OREANDA-NEWS. LOTOS Exploration & Production Norge, which had entered into an agreement with Centrica Norge on the acquisition of the Heimdal assets on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, has received clearance from the Norwegian authorities to finalise the transaction. All conditions precedent of the agreement have now been met.

On November 5th 2013, LOTOS Norge, a subsidiary of LOTOS Petrobaltic, reported that it had executed an agreement to acquire interests in 12 licence areas located on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The annual production attributable to LOTOS's interests in the Norwegian assets is approximately 240 thousand toe (5 thousand boe/d), of which 70% is natural gas and 30% is condensate (light crude).

For LOTOS, the agreement is a major step forward in the implementation of its upstream segment's development strategy, and radically changes the Company's situation in terms of diversification of its production assets. As a matter of strategy, LOTOS intends to develop its hydrocarbon production up to 1.2m tonnes per year (24 thousand boe/d) by 2015.

The transaction is valued at USD 175.8m, of which USD 80m (45%) will be financed on a non-cash basis, from its 2013 cash flows, using the Yme tax shield. The transaction will allow LOTOS to recover two thirds of its tax shield until 2016.

Following the purchase of interests in the Norwegian licences, LOTOS’s proved and probable reserves (2P) and contingent resources (2C) will increase by 9m boe and 31m boe, respectively. By comparison, in 2012 LOTOS produced 265 thousand tonnes of crude oil (approx. 5.4 thousand bbl/d), and its current 2P reserves stand at 52.5m bbl.

As a result of the transaction, LOTOS will acquire a 5% share in the Heimdal field, a major hub for the processing and distribution of natural gas extracted from the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The transaction also includes a 30% interest in the Byggve/Skirne field, a 20% interest in the Atla field and a 25.8% interest in the Vale field, where natural gas and condensate production is ongoing at each location. In addition, LOTOS will acquire interests in certain newly-discovered fields: 10% in FriggGammaDelta, 50% in Fulla (with operator status), and 7.9% in Rind. The licence areas will likely be developed by 2020 or later.

Heimdal is an offshore gas field located in the North Sea, 212 km north-west of Stavanger. Given its central location, its infrastructure is currently used for the processing and distribution of natural gas from the nearby Atla, Byggve/Skirne, and Vale fields. Heimdal's licence operator is Statoil Petroleum AS. Its other interest holders are Total E&P Norge AS, Petoro AS and Centrica Norge.

Initially, gas from Heimdal was transferred to the K?rst? terminal (Norway), and then to Germany, but can now also be transported to the St. Fergus terminal (Great Britain). Its condensate production, on the other hand, is transferred via pipelines to the Brae oil field in the British sector in the North Sea.