Fossil Energy – Acquisition
Britain’s Harbour Energy on Thursday agreed to acquire Wintershall Dea’s non-Russian oil and gas assets in a $11.2 billion share and cash deal with co-owners BASF and LetterOne that creates one of the world’s biggest independent producers.
Harbour Energy, the largest British North Sea oil and gas producer, has sought to expand beyond the United Kingdom after the government imposed a windfall tax on the sector following the spike in energy prices in 2022, pushing Harbour into a loss in the first half of this year.
The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Harbour Energy will continue to want to grow over time, CEO Linda Cook told Reuters. “Scale is increasingly important in our sector. Not only for relevance with investors, but also to ensure access to diverse low-cost sources of capital,” Cook said.
The assets being acquired include Wintershall Dea’s upstream assets in Norway, Germany, Denmark, Argentina, Mexico, Egypt, Libya and Algeria, as well as the company’s carbon capture and storage licences in Europe.
Its Russian assets are excluded, Harbour said. Earlier this week, President Vladimir Putin ordered Wintershall Dea’s stakes in Russian ventures be transferred to new Russian companies.
