Oil supermajor Royal Dutch Shell has announced its second significant investment in the North Sea this week.
It is to acquire Hess Corporation’s interests in the Beryl area fields and the Scottish area gas-evacuation system for £325million.
The Beryl area includes 12 fields operated by Apache.
The deal means Shell’s interest in the fields will increase by a range of between 9%-65% depending on the field.
Shell said yesterday the Beryl cluster now had a far longer anticipated lifetime than originally thought and could produce for a further two decades.
The move is expected to lift Shell’s daily production in the Beryl area from 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent to 24,000. Shell said it intended to invest in these assets to substantially extend the production life.
Greg Hill, president for worldwide exploration and production at Hess, said: “This sale is part of our strategic portfolio reshaping.”
On Monday, Shell said it would develop the Fram oil and gas field.
It described Fram as one of its most significant central North Sea developments for over a decade and among the largest planned for UK waters.
The find, 136 miles east of Aberdeen, will use a floating production vessel.
Fram, thought to hold up to 300million barrels of oil and gas, is expected to produce an average of 35,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. First production is expected within three years and about two-thirds of the output will be gas.
Shell is operator of Fram, with a 32% stake, while Esso Exploration and Production UK holds the remaining 68%.
Shell would not disclose the development cost for the field, though industry sources say it is likely to exceed several hundred millions pounds.
In May, the company agreed a deal with Hess under which Shell would increase its stake in the BP-operated Schiehallion field, 108 miles west of Shetland, to nearly 50%.
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