Page 14 - EurOil Week 31

EurOil INVESTMENT EurOil

Private equity-backed Neo wraps

up Total purchase in North Sea

UK NEO Energy, backed by Norwegian private extremely excited by the quality of both the asset
equity group HitecVision, has completed the portfolio and the group of over 60 outstanding
Oman’s Petrogas was takeover of a group of Total assets in the UK professionals we have assembled.”
involved in the deal but North Sea. Through the transaction, Neo has gained
dropped out. Neo teamed up with Oman’s Petrogas last 23,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd)
year to acquire Total’s operated stakes in the in oil and gas supply, as of last year, and some
Dumbarton, Balloch, Lochranza, Drumtochty, 51mn boe in reserves.
Flyndre, Affleck and Cawdor fields, and its Total got hold of the assets when it acquired
non-operated interests in the GoldenEagle, Maersk Petroleum in 2018. The French major is
Scott and Telford deposits managed by China’s on a divestment drive, looking to weed out non-
CNOOC. The purchase price was $635mn. core, lower-margin assets in its portfolio. The
Petrogas dropped out of the deal in May, how- company appears to have fast-tracked disposal
ever, in light of the market’s collapse. Total said plans in response to the coronavirus (COVID-
at the time it had renegotiated the purchase with 19) pandemic.
Neo alone, but terms have not been disclosed. Total last week announced plans to shed the
That deal is now closed, HitecVision con- 180,000 barrel per day (bpd) Lindsey refinery in
firmed in a statement on August 3. north-east England which it has operated since
“The expeditious completion of this trans- its launch in 1968. It is also reportedly seeking a
action is a major milestone for Neo Energy as buyer for its 25.7% stake in the Shearwater Elgin
we build a next-generation North Sea opera- Area Line (SEAL) gas pipeline in the UK North
tor,” Neo’s interim CEO Paul Harris said. “I am Sea. ™

Equinor to sell 41% of Bressay

heavy oilfield to EnQuest

NORWAY NORWEGIAN oil giant Equinor has agreed to Equinor, meanwhile, is looking to optimise
sell a 41% operated stake in the Bressay oilfield its portfolio and raise cash. It suffered its fourth
The pair will combine east of the Shetland Islands to UK producer quarterly loss in a row in April-June on impair-
their knowledge of EnQuest, under a deal worth almost $18mn. ments, despite gaining from the ramp-up of the
heavy oil projects. Bressay has around 1bn barrels of oil in place Johan Sverdrup oil project since its launch in
(OIP), but is known for its significant complex- autumn.
ity. Equinor will transfer its share in the project In a statement, EnQuest said Bressay repre-
for an initial GBP2.2mn ($2.9mn), with a further sented a low-cost 115mn barrel addition to its
$15mn payable once UK authorities approve a 2C resources. It is considering tying the field to
development plan. its Kraken floating production storage and off-
Edinburgh-based Wood Mackenzie esti- loading (FPSO) unit, which is exploiting another
mates that up to 200mn barrels of crude could heavy oilfield. Gas produced at Bressay can be
be recovered from the heavy oilfield, first discov- used as fuel for the vessel.
ered in 1976. Equinor entered the project in 2007 The transaction is scheduled to close in the
but has so far held off on development. fourth quarter.
The Norwegian firm will retain a further 41% “The heavy oil skills and knowledge the group
interest, while the remaining 18% is held by pri- has acquired from Kraken will help us unlock
vate-equity backed Chrysaor. the potential of this large 1bn barrel [OIP] field,”
EnQuest is looking to replenish its resources, EnQuest CEO Amjad Bseisu said.
having decommissioned its Thistle and Heather Equinor added it wanted to draw from its
platforms earlier this month and opted for early experience at Mariner, another heavy oil project
shutdowns at the mature Don and Alma-Galia it brought on stream last year, to help advance
fields. development. ™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 31 06•August•2020