Maersk Oil, a unit of Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk, has agreed to sell stakes in three North Sea fields to RockRose Energy, the latest new entrant into the aging basin.
RockRose suspended trading on Sept. 14 before announcing it has agreed to nonbinding headline terms and a period of exclusivity from Maersk Oil North Sea UK to acquire its nonoperated 7.4% interest in the Wytch Farm Field, a 5.2% interest in the Scott fields and a 2.4% interest in the Telford Field.
The total production for the three interests is estimated at about 2,000 barrels per day, according to industry sources.
A spokesman for Maersk Oil confirmed the details of the RockRose statement.
RockRose, led by Andrew Austin, former CEO of U.K. shale gas company iGas, entered the London Stock Exchange in January. This would be its first deal.
Deal making in the global oil and gas production sector, and particularly in the North Sea, has sharply declined since oil prices began to drop sharply in mid-2014. A growing consensus in the industry that oil prices are likely to rise in the coming years has nevertheless led to a cautious revival.
In August, private-equity-backed Siccar Point made its first North Sea oil deal when acquiring an 8.9% stake in the U.K. North Sea's Mariner Field from Japan's JX Nippon.
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