Oil and gas firm BG Group has completed the sale of its majority stake in North Sea infrastructure to private-equity investors in a £562million deal.
BG said yesterday it had agreed the disposal of its 62.78% interest in the Central Area Transmission System (Cats) gas pipeline to Antin Infrastructure Partners, which manages infrastructure funds based in Paris and London.
BG will get £523million when the transaction completes – expected to be in the second half of 2014 – and a deferred sum of £39million.
BG said the Cats sale did not affect its access rights to the pipeline, a 251 mile subsea link which pumps about 60billion cubic feet of gas a day from UK North Sea fields.
The firm will also retain responsibility for operating the Cats Riser platform, linked to the North Everest installation. Antin’s acquisition includes an onshore terminal on Teesside which can process up to 1.2billion cubic feet of gas a day.
BG, which has extensive investments in the UK and Norway, including operating interests in the Armada, Everest and Lomond platforms, and generates about 7% of the UK’s domestic gas production, said the sale was in line with its strategy to “actively manage its asset portfolio and deliver value to shareholders”.
It is expected, on completion, to create a post-tax profit for the group of about £412million.
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