil and Gas Corporation’s stake in the block, said Lukman.

The block, the gross reserves of which were estimated to be at around 58.6 million barrels of oil as of Jan. 1 this year, is currently operated by Calvalley Petroleum (Cyprus) Ltd., which has a 42.50 percent stake in the block.

Other companies in the block include Medco, Hood Oil Limited (21.25 percent) and the Yemen Oil and Gas Corporation (15 percent).