Dalea would assign the acquired interests to a joint venture held by Dalea and funds advised by Abraaj Investment Management.

TransAtlantic will use the sale proceeds to reduce short and long term debt including borrowings from Standard Bank and BNP Paribas, Dalea and Viking Drilling.

TransAtlantic and its subsidiaries had outstanding borrowings of $78m, $84m and $0.9m, respectively by the end of May.

The company also had $1.7m outstanding through a credit agreement with a Turkish bank.

The deal is planned to close in the week ending 16 June 2012.