Tenaz Energy Corp. has an agreement with Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), the joint venture in the Netherlands between Shell and ExxonMobil Corp., to acquire NAM Offshore for €165 million ($246 million).
The transaction should close in mid-2025, pending merger clearances and transition operations.
Tenaz expects NAM Offshore to produce nearly 11,000 boe/d this year and estimates its 2P reserves at 53.6 MMboe.
Upon closing, Tenaz would become the second largest operator in the Dutch North Sea, where NAM Offshore accounts for about 20% of the sector’s gas production.
It has production and exploration licenses covering a total net area of 2,415 sq km in an average water depth of 34 m and about 60 km offshore.
Current production comes from six hubs and two main production areas, the joint development area (JDA) and the L02/L09 fields. The gas is mainly in Permian-aged Rotliegend sandstone at an average depth of 3,500 m.
Although production is declining, Tenaz sees workover and optimization and infill drilling opportunities, along with various exploration prospects. Capital reinvestment in the facilities has been at a low level for more than a decade, it added, with no capital investment planned for 2024.
Tenaz has identified at least 30 potential development drilling locations and more than 80 exploration leads and prospects over the offshore licenses. Much of the acreage is covered by 3D seismic, with an ocean-bottom node survey acquired over the JDA in 2022 still undergoing processing.
Upon closing the deal, the company intends to embark on a workover program on the existing well stock followed over time by a phased development drilling program, and wells on the most prospective exploration prospects.
Solid offshore infrastructure is largely in place to accommodate the potential growth, it adds.
