Total Buys Chevron's Interest in Danish Underground Consortium

French oil and gas major Total said it has agreed to take all of Chevron (CVX)'s share capital in the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), which will increase its stake in the project and expand its North Sea presence.

The acquisition comes a day after Total announced a major gas discovery on the Glendronach prospect, located off the coast of the Shetland islands in the North Sea.

"Following the completion of the Maersk Oil acquisition, this deal is a great opportunity to further expand our presence on the Danish Shelf and increase our interest in an asset operated by Total," Michael Borrell, Total's Senior Vice President for the North Sea and Russia, said in a statement.

The consortium, which started production in 1972, currently operates 15 fields in the Central Graben sector of the North Sea, added Total.

It covers nearly 90 percent of Danish oil and gas production, which averaged 182,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).

The start-up of the Tyra gas field after redevelopment, which was approved by the DUC partners in December 2017, is planned for 2022. It will enable a production capacity of 60,000 boe/d.

Reporting by Bate Felix