Wintershall to Exit Yme
Thursday 6 October 2016
German player Wintershall has signed an agreement to sell its stake in the Yme field in the North Sea to Norwegian start-up Okea.
Under the deal, with an undisclosed value, Okea will acquire Wintershall’s 10% interest in the field.
Once completed, the deal will be effective retroactively from 1 January, Wintershall said.
Completion is expected by the end of this year.
Following the sale, Yme’s operator Repsol will hold a 60% interest, Lotos Exploration & Production 20%, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec) 10%, and Okea 10%.
The Yme oil and gas field never produced any oil due to delays and problems with the production platform. The platform was removed in August by Allseas’ vessel Pioneering Spirit.
The topsides were then transported to the Lutelandet dismantling yard, north of Bergen, where the newbuild rig is being scrapped after myriad technical faults were uncovered, preventing it from ever being brought on stream.
Last year, Wintershall agreed to sell a package of Norwegian assets, including the Yme stake, to Norwegian company Tellus Petroleum in a deal worth up to $702 million. The deal however, was never finalised as Tellus backed out due to low oil prices.
Alongside Yme, Wintershall has originally planned to sell its non-operated positions in the Knarr (20%), Veslefrikk (4.5%) and Ivar Aasen (6.5%) fields off Norway. The deal also included a 15% stake in the Maria development and seven exploration licences.
Before it can be finalised, the Okea sale agreement is subject to approval by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Wintershall said.