Shell and ExxonMobil sell North Sea assets

Malaysian oil companies Hibiscus Petroleum and Ping Petroleum have agreed to purchase North Sea assets from Shell and ExxonMobil for a total of $105 million, a Shell spokesperson confirmed on Thursday.

The sale consists of the super-majors’ interests in the Anasuria Cluster located about 175 kilometres off the coast of Aberdeen in the central North Sea. Assets covered by the deal include the Anasuria floating, production, storage and offloading vessel as well as the Teal, Teal South and Guillemot A fields. Hibiscus and Ping will also take a 38.65-percent share in the Cook field, with Ithaca Energy owning the rest.

Acquiring these facilitates has allowed both Malaysian companies to enter into the UK market. This move is part of a bigger government initiative to incentivise smaller, independent companies to enter the market and revamp ageing assets in the North Sea.

“A number of incremental development and exploration opportunities exist within the licence areas which are expected to generate significant incremental value in the medium term,” the Malaysian companies said in a joint statement to Malaysia’s stock exchange.