NASSAU, Bahamas — Challenger Energy Group PLC, the company holding four conjoined offshore oil exploration licences in The Bahamas, is being acquired by Canada’s Sintana Energy Inc. in an all-share transaction valued at approximately C$83.6 million (US$61 million). The merger is set to create a major new exploration platform focused on the Southern Atlantic basin, spanning Namibia, Angola, Uruguay, and The Bahamas.
Challenger, listed on London’s AIM market, holds 100 percent of four conjoined licences offshore The Bahamas. Although its Perseverance-1 exploration well, drilled in early 2021, did not result in a commercial discovery, subsequent analysis identified several other promising structures and deeper Jurassic horizons with potential hydrocarbon prospects. The company has also been in discussions with the Government of The Bahamas to renew the licences for a third three-year exploration period and to explore a new initiative aimed at monetising the asset through carbon credit opportunities.
The acquisition will give Challenger shareholders about 25 percent of Sintana’s issued share capital upon completion, expected by the end of 2025, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Sintana also plans to list on London’s AIM exchange in the fourth quarter of 2025, though that move is not a condition of closing.
Challenger Energy Group—formerly Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) says that it is “exploring legal remedies available against the Government of The Bahamas” after receiving no response to its renewal application.
The company explained that the second exploration period for its Bahamian licences expired on June 30, 2021. “In March 2021, consistent with the terms of the licences, Challenger applied to the Government of The Bahamas to renew the licences for a third exploration period,” the company noted. “The Government of The Bahamas has not yet responded to this application and, given the length of time that has passed, Challenger is now exploring alternative means of realising value from its historic investment in The Bahamas, including potential legal action.”
The disclosure, highlighting the company’s mounting frustration with the Government’s inaction, was contained in documents related to its acquisition of Challenger by Canadian-based Sintana Energy, which holds oil exploration rights in Namibia and Angola.
Sintana said the deal accelerates its strategic goal of building a leading Southern Atlantic exploration company with diversified exposure to high-impact basins and partnerships with major operators. Challenger’s offshore Uruguay portfolio—AREA OFF-1 (40 percent interest, operated by Chevron) and AREA OFF-3 (100 percent interest and operator)—will be integrated with Sintana’s assets in Namibia, including the Mopane discoveries, to form a combined portfolio of eight exploration licences across both regions.
“The combination of Sintana and Challenger delivers on our long-term strategy to create and execute on a portfolio of high-impact exploration opportunities,” said Robert Bose, Sintana’s CEO. “By extending our footprint from Namibia and Angola to Uruguay, we are positioned as a market leader along the Atlantic margin with a diversified and growth-oriented asset base.”
The merged entity will have a management team with extensive exploration experience, more than US$10 million in available cash, and expanded access to capital to fund seismic and drilling programs across its enlarged acreage.
For The Bahamas, the transaction signals renewed potential for offshore resource development—now backed by a better-capitalized partner with a broader Atlantic exploration strategy.
