Cairn Energy has sold a 10% interest in the Catcher Development in the North Sea to Dyas UK for up to $182million.
The move will see the oil and gas explorer retain a 20% interest in the Catcher licence and slash its capital expenditure on the project from $380million to $200million.
Cairn Energy chief executive Simon Thomson said: “Cairn remains focused on delivering value for shareholders from disciplined capital allocation and portfolio management across a balanced asset base. This value enhancing transaction provides us with significant additional operational flexibility to deliver the Group’s strategy.”
The Catcher development comprises of three fields in the UK North Sea (Catcher, Burgman and Varadero) encompassing 22 wells at a water depth of 90m. The development is thought to contain around 80 million barrels of oil.