MALAYSIAN firms Ping Petroleum Ltd and Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad have agreed to buy Shell and Esso’s stakes in a cluster of North Sea oil and gas fields for a total of $105 million (£671m).
The fields are in the Anasuria cluster, about 175km east of Aberdeen, and the deal will give the Malaysian firms a 100 per cent stake in the Teal, Teal South and Guillemot A fields and a 38.65 per cent in the Cook field.
The agreement was signed by Shell UK Ltd and Shell EP Offshore Ventures Ltd as well as Esso Exploration and Production UK Ltd, which is part of Exxon Mobil.
Ping and Hibiscus said the deal “reflected the support provided by the UK Government to encourage smaller independents to invest and revive the North Sea basin”.
Hibiscus managing director Ken Pereira said: “This acquisition will complete our company’s strategy of acquiring a balanced portfolio of assets which includes exploration, development and producing assets within five years of listing our company.
A Shell spokeswoman said: “Shell can confirm that it has signed a sales and purchase agreement.
“This deal fits with Shell’s strategy to deliver strong shareholder value across our assets. The Anasuria cluster has entered a phase where it offers greater value to other companies than it does for Shell.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here