Shell divests former enterprise assets in North Sea and Atlantic
Margin
Posted: 8 July 2003
Shell U.K. Limited has agreed to sell its non-operated 41.02564
per cent equity interests in the producing Montrose, Arbroath and
Arkwright fields (collectively known as “MonArb”), together
with its 10 per cent equity interest in the Foinaven East Field
and 2.5 per cent equity interest in the Magnus Area Fields (Magnus, Magnus
South) plus associated infrastructure, to Energy North Sea Ltd (ENS)
for an undisclosed cash consideration.
Shell has also agreed, in a separate transaction, to sell to Talisman
North Sea Limited, for an undisclosed cash consideration, its non-operated
equity interests in the producing fields Alba (2.25 per cent), Caledonia
(2.83 per cent) and Orion (6.25 per cent) along with exploration
acreage (Blocks 15/19a, 15/28a, 15/28b, 16/18a, 16/23N, 16/26, 30/18W).
Both sales have an effective date of 1 January 2003 and are subject
to Government consent and co-venturer approval.
Shell acquired its equity interests in these assets in 2002 as
part of the purchase of Enterprise Oil plc. As part of Shell’s
ongoing strategic aim of portfolio management and rationalisation,
the sale of these non-core UK properties was announced in March
of this year.
The divestment of these assets has since taken place quickly and
effectively with the buyers.
As Tom Botts, Managing Director of Shell U.K. Exploration and Production,
pointed out: “When we acquired Enterprise last year, our plan
all along was to divest selected assets from that acquisition that
do not fit our core business. Shell remains committed to the UK
and remains the largest producer in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
These divestments represent only 2 per cent of our UK production.
The UKCS is a heartland for Shell and will remain so. Since these
assets are not central to our future plans in the UK, we chose to
divest to companies who can realise the value of the fields more
directly.
“In divesting MonArb, East Foinaven and Magnus to ENS we
are able to provide a smaller new-entrant company with the opportunity
to maximise its own portfolio in the UKCS. In the case of Alba,
Caledonia, Orion and other exploration assets, Talisman will consolidate
areas of its portfolio.”
The sales are part of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies’
on-going portfolio upgrading, expected to average some $2 billion
per year of divestments. Last week Shell announced the sale of 26
shallow water mature upstream assets in the Gulf of Mexico to Apache,
and the sale of its minority interest in Skeljungur, the Shell distributor
in Iceland.
For more information see www.shell.com.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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