Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Repsol and Sinopec end North Sea dispute with £1.7 billion deal

Spanish firm takes full control of Aberdeen business

RSRUK's headquarters on Holburn Street, Aberdeen. Image: Jim Irvine /DC Thomson
RSRUK's headquarters on Holburn Street, Aberdeen. Image: Jim Irvine /DC Thomson

Spain’s Repsol and China’s Sinopec have ended an eight-year North Sea dispute with a £1.7 billion deal.

It will see Repsol become full owner of Aberdeen-based joint venture Repsol Sinopec Resources UK (RSRUK).

Sinopec launched proceedings back in 2015 over the price paid by its subsidiary – Addax – for 49% of the business (then Canadian-led Talisman Energy’s UK North Sea operation), arguing the £1.2bn price was too high.

The Chinese firm wanted further compensation to cover “any additional investment” and “loss of opportunity”.

RSRUK’s Auk A platform, about 155 miles from Aberdeen.

A deal has now been struck where Repsol will acquire Sinopec’s 49% stake in RSRUK, meaning the Spanish firm becomes 100% owner.

Completion of the share transfer is expected by the end of this year.

RSRUK has 884 employees, according to the most recent accounts filed at Companies House.

‘No significant impact on earnings’

In a stock exchange statement, Repsol said it would continue to work on a broad strategic collaboration with Sinopec, including through their joint venture in Brazil.

Repsol said it has made provision in its accounts for the settlement, so there will be “no significant impact on earnings” – but it will still amount to an £887 million hit.

A spokeswoman for RSRUK said there “will be no immediate changes to our business or operations, and we remain focused on the delivery of our corporate strategy and business plan”.

She added: “As always, we prioritise the safety of our operations and the health, safety and wellbeing of our people.”

RSRUK’s North Sea assets will become fully Spanish owned. Image: RSRUK

International law firm Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) advised Sinopec throughout the dispute.

HSF partner Tomas Furlong said: “We’ve advised Sinopec on this matter for over nine years in total, a period that spans some of the most disruptive periods on record for the oil and gas industry, and global business in general.”

RSRUK has interests in 48 fields, of which it operates 38 in the UK North Sea, with 11 offshore installations and two onshore terminals.

Conversation