San Leon Energy faces another existential threat
MORE twists and turns over at San Leon Energy, the oil and gas explorer run by former Smart Telecom boss Oisin Fanning.
After seeing off an attempt to have the company wound up a few months back, Fanning is now fighting another wind-up petition.
This one comes from SunTrust Oil, a Nigerian company which claims it is owned money by San Leon. The row relates to the Irish company’s acquisition of an indirect interest in a producing oil field in Nigeria.
A report in the Nigerian media said that SunTrust alleges San Leon owes it almost $50m. It has gone to court in Nigeria and been granted permission to advertise the winding-up petition here, and serve the relevant documents on San Leon’s Irish office.
San Leon acknowledged the report in a statement to market, but said it “believes the claim has no foundation” on foot of legal advice. It’s looking to have the claim struck out.
Fanning has been through some rough times in business before. He was a founder of collapsed stockbroking firm MMI Stockbrokers, and chief executive from 1993 before stepping down in 1998, the year the company got into serious difficulty. But he’s kept San Leon afloat through very turbulent times, and that experience will help as he seeks to overcome the latest challenge.