Middle East oil firm Taqa has completed the acquisition of assets in the UK North Sea from BP.
The deal – announced last November – means Abu Dhabi-based Taqa now has stakes in the Harding, Morrone and Maclure fields in the central North Sea.
It also has increased interests in the Brae area and SAGE gas pipeline and the Forties-Brae and Forties-Braemar oil pipelines.
The acquisition of the Devenick field interests, also part of a transaction worth nearly £700million, is expected to be completed at a later date.
Taqa takes over as operator of the Harding field and production platform, which the company said complemented its existing assets in the northern North Sea.
Chief executive Carl Sheldon added: “We are delighted to announce the completion of this acquisition, which extends the average life of our UK reserves and opens up a bright future for our North Sea business.
“This investment is a great strategic fit for Taqa.”
The company expects the new assets to add 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production. At the time the BP deal was announced, Leo Koot, managing director at Taqa’s Westhill-based North Sea arm, said it would be “transformational” for the company.
He added it had the potential to nearly double the operator’s UK reserves and boost its daily production by 50%.
Mr Koot also said Taqa’s growth plans could extend its North Sea output until 2030, stressing the firm was “here for the long haul”.
BP said the sale was part of its strategy to focus on a smaller number of high-value fields.
Taqa, in which the Abu Dhabi government owns a majority stake, was founded in 2005 with the aim of becoming a global leader in the energy sector.
It now employs nearly 3,000 people in operations in Canada, Ghana, India, Iraq, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the US as well as the United Kingdom.
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