North Sea oil company Taqa Bratani said yesterday it was once again increasing its stake in the Cladhan discovery.
It has signed an agreement with Sterling Resources (UK) for the purchase of a 13.5% interest in the Cladhan area for an initial £29million.
Taqa said it would assume operatorship on or shortly after approval of a final field-development plan expected to be submitted by the end of the third quarter of this year.
The new equity positions will be Taqa 40.1%, Sterling 26.4%, and Wintershall (UK North Sea) 33.5%.
Taqa acquired its current 26.6% interest in Cladhan earlier this year through two separate transactions.
Leo Koot, Taqa Bratani’s managing director, said: “This acquisition reinforces Taqa’s commitment to the North Sea.
“Cladhan is a significant likely development project and is located adjacent to our existing operations in the northern North Sea.
“This agreement also marks an important step for the company as it represents a significant new field-development project to be operated by Taqa Bratani on behalf of itself and joint-venture partners.
“We look forward to working with those partners and a smooth transition of operatorship to build on the successful exploration work led by Sterling.”
Taqa Bratani, which has its HQ at Westhill, has about 2,000 employees and contractors onshore and offshore.