Business/economics

Neptune Exits Deal With Energean for North Sea Assets

Neptune must pay Energean a break-up fee of $5 million for cancelling what was to be a $250 million deal.

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Neptune Energy will terminate its agreement to acquire Edison E&P’s UK and Norwegian subsidiaries from Mediterranean-focused Energean Oil and Gas.

Neptunewould have paid about $250 million for the North Sea producing, development, and exploration assets and now has to pay Energean $5 million for cancelling the deal.

Energean said it is in talks with Edison E&P to further amend its agreement to exclude the Norwegian subsidiary of Edison from the deal.

The acquisition had been contingent on the closing of Energean’s acquisition of Edison, which has not yet happened.

The portfolio would have provided Neptune with material growth in contingent resources, an estimated 30 million BOE of 2P reserves (the sum of proved and probable reserves) and near-term production in core areas of the North Sea close to infrastructure.

Energean would retain the British North Sea assets, which include the Glengorm gas condensate discovery (25%), the Nova gas development project (15%), Dvalin (10%), Scott (10.5%), Telford (15.7%), Tors (68 %), Wenlock (80 %) Markham (3.1 %), and  the Total SA-operated Isabella discovery (10%).

The assets held in the Touat project in Algeria will remain excluded from any amended agreement, as previously announced in April. The development, located southwest of Algiers and close to Adrar, comprises 19 development wells, a gas treatment plant, and stabilized condensate with a gathering network and export pipelines.

In a move to expand in the eastern Mediterranean, in July 2019, Energean had agreed to buy the oil and gas division of Edison for up to $850 million.

Neptune is an international independent exploration and production company with a regional focus on the North Sea, North Africa, and Asia Pacific. Energean Oil & Gas is a London-based independent exploration and production company focused on developing resources in the Mediterranean.

Edison S.p.A. operates in the supply, production, and sale of electric power and gas, in energy and environmental services, and in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons.