New generation UK independent Siccar Point Energy, a joint venture owned by Blue Water Energy and funds managed by Blackstone Energy Partners, has confirmed its acquisition of an 8.9% interest in the Greater Mariner Area from JX Nippon Exploration and Production (UK).
News of the impending transaction broke in the March 2016 edition of Energy.
Up to that point, the company led by CEO Jonathan Roger, formerly of Centrica and Venture Production, had evaluated several tens of asset packages over the prior year to 14 months but rejected them all, opting to its bide time until a potentially company-making opportunity with a long time horizon and without a massive call on cash resources presented itself.
Indeed, this acquisition of a slice of Mariner is the first since Siccar Point Energy was launched in August 2014 following its initial and substantial funding by Blue Water Energy and Blackstone.
The Mariner field, the centerpiece of the Greater Mariner Area, is located in the UK sector of the North Sea, on the East Shetland platform, and is one of the largest remaining oilfields in the UK sector.
Development of Mariner is well underway following project sanction in 2013 and is expected to commence production in 2018.
Statoil is the operator and majority owner and Siccar Point Energy will be joining existing partners; JX Nippon and Dyas.
Roger said: “We believe that this is a great time to build a business in the North Sea with a well-capitalised and experienced team.
“We are delighted to be joining the Mariner development partnership and look forward to working with the existing highly focussed partners and leading operator.
“Mariner’s long reserves life and its resilience to near-term low oil prices position it well in the current environment and we continue to look for similar high-quality assets to add to our asset portfolio.”
Mustafa Siddiqui, MD at Blackstone, said: ”This is a world-class asset with a best-in-class operator and running room for further investment, and provides a strong platform for further acquisitions in the consolidating North Sea region.
“Siccar Point Energy has the ability and appetite to invest at a large scale in the North Sea region at a time of capital scarcity, and we look forward to building on this first step in the company’s growth.”
Graeme Sword, partner of Blue Water Energy, said: “We believe this is a validation that there are still attractive investments to be made in the UK North Sea and we will continue to support Siccar Point as they build their footprint with further acquisitions.”
Meanwhile, Chris Finlayson has become the company’s chairman. Finlayson was, until 2014, the chief executive of BG Group
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