Page 7 - Euroil Week 28 2019
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EurOil INVESTMENT EurOil
Pandion snaps up ConocoPhillips stake in Norwegian prospect
NORWAY
NORWAY’S Pandion Energy has announced the purchase of a 20% interest in the Slagugle prospect in the Norwegian Sea from US major ConocoPhillips.
e transaction is one of several recent deals between smaller players looking to build up their operations o the coasts of Norway and the UK and larger international producers eager to scale back their presence in the region.
Slagugle is situated within production licence 891 in the proli c Haltenbanken zone between the producing Skark and Heidrun elds. Cono- coPhillips acquired rights to the block in 2016, and will continue serving as the project’s opera- tor with an 80% stake a er its deal with Pandion is completed.
e pair intend to drill their rst well at Slagu- gle in either 2020 or 2021, approved their work plans are approved by Norwegian authorities.
Pandion’s other assets offshore Norway include shares in six exploration sites, one more under development and three in production.
“With this farm-in we commit to our fourth exploration well in less than a year, demon- strating the importance of exploration and appraisal activities in Pandion Energy’s growth strategy,” CEO Jan Christian Ellefsen said in a statement. “Once again, we have identi ed and secured an attractive exploration opportunity close to existing elds and discoveries in the Norwegian Sea.”
Pandion has plans to sink wells at two other Norwegian Sea prospects, Godalen and Appo- lonia, which are operated by Norway’s Equinor and the UK’s Capricorn Oil respectively.
ConocoPhillips’ latest disposal comes a er its $2.7bn divestment of North Sea fields to UK-based Chrysaor in April. Fellow US pro- ducer Chevron sold o its last interest o the shore of Norway last year, while ExxonMobil is currently testing the market for all its remaining assets in the area, Reuters reported on June 22.
ConocoPhillips’ largest project o Norway is the Eko sk oil eld.
Hibiscus sweeps in for North Sea discovery
UK
Hibiscus is already an established player in the UK.
MALAYSIAN oil company Hibiscus Petroleum has clinched a deal to buy a North Sea oil discov- ery from two UK rms.
Hibiscus said on July 17 that it had reached a term-sheet agreement to acquire licence 2366 from United Oil and Gas and Swi Exploration. It will pay $5mn for the project, which contains the Crown oil discovery. Crown was discovered 250km from Aberdeen in 1998 by ConocoPhil- lips, which opted against development. It is estimated to hold 8mn barrels of oil and 170mn cubic metres of gas.
United and Swi won rights to the licence last year, with the former controlling a 95% stake and the latter a 5% interest. Hibsicus will pay the partners $1mn a er a sales and purchase con- tract is closed, plus a further $3mn by the end of 2020. A nal $1mn payment will be made once the Crown eld enters production.
If these instalments are not made, then the
licence will return to United and Swi . Hibiscue is already an established player in the North Sea, with interests in the Teal, Teal South, Guillemot and Cook elds that together comprise the Anasuria cluster. The deposits are operated by Anasuria Operating Company (AOC), a joint venture between Hibiscus and fel- low Malaysian rm Ping Petroleum. eir out- put is fed to the Anasuria oating, production,
storage and o oading (FPSO) unit.
The Malaysian firm also purchased a 50%
stake in the Marigold and Sunflower fields, located near Crown, last October from India’s Aban. It aims to have a development plan ready for the deposits by the end of this year, and needs to decide between a xed or oating platform.
Back in Malaysia, Hibiscus has a 50% stake in the o shore North Sabah project, which com- prises several producing elds. It also operates licences o the coast of Australia.
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