Eni, Italy's energy company, will see 2.5 billion euros in net proceeds from its disposals by 2025
Francesco Gattei, the Chief Transition & Finance Officer of Italian energy giant Eni, said that it expects to receive net proceeds of 2.5 billion euros ($2.7billion) from further disposals next year. Eni announced Thursday that U.S. Investment Group KKR will buy 25% of Enilive, its biofuel unit for 2.9 billion Euros as part of Eni’s strategy to spin-off new businesses with high potential growth to fund its efforts in cutting its greenhouse gas emission. Gattei stated during a conference phone that "we will cash in 3.6 billion euro this year. He said Eni might sell a second share in Enilive.
Sources: Eni is in discussions with funds about another Plenitude stake sales
Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed on Friday that the Italian energy group Eni was in discussions with several funds about the possible sale of a minor stake in its renewables and retail businesses Plenitude. This possible sale would be a further step in Eni’s strategy to tap specialized investors to fund the energy transition of the group. Eni sold 7.6% of Plenitude in March to Energy Infrastructure Partners. Sources said that talks between Eni, and investors interested in its low-carbon unit were based on an estimated value of Plenitude at more than 10 billion euro ($11.08 billion)…
Hitec, a unit of Eni, wins support for a large floating wind farm
Flotation Energy, a joint-venture between Eni Plenitude, and HitecVision private equity, announced on Tuesday that their floating offshore project Green Volt had won a contract in Britain's most recent renewable energy auction. They said that the 2.5 billion pound initiative ($3.28 billion), which will have a maximum capacity of 560 megawatts and be supported by incentives from government, is on track to become the largest floating offshore wind farm in support. The ship will be 80 km (50 miles), off the coasts of Scotland's northeast.
NEO Energy reduces UK investment plans due to fiscal and regulatory uncertainty
NEO Energy announced on Monday that it would slow down its investment in all of its portfolios due to the uncertainty surrounding fiscal and regulatory issues in the British oil sector. NEO is the owner of half the Buchan Horst project in the UK North Sea. Serica Energy, Jersey Oil & Gas and NEO are the joint venture partners. They own 30% and 20% respectively. The British government has decided to delay the assessment of environmental statements as it plans to launch a consultation for new environmental guidelines on oil and gas project.
Eni, Vaar Agree to Buy Neptune Energy in $4.9 Billion Deal
Italy's Eni ENI.MI and its Norwegian unit Vaar have agreed to buy private-equity backed Neptune Energy in a deal valuing the assets of the gas and oil producer at $4.9 billion including debt, the two groups said on Friday.The acquisition, which is expected to be completed at the start of next year, is one of the biggest oil and gas deals in Europe in years.The deal fits the Italian group's plan to increase the share of gas in its total hydrocarbon production and is expected to boost its earnings immediately…
Price Drop Triggers Haggling Over Oil and Gas Deals
The collapse in oil prices to 21-year lows has led potential buyers of oil and gas fields to try and renegotiate deals already agreed at higher prices, with the first examples emerging of sellers having their hand forced.At a time when most oil companies are slashing budgets, dividends, and headcounts to preserve cash, sellers are facing a difficult choice between sweetening the deal or risking losing it altogether.Premier Oil's CEO said he is seeking a cheaper price for North Sea assets it agreed…
Solveig buys oilfield operator Capricorn from Cairn
Norwegian pipeline firm Solveig Gas has agreed to buy oil firm Capricorn Norge from Cairn Energy for $100 million, completing its transformation into a North Sea field operator, Solveig's owner HitecVision said on Wednesday.The private equity fund told Reuters earlier this year it aimed to turn Solveig into an integrated exploration and production company, using the cash flow from its gas pipelines to fund expansion.Cairn separately confirmed the deal, adding it will use the proceeds to fund its ongoing oil business in British waters.Capricorn owns 10% in the Wintershall Dea-operated Nova field in the North Sea…
OMP Acquires Stake in TEN
The maritime and offshore energy institutional investor OMP is acquitting of US$35m of Series G Redeemable Convertible Perpetual Preferred Shares of the Greek shipping company Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) in a private placement.Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) is advising OMP in preferred stock transaction.The Series G Preferred Shares will participate on an as-converted basis in any dividends declared and paid on TEN’s common shares and will be convertible at any time on a three and one-third-for-one basis into TEN common shares.Within the first quarter of 2021…
Var Energi Buys Exxon's Norway Assets for $4.5 Bln
ExxonMobil said on Thursday it will sell its Norwegian upstream oil and gas assets to independent exploration and production company Vår Energi for $4.5 billion as part of an ongoing large-scale global divestment plan.The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, includes ownership interests in more than 20 producing fields in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea with a combined production of approximately 150,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day (boepd) in 2019. Most are operated by local energy company Equinor…
Partners Eye Conoco's North Sea Assets
Italy's Eni has teamed up with private equity firm HitecVision to bid against Chrysaor for ConocoPhillips' North Sea oil and gas assets, sources close to the process said.Conoco relaunched the sale process in recent weeks after energy and chemicals firm Ineos, privately owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, abandoned exclusive talks with the U.S. company, the sources said.The sale, which would mark Conoco's exit from the ageing basin after more than 50 years, was expected to raise up to $2 billion.Eni is partnering with Norway's HitecVision to bid for the assets…
Verus Petroleum Up For Sale
Private equity firm HitecVision is seeking to sell its British North Sea oil and gas production unit Verus Petroleum, which last year completed a string of large acquisitions ramping up its output, industry and banking sources said.The sale process is being run by investment bank Jefferies and could fetch $500 million, according to the sources.HitecVision and Verus Petroleum did not respond to requests for comment. A Jefferies spokeswoman declined to comment.Aberdeen-based Verus Petroleum outlined last November plans to move to "a new phase of growth" after its oil and gas production rose 12 fold to 18…
Goliat Supply Vessel Connected to Shore Power
Vår Energi (formerly Eni Norge) and Norwegian shipowner Simon Møkster Shipping have completed the first phase of hybrid power conversion of the Stril Barents vessel, currently working as a supply vessel on the Goliat field in the Barents Sea offshore Norway.Stril Barents is a supply vessel for the Goliat platform in the Barents Sea, one of the oil fields on the Norwegian shelf with the lowest CO2 emissions."Through efficient and good cooperation, the first phase has been completed. The shore power connection has been tested and is now operational.
Aker Solutions Wins Jotun FEED Contract
The newly formed exploration and production (E&P) company Vår Energi is progressing the redevelopment of the Balder and Ringhorne area offshore Norway and a FEED contract for the Jotun FPSO life extension has now been signed with Aker Solutions.In total, about 20 billion NOK ($2.3 billion) will be invested in the redevelopment of the area, which includes the first NCS license area, PL 001 from 1965, said the largest independent E&P company on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).Part of the redevelopment, is the Balder X Project.
Eni Must Improve Safety in the Arctic -Norway Watchdog
Italian oil company Eni must do more to improve safety at its Arctic Goliat oilfield, which produces up to 100,000 barrels of crude per day, Norway's oil safety watchdog said on Tuesday.The world's northernmost oilfield has suffered a number of incidents since it started production in March 2016.While previous orders issued by the regulator, including a forced two-month shutdown in 2017, had led to some improvement, the Petroleum Safety Authority's latest inspection found additional problems at Goliat…
Verus Petroleum Mulls 12-Fold Production Growth
Aberdeen, UK-based Verus Petroleum has secured a 12-fold increase in its production – from 1,500 to 18,000 barrels per day in less than a year – with the closing of three recent acquisitions on the UK Continental Shelf.A press release from the petroleum exploration and production services provider said that it has recently completed three significant acquisitions; an interest in the Babbage gas field acquired from Premier Oil on 6th December, on the back of completing transactions to acquire Cieco…
UKCS Still Worth Investment Despite Brexit -Equinor
Norwegian oil and gas firm Equinor will remain committed to the mature British continental shelf regardless of the country's plans to leave the European Union, a senior executive told Reuters.British Prime Minister Theresa May abruptly decided on Monday to pull a parliamentary vote on the Brexit deal, thrusting U.K.'s divorce from the EU into chaos, with possible options including a disorderly Brexit with no deal."We are putting more investments into the U.K. despite Brexit, the perception of North Sea as being very mature and dying and oil price gyrations…
Verus Petroleum Buys UK Oil Firm Cieco
Aberdeen-based Verus Petroleum has agreed to acquire Cieco, a subsidiary of Japanese commodity trading house Itochu for an undisclosed sum, Verus' majority owner, Norwegian private equity firm HitecVision, said on Thursday.The acquisition, which includes a 23-percent stake in the Western Isles field development project, a 25.8 percent stake in the Hudson field, will add about 11,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day (boepd) to Verus, HitecVision added in a statement.Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv, which first reported the news, said the deal's value was close to 3.3 billion crowns ($405.11 million).Both
Exxon to Shed Norway Oil Assets
Exxon Mobil has agreed to sell its operated upstream business in Norway to private equity firm HitecVision and oil company Point Resources for an undisclosed sum, it said on Wednesday. The deal involves a transfer of about 300 staff and means that the world's largest listed oil firm will no longer operate producing fields on the Norwegian continental shelf. Exxon Mobil retains stakes in more than 20 producing fields operated by Statoil and Shell however, including the Snorre oilfield and the major Ormen Lange gas field.
Prosafe to Buy Newbuilds, 25 pct in Dan Swift for $70 mln
* Axis shareholders include HitecVision Fund VI and LF Investment ApS (a company owned by Lauritzen Fondet), who respectively own approx. * Danske Bank has delivered a fairness opinion on the terms of the transaction to the Board of Prosafe.
Norway's Aker: No Change in Kvaerner Strategy
Norwegian conglomerate Aker ASA plans no change of strategy for it's majority owned oil services company Kvaerner after private equity fund HitecVision last week increased its ownership to 11.1 percent. "We don't see any changes in Kvaerner because of HitecVision making that investment", Aker Chief Executive Oeyvind Eriksen said during Aker's third-quarter earnings presentation on Wednesday. Aker owns 58.1 percent of the shares in Kvaerner. HitecVision is a private equity investor specialising in buyouts and growth-stage investments in the oil and gas industry. Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord
