EnQuest has acquired an additional 10.5% interest in the £4bn Kraken development in the UK’s North Sea from First Oil.
The acquisition will bring the company’s total interest in the field to 70.5%.
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EnQuest said that the company, along with Cairn Energy, which is also participating in the Kraken development, is taking up First Oil’s interests pro-rata in proportion to its holdings prior to the transaction.
As part of the transaction, EnQuest acquired the reserves, as well as resources associated with the additional interest.
The company originally acquired its Kraken assets from First Oil in 2012.
EnQuest is the operator of the Kraken development, which has two fields in block 9/2b, 350km north-east of Aberdeen in a water depth of 110m.
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By GlobalDataAs part of the field development plan, 25 wells would be drilled and first production is expected in the first half of 2017.
EnQuest highlighted in its December 2015 operations update that the additional Kraken net capex to the company is expected to be around $90m to first production.
Prior to the deal, the company had a total interest of 60% in Kraken, with Cairn holding 25%.
Upon completion of the transaction, EnQuest will have a 70.5% interest and Cairn a 29.5% interest.
The Kraken development is expected to support an estimated 20,000 jobs during the project’s construction period and an average of 1,000 operational jobs a year over the course of its 25-year life.
The field contains 137 million barrels of oil and its gross peak oil production is expected to be more than 50,000 a day.
Image: The Kraken development is expected to support around 20,000 jobs during the project’s construction period. Photo: courtesy of EnQuest.
