North Sea oil firms Parkmead Group and Taqa Bratani have this morning both announced acquisitions in the basin.
Parkmead, led by former Dana Petroleum chief executive Tom Cross, said it had bought a 15% interest in three blocks in the southern North Sea from XTO UK, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil.
These include the Platypus gas field – discovered last year by Dana Petroleum, which is operator and has 45% interest – and the Possum gas prospect.
Taqa said it has agreed to buy a 16.6% working interest in the Sterling Resources-operated Cladhan area for $54.8million.
The deal is with Premier Oil, which is acquiring the assets as part of its purchase of Encore Oil.
Taqa has also agreed to farm in to three blocks (28/5. 29/1d and 28/10a) in the central North Sea, which will see it expanding its exploration portfolio with access to the Coaster prospect.
A statement from Parkmead said: “This acquisition marks an important step in Parkmead’s first stage of its development to become a significant new independent oil and gas company.
“The Parkmead technical and commercial teams have a long history and detailed knowledge of these assets and therefore these blocks are an ideal fit for the group’s growth strategy.”
The operator, Dana Petroleum, has secured a rig to drill a well on the Platypus/Possum complex scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2012.
Parkmead said the Platypus gas field has the potential to contain up to 180 billion cubic feet of gas in place.
It said Possum had estimated resources of about 100 billion cubic feet of gas in place.
To fund the deal Parkmead also said yesterday it had secured a two-year loan of £8million by Mr Cross. It will also go towards ongoing development of the assets acquired, including drilling, and as general working capital.
Tom Cross, executive chairman of Parkmead and 27.85% shareholder, said: “The Platypus and Possum areas are a valuable addition to Parkmead. We know the geotechnical aspects of these blocks intimately and believe they contain the potential for significant upside.”
Leo Koot, Taqa Bratani’s managing director, said of the firm’s deal with Premier Oil: “This agreement reinforces Taqa’s commitment to the North Sea.
“Cladhan is located adjacent to our existing operations in the northern North Sea and it is a significant development in the area.
“The farm-in which includes access to the Coaster prospect, speaks to a further expectation of Taqa’s strategy.
“We are eager to expand our exploration portfolio to include high quality opportunities outside our existing core area. We anticipate drilling the Coaster prospect with Premier next year.”