North Sea operator Orcadian Energy (AIM:ORCA) has acquired the shares of HALO Offshore UK Ltd from the joint liquidators of Hague and London Oil plc (HALO).
HALO previously held several licences in the Southern North Sea, including in the Pegasus and Andromeda fields and the depleted Schooner field.
The firm does not currently hold any licences after it collapsed in 2022, leaving shareholders as much as £18 million out of pocket.
Orcadian did not specify the amount it paid for HALO’s UK shares, nor its reasoning for the purchase.
Elsewhere, Orcadian is progressing plans for its Pilot, Fynn Beauly, and Elke prospects.
HALO Offshore UK history
HALO was formed in 2014 via a reverse acquisition by Wessex Exploration.
Following its takeover of Tullow, it purchased Third Energy Offshore via an all-share transaction in 2018, which reportedly diluted the interests of previous shareholders by some 19.25%.
The acquisition included stakes in exploration prospects such as Pegasus and Andromeda.
It later relinquished its non-operated Pegasus stakes in 2020, though the remaining partners Neptune Energy and Spirit Energy subsequently agreed to equalise their equity in Pegasus and take the project forward.
In May 2021 it sold all its Dutch assets to Rockrose Energy – a subsidiary of London-headquartered Viaro – offloading the portfolio owing to “greatly increased abandonment liabilities” and “relative under performance.”
The package comprised interests in the Joint Development Area (JDA), fields adjacent to the JDA, the Northern Area, the Western Gas Transport (WGT) pipeline and processing plant at Den Helder, and the WGT Extension pipeline.
The acreage covered about 2,800 sq. km and the assets generated average net production of 2,198 boepd in 2019.
Following the sale in 2021, the company said it was “evaluating opportunities within Europe for renewable energies” including onshore geothermal and offshore carbon capture and storage.
To do so, it said it would retain its interests in The Philippines as it examined the potential for geothermal energy production.
It also said the Schooner field on licence PL2578 could be redeveloped or used as a carbon capture and storage (CCS) site.
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