Following the news (Friday 30 November) of Royal
Dutch Shell subsidiary A/S Norske Shell completing a deal to exit
its operated interest (44.56%) in the Draugen oil field and its
non-operated interest (12%) in the Gjøa gas field, offshore
Norway, further signifies portfolio rebalancing and divestment in
the region by major oil and gas companies,
Daniel Rogers, Upstream
Oil & Gas Analyst at
GlobalData, a
leading data and analytics company, offers his insight on the
recent trend affecting the UK and
Norway:
“Completed and announced deals by established oil and
gas companies in the North and Norwegian Seas signifies the
change that the region is currently experiencing. Recent trends
show European legacy exploration and production companies
(E&Ps) are rebalancing portfolios in the North and Norwegian
Seas, with asset sales of more mature fields but also asset
acquisitions and investment in upcoming projects. On the other
hand, we see that legacy North American E&Ps are indicating a
clearer divestment strategy away from the region.
“As the more established North and Norwegian Sea
players rebalance and optimise portfolios, opportunities are
presented for developing E&Ps looking to invest in sustaining
field production and maximising economic recovery to generate
cash flow. These often smaller, developing companies are nimble
enough to allocate the right experience and resources to prolong
field life and maximize asset value.
“Some instances of asset handovers include EnQuest’s
intervention at the Heather field (North Sea). The company
brought a fresh perspective as the platform faced decommissioning
and following facilities upgrades, workovers and well
re-drilling, production levels were doubled from the field. More
recently, Chrysaor Holdings acquired a stake in the Maria field
(North Sea) and conducted a 2018 drilling campaign with an
anticipated fivefold increase in oil production from the field by
2020, expecting to bring an additional 10 years of field
life.”
