MOL Buys Offshore UK Upstream Assets from Wintershall for $375 Million

By Margit Feher

BUDAPEST--Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) said Friday it bought U.K. offshore assets from Wintershall Norge AG for $375 million, fully financed from its operating cash flow, to mitigate falling output.

MOL bought various stakes in 14 licences in Wintershall's U.K. North Sea basin offshore assets. MOL bought non-operated equity stakes in Broom, with a 29% working interest, Catcher, with a 20%, Cladhan, with a 33.5%, and the Scolty and Crathes fields, the latter with a 50% working interest. Wintershall's equity share in infrastructure on the Sullom Voe Terminal and Brent Pipeline System are also part of the deal.

"The deal is of strategic value as MOL intends to enhance its offshore experience and achieve further growth in the region while immediate reserve addition and sizeable mid-term production growth are also realized," MOL said in a news release.

MOL estimated the acquisition will increase its proven and probable reserves by 28 million barrels of oil equivalent and its best estimate of contingent resources by 9 million barrels of oil equivalent. Nearly all of the reserves is of good quality crude oil, MOL added.

The new MOL assets are mainly in the development and production phase, thus the current trend of decreasing daily production in MOL's overall portfolio will be mitigated, the company said. Oil production from the Broom area will contribute roughly 1 million barrels of oil equivalent a day to MOL in 2014 while the acquired portfolio could contribute 6 million barrels a day in 2015. The combined peak production of the assets is expected to reach 16 million to 18 million barrels a day in 2018 and have peak production through 2019, MOL added.

The deal, which will provide MOL with access to participate in upcoming exploration bids in the U.K., is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

Write to Margit Feher at [e-mail]