[ad_1]
03/09/2021
Cheiron Petroleum Drill Crew
(Bloomberg) – Cairn Energy Plc has reshuffled its portfolio, selling $ 460 million in assets in the British North Sea and buying projects in Egypt’s Western Desert from Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
The two agreements, announced on Tuesday and due to end in the second half of 2021, follow a resumption of oil and gas acquisitions after the crisis due to the 2020 pandemic. Cairn’s withdrawal from the North Sea comes after several others international producers have withdrawn from the aging region. At the same time, its purchase in Egypt allows Shell to reap the proceeds of an ongoing divestment program.
“Cairn needed to rejuvenate its investment record, and this move does,” Al Stanton, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. “However, shareholders face a steep learning curve” and Egyptian assets generally provide “limited leverage on oil prices”.
Cairn fell 7.4% in London and 4.2% to 190.3 pence at 11:07 a.m. local time.
The deal in Egypt, back after delays last year, consists of Shell’s stake in 13 onshore concessions and Badr El-Din Petroleum Co. British Cairn, along with Cairo-based Cheiron Petroleum Corp., will buy assets for $ 646 million. and make additional payments of up to $ 280 million by 2024, “depending on the price of oil and the results of further exploration,” Shell said in a statement.
The deal “will allow Shell to focus on its offshore exploration and integrated value chain in Egypt, including seven new blocks in the Nile Delta, the Western Mediterranean and the Red Sea,” the Anglo-Oil major said. Dutch.
Cairn, in turn, sells its interests in the Catcher and Kraken fields in the UK to Waldorf Production UK Ltd. for $ 460 million with another uncapped contingent consideration dependent on oil price and production performance. The fields are entering “a phase of decline,” the company said.
Cairn will maintain certain exploration operations in the North Sea, including the Nelson project in partnership with Shell.
Waldorf, which made its first investment in the region just over a year ago, said on Tuesday that the North Sea was “particularly suitable” for smaller players. In addition to Cairn’s assets, it also purchases stakes in exploration blocks from the Ithaca unit of Delek Group Ltd., including the prospect Fotla.
Click here to subscribe to the World Oil Energy newsletter and receive exclusive industry news and analysis delivered to your inbox every weekday.
[ad_2]
Source link
