Shell has signed an agreement with Hess Corporation to acquire its interests in the Beryl area fields and the Scottish Area Gas Evacuation System (“SAGE”), for US$525 million.
The Beryl fields are located northeast of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom North Sea and operated by Apache and it produced approximately 14,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day net to Hess through the first nine months of 2012.
“This sale is part of our strategic portfolio reshaping,” said President, Worldwide Exploration & Production, Greg Hill. “Including this transaction, we have announced asset sales year-to-date of approximately $2.4 billion.”
The Beryl cluster has a far longer anticipated lifetime than originally thought and may produce for a further two decades. The acquisition should help to enhance the performance and economic potential from key Shell North Sea operated and non-operated assets, lifting Shell’s production in the Beryl area fields from currently 9,000 boe/d to 24,000 boe/d. Shell intends to invest in these assets to substantially extend the production life, for potentially a further 20 years.
Hess Corporation is a leading global independent energy company engaged in the exploration for and production of crude oil and natural gas, as well as in refining and in marketing refined petroleum products, natural gas and electricity.
