VENTURE Production said yesterday it had agreed with Dutch-owned Nuon Energy to sell and farm out a package of minority, non-operated interests in some of its producing, development and exploration gas assets in the UK southern North Sea.
The Aberdeen-based oil and gas operator said it was selling a 15% interest in the Chiswick and Stamford producing gas fields plus a 25% interest in the undeveloped Kew gas discovery.
The sale package also includes 25% interests in the Battersea and Wandsworth exploration prospects, which Venture intends to drill as part of its southern North Sea drilling programme.
Venture said the deal was for £96.5million in cash at completion, which is expected in the third quarter of this year. It said the sale package accounted for booked proven and probable gas reserves of 43.8billion cubic feet of gas and 700,000 barrels of gas condensate, equating to about 8million barrels of oil equivalent.
Nuon has also agreed to farm into two exploration wells to be drilled in the Greater Morpheus and Andromeda areas in the southern North Sea, where Venture plans to start a drilling campaign next year.
Payment of 60% of exploration well costs will earn Nuon a 30% interest in each of the Greater Morpheus and Andromeda areas.