Scottish Gas owner Centrica said yesterday it had completed its £936million deal with Statoil Petroleum to acquire a package of producing and development oil and gas assets in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
An additional payment of up to £61million is contingent on future production performance of the largest asset in the portfolio, Kvitebjorn.
The transaction was announced in November and adds 117million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of proved plus probable reserves to Centrica’s Norwegian portfolio as well as attractive development potential.
It is expected to increase Centrica’s production by 34,000boe per day, or some 12million boe a year, strengthening the company’s energy hedge and extending its production profile.
Centrica has also completed its acquisition of ConocoPhillips’s non-operated interests in the gas and oil-producing Statfjord field and associated satellites.
The £137million transaction, announced on January 30, includes £63million attributable to historic tax allowances and takes Centrica’s equity in the Statfjord field to 34.3%, adding 36million boe of proved plus probable reserves.
Combined, the two deals increase Centrica’s reserves by nearly 40% and are expected to increase production by more than 30%.
Mark Hanafin, managing director of Centrica Energy, said: “These acquisitions mark an important step in Centrica’s strategy to grow its upstream business.
“As well as being one of the top three gas producers in the UK we have one of the fastest growing companies in Norway, with around a third of our gas and oil production now coming from the region.”