Two leading oil operators signalled their intention to step up production last night after striking major North Sea deals.
Taqa confirmed yesterday that it has received approval from the UK Government to develop its Morrone field in the central North Sea.
And Dana Petroleum announced that it has snapped up two licences in the Danish and German sectors of the southern North Sea.
Taqa said the initial phase of development will consist of an extended reach well drilled from its Harding platform which lies north of the Morrone field.
Morrone is expected to initially produce more than 3,000 barrels of oil per day with first oil expected towards the end of next year.
Managing director Pete Jones said: “Reaching this milestone so quickly is due to an intense effort by Taqa’s subsurface and wells teams, close collaboration with our partners, and a smooth transition of operatorship of the field from BP in June 2013.”
Taqa’s interest in Morrone is 70%. Maersk Oil North Sea UK Limited has a 30% interest.
Meanwhile, Dana will acquire 40% equity and operatorship of the Danish 12/06 licence and 56% equity and an option for operatorship of the German B20008-73 licence from PA Resources UK.
The total value of the deal is approximately £27million including future contingent payments, and the transaction gives Dana up to 32million barrels.
Dana’s Netherlands managing director Nick Dancer said: “These licences are a great strategic fit for Dana, giving us access to resources close to our existing licences and infrastructure.
“It will also allow us to fully exploit the wealth of talent and experience we have in the Netherlands team as we grow and develop our European operations.
“We look forward to working with PA Resources and the partnership to appraise the discoveries with a view to bringing them to development.”
Graham Scotton, Dana’s acting chief executive, added: “Dana’s strategy is to significantly grow our production.
“This acquisition gives us the ability to do that by building a new central European hub based on having operations in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany,” Mr Scotton added.