French energy firm Engie, previously GDF Suez, is putting all its oil and gas assets under review as it turns its focus on low-carbon activities.
The company, whose UK exploration and production (E&P) arm is operator of the Cygnus and Juliet gas fields in the southern North Sea and also has interests in the central North Sea and west of Shetland, launched a three-year transition plan alongside annual results today.
It said it was in future going to concentrate on “activities not exposed to commodity prices”, suggesting an exit from E&P activities globally.
A spokeswoman for the Paris-based firm said all E&P assets were under strategic review. There were currently no “specific” plans for an exit, she added.
Engie, which opened new North Sea heaqdquarters in Aberdeen in 2014, has about 200 UK-based staff in offices in the Granite City and London.
Chairman and chief executive Gerard Mestrallet said: “In a deteriorated market context, Engie launches today an ambitious 3-year transformation plan to become leader of the world energy transition.
“We want to focus on low carbon activities and on integrated customer solutions, while improving the efficiency of the group.
“Our agility and our new simplified organisation, closer to clients and territories, will enable us to seize new market opportunities and to develop new businesses to become a provider of global energy and digital solutions.”
Engie booked £6.9billion of writedowns on its oil and gas activities as it reported net losses of £3.6billion for 2015 after profits of £1.9billion the year before.
“The collapse of oil, gas, LNG (liquefied natural gas) and electricity prices forces us to depreciate our assets significantly,” Mr Mestrallet said, adding the writedowns had no impact on Engie’s cash or debt position and were mainly related to its oil and gas E&P activities and, to a lesser degree, its merchant electricity generation assets.
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