Bermuda-based oilman John Deuss looks set to realise a 47 million Australian dollar (US$36 million) profit on the sale of his company?s stake in an Australian oil exploration business.

The Age in Melbourne, Australia said yesterday the Transworld Oil owner had placed his 11 percent stake in Australian Worldwide Exploration with institutional investors on Wednesday night.

The stake is worth an estimated $155 million (US$118 million) at current share prices. Mr. Deuss got the shares at an imputed value of $108.7 million (US$83 million) earlier this year.

The Age reported that Mr. Deuss was selling the stake to meet cash commitments he has with other oil and gas interests.

?He will make a handy profit on the investment as the shares were allocated to Transworld at an imputed price of Aud$2.30 a share, in return for a 22.5 percent stake in the Tui oil project in New Zealand?s Taranaki Basin this year,? the newspaper said.

AWE shares fell four cents to Aud$3.28 yesterday, valuing the group at $1.4 billion. The stock has risen steadily throughout the year in response to rising oil prices and the commissioning of development projects. The stock traded as low as Aud$1.98 in February.