The national oil company of the Gulf state Kuwait signed a deal yesterday to pave the way for a £300million investment in the North Sea.
The firm reached an agreement with independent producer EnQuest to take a 35% interest in the Alma and Galia oil field developments.
The Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec) is expected to commit an estimated £300million in development costs linked to the project.
The firm was recently in talks to buy North Sea oil firm Ithaca Energy, but reportedly walked away from the negotiations this month.
Nizar M Al-Adsani, chairman and managing director of Kufpec, said: “In keeping with Kufpec’s strategic objective to acquire quality production and reserves, we are pleased to re-enter the North Sea through EnQuest’s Alma and Galia project.
“The North Sea transaction flow activity affords Kufpec an opportunity to grow a material business through alignment with valued partners such as EnQuest.”
The Alma field, previously known as the Argyll, was the first oil field to be developed in the UK North Sea.
Amjad Bseisu, chief executive of EnQuest, said: “EnQuest is pleased to be working with Kufpec again and to have them as our partner in the Alma/Galia development.
“With start-up planned for late next year, the project team is well advanced in the execution phase and our first Alma well has reached ‘TD’ (total depth) with good results.”
Danny Alexander, Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said: “This is good news for north-east Scotland and the whole of the UK. At the Budget, the Government set out ambitious measures to stimulate billions of pounds of new investment in the North Sea, increasing production and creating jobs.
“Today’s deal between EnQuest and Kufpec, bringing up to £300million of foreign investment into the North Sea, proves that the UK continental shelf remains an attractive prospect.”
“The Government will continue working with the industry in the North Sea to get the most out of what is a huge national asset.”
Recommended for you
