Page 9 - EurOil Week 36 2021

EurOil INVESTMENT EurOil

TAQA moves forward with plan

to sell oil and gas assets

NORTH SEA FOLLOWING the company’s announcement photovoltaic (PV) to raise the share of power
last week that it had begun a strategic review of produced from renewable sources from the
TAQA is reportedly its oil and gas operations, reports suggest that current 5% to more than 30% by 2030, and will
seeking to divest its Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) has improve desalination efficiency by increasing the
stakes in at least 17 kicked off the process of selling its Dutch and role of reverse osmosis to 66% by 2030.
fields. UK assets. Ahead of the announcement of its transition
Speaking to Bloomberg, sources said that strategy, the company was reported to be consid-
TAQA is seeking to divest its stakes in at least ering the sale of its Canadian and UK North Sea
17 fields, the Sullom Voe shipping terminal, the assets and admitted as much in the plans, saying
Brent and SAGE pipelines in the UK as well as 32 it would “focus on commercially viable oppor-
Dutch licences, five of which it operates. tunities to reduce exposure to the hydrocarbon
Documents provided by these sources said sector”.
that interested parties would be invited to attend Middle East Oil & Gas (MEOG) under-
virtual data rooms, with bids for both sets of stands from sources close to the company that
assets due in December. it intends to ring-fence the 47.4% stake it holds
According to TAQA, first-half production in the production-sharing contract (PSC) for
from the portfolio totalled more than 124,000 the Atrush block in the Kurdistan Region of
barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and northern Iraq.
generated revenues of AED3.4bn ($937mn). Speaking to MEOG, another industry source
TAQA announced plans in March to reduce said that while keeping Arush does not make
its reliance on oil and gas for power generation sense for TAQA within the scope of its strate-
and “become a champion for low carbon power gic shift, given that it is the operator of the field,
and water”, pledging to invest over $10bn in the obtaining approval from the Kurdistan Regional
UAE to achieve this. Government (KRG) for the sale may be prob-
It intends to focus mainly on solar lematic. ™

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