ExxonMobil, Shell sell offshore gas fields in mature UK North Sea to Viaro Energy

(Bloomberg) – Viaro Energy Ltd. agreed to buy a number of gas fields in the UK North Sea from Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp., giving the closely held company its first role as an offshore operator in the country.

Viaro will take full ownership of the Bacton onshore gas terminal and 11 offshore facilities that produced around 28,000 boe last year, according to a statement from the company on Tuesday. That’s equivalent to about 5% of total UK gas production, and the company said it sees potential to expand production further.

Completing the acquisition would make Viaro the most active buyer of UK oil and gas assets in the last five years, by number of deals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Viaro’s Chief Executive Officer Francesco Mazzagatti described Tuesday’s deal as the “crowning achievement” for the company’s strategy, giving it ownership of “the backbone of the UK’s energy production and security.”

Financial terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in 2025, were not disclosed.

Gas shipped through the Bacton terminal is used to generate around 40% of Britain’s electricity, according to the statement. The complex could also play a role in carbon capture and storage and the supply of renewable power.

The UK North Sea is one of the world’s most mature oil provinces, having started production in the 1960s. Most of the region’s facilities are now pumping just a fraction of their peak production and many will need to be decommissioned in the coming decades.

Majors like Shell and Exxon, which pioneered offshore developments, have been leaving the area, selling their assets to smaller companies that can eke a profit from the last barrels extracted from depleted fields. Viaro is one such company, agreeing to buy Rockrose Energy Plc in July 2020, followed by the North Sea assets of SSE Plc later that year.