‘Big step forward’ for Harbour Energy as it takes hold of Wintershall Dea’s oil & gas assets

London-listed oil and gas company Harbour Energy has brought into its fold all upstream business assets that used to belong to Germany’s Wintershall Dea, aside from the ones in Russia, after wrapping up an $11.2 billion acquisition that was set in motion through a deal inked with the German energy player’s shareholders, BASF and LetterOne. 

Wintershall Dea’s shareholders BASF and LetterOne signed a business combination agreement with Harbour Energy in December 2023 to transfer all of the German player’s E&P business, consisting of its production and development assets and exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn), as well as its carbon storage licenses.

Since the stake in the Ghasha project was not part of the agreement with Harbour Energy, Winstershall Dea decided to sell it to PTTEP. The UK firm’s acquisition of the German company’s asset portfolio was completed on Tuesday, September 2024, however, the effective date of the transaction is June 30, 2023. The addition of this portfolio comes shortly after the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) gave the go-ahead for four permits to change hands and move from Wintershall Dea to Harbour Energy.

Linda Z Cook, CEO of Harbour Energy, commented: “We are extremely proud to have completed the Wintershall Dea acquisition. It marks our fourth and most transformational acquisition since we were founded in 2014, and is another big step forward as we continue to build a large, global independent oil and gas company focused on the safe and responsible production of the oil and gas the world still needs.”  

With this acquisition in the bag, Harbour’s production is expected to be around 475,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day with significant volumes in Norway, the UK, Argentina, North Africa, and Germany. The London-listed firm believes it will benefit from competitive operating costs, resilient margins, and a 2P reserve base of about 1.5 billion boe, underpinning material and sustainable free cash flow.

In addition, the company also has approximately 1.8 billion boe of 2C resources, including near-infrastructure opportunities in Norway, unconventional scalable opportunities in Argentina, and conventional offshore projects in Mexico and Indonesia.

Given its low emissions intensity of less than 15 kg CO₂e/boe, targets to reduce GHG emissions, eliminate non-routine flaring, and involvement in multiple CCS projects under development, Harbour claims to remain committed to producing oil and gas safely and responsibly to help meet the world’s energy needs.

Following completion, the 1,440,101,815 ordinary shares are owned by approximately 53.5% of Harbour’s legacy shareholders and 46.5% of BASF. The company’s total issued share capital of 1,691,590,026 shares is owned 45.5% by the London-listed firm’s legacy shareholders, 39.6% by BASF, and 14.9% by LetterOne.

Harbour has welcomed two new non-executive directors, Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel, the former Deputy CEO, CFO, and Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of BASF; and Dr. Dirk Elvermann, CFO and CDO of BASF, to its board of directors as nominees of BASF, which is the firm’s largest shareholder.

 “The shares in Harbour Energy offer significant potential for value creation and allow BASF to gradually and optimally exit our financial participation in the company over the next few years,” said Dr. Elvermann.

Harbour Energy is pursuing hydrocarbon exploration to boost its oil and gas arsenal. A few months ago, these drilling efforts paid off when the firm made a new gas discovery in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.