UK operator buys two batches of Dutch North Sea assets

UK-based independent E&P company Waldorf Production has agreed to buy the Dutch North Sea businesses of the UAE-based TAQA and the UK-based Dana Petroleum.

In a short statement on Thursday, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) confirmed it had entered into definitive agreements with Waldorf Energy Netherlands BV for the sale of its upstream oil and gas business in the Netherlands.

TAQA has recently completed a strategic review of its oil and gas business announced in September 2021, concluding that its oil and gas portfolio will be retained, except for the upstream assets in the Netherlands. The company’s decision to seek a buyer for the Dutch assets was based on the nature of the assets and the relatively small contribution they make to group earnings.

As emphasised by TAQA, this transaction remains subject to obtaining applicable regulatory and other third-party approvals.

In addition to gas storage assets, TAQA holds P15 and P18 blocks in the Dutch North Sea with the infrastructure situated 35 km northwest off the coast of Hoek van Holland. It consists of oil and gas production facilities including the central P15-ACD complex and several satellite production platforms. Condensate, oil and natural gas are transported to shore by pipelines. The P15-ACD platform complex is a hub for treatment and processing of third-party oil and gas and about 15 oil and gas fields tie-in to P15.

When it comes to Dana Petroleum, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to Offshore Energy that the board has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Waldorf Energy Netherlands BV in relation to Dana Petroleum (Holdings) BV. No further details have been revealed about the transaction.

Citing unnamed sources, Reuters reported on Thursday that the price tag for the Dana deal was at below $1 billion.

Dana Petroleum has been owned by the South Korean state-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) since 2010. According to Dana’s website, the company has been active in the Dutch sector of the North Sea since 1964. It has interests in 21 oil and gas fields including the De Ruyter, Hanze, Van Ghent and Van Nes fields.

Offshore Energy has also reached out to Waldorf Production, seeking confirmation and further details about its deals with Dana and TAQA but we are yet to receive a response.

In a short statement published on its website later on Friday, Waldorf confirmed it had entered into definitive agreements with Dana Petroleum and Taqa Energy B.V. to acquire their respective upstream businesses in the Netherlands. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Before these two deals came to light, the latest acquisition in Waldorf’s shopping spree was announced in July 2022 when the company agreed to buy the entire share capital of Alpha Petroleum, an upstream oil and gas company focusing on the UK North Sea, from Shorelight Partners.

Alpha’s primary offshore redevelopment asset, the Cheviot field, is said to be “one of the largest undeveloped fields in the UK North Sea,” with estimated reserves of 50 MMBbls of oil and 120 bcf of future gas production. The Cheviot field will enhance Waldorf’s existing UK portfolio, providing growth potential to its collection of assets.

Earlier this year, Waldorf also agreed to buy the entire UK business of Hungary’s MOL. The key UKCS assets being acquired unde the MOL deal include non-operated interests of 20 per cent in the Greater Catcher Area (GCA), 50 per cent in the Scolty and Crathes fields as well as 21.83 per cent in the Scott and 1.59 per cent in the Telford licences. This will see Waldorf double its interest in the Catcher field, which the company entered in November 2021.

Waldorf also has interests in Alba, Bacchus, Bittern, Columbus, and Enoch fields in the UK.

The article has been updated to add a statement from Waldorf.