Abu Dhabi's Taqa Completes Acquisition of BP Assets in North Sea

Sunday, Jun 02, 2013

(This article was first published on Saturday)

DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA.AD) said it has completed the acquisition of some North Sea oil and gas assets from BP Plc (BP), a deal that underscores Taqa's strategy of expanding overseas.

Taqa takes over as operator of the Harding field and production platform in the central North Sea and the acquisition is expected to add 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production, the company said in an emailed statement on Saturday. The acquisition of the Devenick field interests, forming part of the transaction, is expected to complete at a later date, it added.

Taqa now has interests in the Harding, Morrone and Maclure fields and the deal has also increased its interests in the Brae area, the SAGE gas pipeline and Forties-Brae and Forties-Braemar oil pipelines.

Taqa reached an initial agreement to buy the assets from BP for $1.06 billion in November last year.

"We are delighted to announce the completion of this acquisition which extends the average life of our UK reserves and opens up a bright future for our North Sea business," said Taqa Chief Executive Carl Sheldon. "This investment is a great strategic fit for Taqa," he said.

Taqa shares closed trading on Thursday 0.8% higher at AED1.29.

Write to Dubai Bureau at djnews.dubai@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-06-13 0359GMT