Valiant Petroleum is to take full control of two northern North Sea finds.
The firm has signed an agreement to acquire from Dana Petroleum (E&P) its 50% stake in acreage containing the Banquo and Helena undeveloped discoveries.
No value has been put on the deal.
Valiant is operator on both licenses and, following completion, will own 100% of the finds.
Following the acquisition of Banquo and Helena, Valiant intends to seek a strategic partner to jointly appraise and develop these discoveries potentially alongside its nearby Tybalt prospect.
Banquo was drilled by Ranger Oil (UK) in 1987 and tested at an initial rate of 6,487 barrels of oil and 3million standard cubic feet (mcf) of gas per day.
Helena is near Banquo and was drilled by Shell UK in 1974 and tested at a rate of 10.3mcf of gas and 3,300 barrels of condensate per day.
Valiant said further information regarding these fields would be provided to the market as part of its 2008 results, which are anticipated to be released in the first week of April.
The company said it remained in a strong financial position with cash levels similar to those reported to the market at the end of October.
It added that first production from West Don continued to be anticipated before the end of this month.
Valiant chief executive Peter Buchanan said: “We are extremely pleased to have secured the remaining interests in the Banquo and Helena fields. These undeveloped discoveries consolidate our operated position in one of our core areas and have the potential to provide the company with further strong production growth in the medium term.”
BP has scaled back its near-term oil and gas production growth target as falling oil prices prompt it to delay projects, but the oil major said falling industry costs would help sustain its dividend.
Exploration boss Andy Inglis told a presentation for investors yesterday that the oil major expects annual growth of between 1% and 2% until 2013 and over the 2008-20 period.
This means production is now likely to be about 4.1million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2012 rather than the 4.3million targeted earlier.
BP chief executive Tony Hayward said the collapse in oil prices was leading to a drop in industry costs and that by delaying projects BP would benefit from the trend, adding: “There is an enormous deflationary wave coming through this business. The challenge is how fast can we get it into our business.”