ConocoPhillips confirmed yesterday that it was now moving to dispose of some UK assets as part of £6billion-plus of worldwide sales.
The US company has begun marketing all its operations in the southern North Sea, plus four non-operated assets: Alba, MacCulloch, Nicol and Statfjord UK.
A spokeswoman in Aberdeen could not say how much could be raised from the disposals.
Plans for the worldwide disposals – in exploration and production and refining and marketing – were announced in 2009, however, the move does not mean Conoco Phillips is intending to exit Britain, where it employs nearly 800 people in its upstream operations.
The spokeswoman said the firm would remain a major operator in the UK and would continue to invest substantial capital in new developments.
Asked about the job implications of possible sales, she said that – if an acceptable buyer was found – it was likely that employees assigned to the southern North Sea assets would transfer to the buyer’s organisation.
In October, ConocoPhillips said it planned to bring the Jasmine discovery in the central North Sea into production in the next couple of years.
The field found in 2006 is described as one of the UK’s largest finds in the last 10 years. Total recoverable reserves are expected to be more than 100million barrels of oil equivalent. Development costs for phase one are estimated at £1.9billion and the project will include three platforms, one of them for accommodation.
First production, anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2012, is forecast to peak at more than 88,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The Jasmine development will have a core offshore crew of 72 people.
Jasmine is part of the J-Block licence awarded to ConocoPhillips in 1964 and is the fourth development after Judy, Joanne and Jade.
The field has a high-pressure/high-temperature gas-condensate reservoir and production will be tied back to the Judy platform.
Paul Warwick, president for UK and Africa with ConocoPhillips, said in October: “Developing Jasmine to tie-in effectively to J-Block’s existing infrastructure demonstrates that companies on the UK continental shelf still have opportunities to maximise production of their reserves and can continue to add value directly or indirectly to the UK supply chain. The development is another step towards our strategy of prolonged and efficient production from the North Sea.”
Phase one at Jasmine could be followed by a further two in the years ahead.