Tullow increases presence in North Sea

24th May 2011 08:14

Irish oil firm Tullow is to go Dutch, with its acquisition of Nuon Exploration and Production for €300m cash from the Vattenfall Group.The acquisition of Nuon will significantly beef up Tullow's North Sea presence, adding a portfolio of 25 licences that include over 30 producing fields, numerous development and exploration opportunities and ownership of key infrastructure. The Nuon portfolio will increase the group's North Sea gas production by 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to about 23,000 boepd, and will add reserves and resources of 28m barrels of oil equivalent. The Nuon assets are very complementary to Tullow's existing Dutch assets and will provide a stronger platform for growth in an area that the group considers has significant potential, Tullow said. The portfolio includes a number of near term development and exploration opportunities with the potential to sustain and grow production in the short term. ---jh