Oil firm Taqa Bratani has boosted its stake in the North Sea Cladhan field to nearly 27% in two deals worth around £55million.
The firm, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s national energy company, said yesterday it had completed the acquisition from Premier Oil of a 16.6% working interest in the Sterling Resources-operated Cladhan area.
Westhill-based Taqa Bratani first announced the £34.3million deal with Premier last November.
Yesterday, it revealed it had also acquired a 10% stake in Cladhan from Dyas UK, taking its total interest to 26.6%. Cladhan is about 11 miles south-west of the Taqa-operated Tern platform in the northern North Sea, some 225 miles north-east of Aberdeen.
Taqa Bratani managing director Leo Koot said the latest deal with Sterling, together with Taqa’s recently announced farm-ins in the Darwin oil discovery, underlined its commitment to the North Sea.
It was also a clear example of the firm’s growth strategy, he said, adding: “We continue to expand our portfolio to include high-quality opportunities that complement our existing core area.
“Whereas the majority of our existing portfolio is based on mature fields, the Cladhan field is a relatively new discovery.”
Sterling owns 39.9% of Cladhan, with Germany’s Wintershall having the remaining 33.5%.
Taqa Bratani said last week it was gearing up to drill a further five to 10 exploration wells over the next couple of years after its North Sea output rose 15% in 2011, to 42,900 barrels of oil equivalent a day.
Meanwhile, Valiant Petroleum said drilling had started on Cladhan South.
Estimated gross prospective resources of 13million barrels of oil equivalent are targeted at Cladhan South, immediately south of the Cladhan discovery.
The well is being drilled by the Sedco 704 semisubmersible rig and is expected to take 35-40 days to complete.
The partners are operator and 25%-owner Sterling, Valiant (30%), Wintershall UK North Sea (25%) and Agora Oil and Gas UK (20%).
UK-listed Valiant also announced the acquisition of “substantially all” of Rocksource’s licences on the Norwegian continental shelf in a deal worth £11.5million post-tax.
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