Australia-listed North Sea operator Hartshead Resources (ASX:HHR) has been placed into a trading halt at the company’s request, pending an announcement.
In an update posted to the ASX, Hartshead said it will remain in trading halt until either the commencement of normal trading on Wednesday 8th May, or when the announcement is released to the market, whichever is earlier.
The announcement follows last week’s release of the third tranche of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) 33rd licensing round award winners, where Hartshead was one of the big winners.
The Perth-headquartered firm received nine blocks in the Southern North Sea across five licences, with one each in partnership with Meridian Resources and Comtrack UK.
Hartshead also received another licence alongside Comtrack in the East Irish Sea.
Hartshead Resources
Earlier this year, the Australian firm lamented job cuts in its North Sea projects team resulting from a Labour party promise to introduce a “proper windfall tax”.
Hartshead Resources CEO Chris Lewis, whose firm is developing the Anning and Sommerville hub in the Southern North Sea, said they’ve made “material and significant” cuts to the project team over the uncertainty.
In January this year, Hartshead announced a deal for a ‘financing backstop’ worth A$800 million (£415m) to progress the first phase of the Anning and Somerville project.
Hartshead holds a 40% interest in the Anning and Somerville fields, contained in the UK Southern Gas Basin License P2607.
The licence, which also covers the Hodgkin and Lovelace plays, holds an estimated total 2P reserves of 301.5 billion cubic feet of gas, equivalent to around 52 million barrels of oil.
At the time, the Australian firm said it had agreed amendments to its farm-out and joint operator agreements with Viaro Energy subsidiary RockRose Energy.
Viaro Energy has previously said it plans to spend £500 million in the UK sector, including new developments in the West of Shetland and Southern North Sea following its takeover of Spark Exploration in February last year.
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