Cairn Energy will return £188 million to shareholders following completion of the sale of its Senegalese assets to Woodside.
London-listed Cairn said all government and third-party approvals for the sale had been received and that the deal should go through by year end.
The special dividend is expected to be paid on 25 January 2021 to those on the register on 8 January 2021.
Cairn, headquartered in Edinburgh, stands to receive £390m on completion, with a further £75m payable depending on first oil from the Sangomar development and oil prices.
The company struck a deal to divest its Senegalese portfolio to Russian firm Lukoil in July.
Australian operator Woodside subsequently exercised its right to pre-empt the Senegal sale, meaning Lukoil missed out.
Cairn’s production comes from its 20% non-operated interest in Premier Oil’s Catcher area and a 29.5% non-operated interest in EnQuest’s Kraken area, both in the UK North Sea.