The former chief executive of Centrica has joined up with the Carlyle Group and CVC Capital Partners to launch a new oil and gas vehicle targeting $5billion in deals.
Sam Laidlaw said his Neptune Oil & Gas would be looking for acquisitions in the North Sea, North Africa and Southeast Asia.
The company will be eyeing up possible acquisitions as energy groups looks to sell assets after the decline in oil prices.
Laidlaw said: “Neptune intends to create a mid-size exploration and production company in the 75,000 to 100,000 barrels a day range.
“We are looking to buy a significant portfolio.”
Neptune will be joining a number of buyout firms to raise money to acquire energy companies after oil prices dropped to around $60 a barrel from more than $100 a year ago.
The world’s top-four private-equity groups, Carlyle, Apollo Global Management LP, Blackstone Group LP and KKR & Co, have raised about $30 billion for energy deals in the past 18 months, according to data compiled.
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