Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) has agreed to buy various production interests from BP in the UK central North Sea, including the newly onstream Devenick field.
According to TAQA the transaction, valued at $1.058-billion, went ahead partly as a result of changes totax treatment of UK North Sea assets.
The package comprises interests in the Harding field (70%), Maclure (37.03%), and Devenick (88.7%). TAQA will also increase its stakes in theMarathon-operated Brae area and associated offshore transport infrastructure, including the SAGE system, Forties-Brae, and Forties-Braemar pipelines.
On completion, the acquisition should lift the company’s production by about 21,000 boe/d and provide a secondmajor development hub - TAQA’s current UK base is in the northern North Sea.
Leo Koot, managing director of UK operations, said: “This acquisition opens up new investment opportunities for TAQA, such as infill drilling on Harding, the ability to unlock significant discovered gas resources together with other adjacent field owners, and the development of the Morrone field, for which a field development plan will be submitted in the very near future.”
The transaction remains subject to various pre-emption rights and approvals, but is expected to be completed next spring.
11/28/2012
