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Capricorn Energy cash pile to go to shareholders

The company is effectively $757mn in cash with a handful of oil and gas assets attached
April 27, 2023
  • Commitment to return excess capital to shareholders
  • Expected 2023 production of 32,000-36,000 barrels

Like a mule with a spinning wheel, the former Capricorn Energy (CNE) board had seemed unable to fix on a use for its significant cash pile. That $757mn (£607mn) in cash came after years of arbitration with the Indian government. After paying out some of the $1.06bn award (or tax refund, in official parlance) to shareholders, the previous Capricorn leadership thought it had found an easy fix for its overabundance of cash: hand it to Tullow Oil (TLW) in a merger. Shareholders rejected this, and also stopped a buyout by Israeli company NewMed Energy (IS:NWMD) in February. 

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