Acquisitions NEWS

Brazilian oil giant Petrobras is preparing a pilot project for the capture and storage of industrial carbon dioxide emissions and is looking to build partnerships for the country's first full-scale CCS hub.

A pairing of Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Oslo-listed Subsea 7 has landed multiple offshore contracts from Saudi Aramco under the latter’s long-term agreement (LTA) framework to which a select group of international contractors have access.

A total of 95.28% of the votes cast at the 16 virtual extraordinary general meeting were to approve the S$4.5 billion (US$3.37 billion) deal. The two shipyards have been working on a merger since July last year and the idea for a union of the two Singapore-listed companies has been discussed in industry circles for decades.

Permian Strategic Partnership (PSP) President and CEO Tracee Bentley made a compelling case for the positive impact of oil and natural gas production on local communities during her testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources at The University of Texas Permian Basin Midland Campus on Feb 13.

If sealed, this would be the second such deal between major LNG exporter Qatar and the world's no.2 LNG buyer, as Beijing looks to beef up gas supply and diversify its sources in a drive to replace coal and cut carbon emissions.

Halliburton has added new technology to its product line. Oil field service company has acquired from Westerton a new portfolio of electro-mechanical downhole cutting tools and related tubing punches. This equipment will offer a safe and reliable alternative to operators for conventional pipe recovery and intervention across the well lifecycle. It will not only reduce the cost of construction of new wells but also extend the life of old wells.

Neptune Energy has decided to acquire interests in some of Wintershall Dea's oil and gas fields in Emsland and the Grafschaft Bentheim. This agreement will help Neptune increase its existing interest in the Bramberge, Meppen and Annaveen oilfields. This final transaction will take place after regulatory and partner approvals. Its expected completion is in the third quarter of 2019.

A private equity firm, Arcline Investment Management has announced the acquisition of BHGE's Reciprocating Compression division. This division manufactures and services mission-critical compression and engine systems. "We plan to aggressively invest in our long-standing, loyal employee base so that they can support every brand of our equipment operating in the field", commented Arcline. Arcline currently has $1.5 billion of capital under management.

PTT Exploration and Production Public Co Ltd (PTTEP) has decided to acquire Partex Holding BV. The acquisition will be worth approximately US$622mn. This decision will help PTTEP expand in Oman and open the gates for future investment opportunities in the Middle East. "This acquisition will allow us to create a new business partnership with both national oil companies of Oman and the UAE,” said PTTEP's CEO.

Lukoil has announced an agreement with New Age M12 Holdings Limited. The company has acquired 25% interest in the Marine XII license in the Republic of Congo. President of PJSC Lukoil said, "Entering this project is in line with our M&A strategy. The project is characterized by explored reserves, substantial production growth potential, access to well-developed infrastructure and it also fits our technological expertise". This agreement is worth $800 million.

The Norwegian firm Prosafe has signed a deal to acquire Bermuda-based Floatel International. Amid the need for consolidation in the market facing overcapacity, Prosafe will create the “world’s largest” offshore accommodation company at Floatel. The value of the deal is undisclosed yet and the new company will be named as Prosafe SE. Following the deal’s completion by Q3, Prosafe shareholders will own 55% shares, with Floatel shareholders owning 45%.

Toshiba Corp. will sell its over 20-year liquefaction rights at the Freeport LNG project to Total. The company will pay $815 million to the French major and is expecting that the deal will be finalized by March 2020. This acquisition is in line with Total's plan to become one of the world’s biggest LNG players in the future. Total presently is the second-largest private global LNG player.

An oil and gas pipeline welding company Pipeline Technique has been bought by a private-equity firm Blue Water Energy (BWE). BWE has bought this Huntly-headquartered company from Dutch business Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC). The exact value of the deal has been kept undisclosed. BWE informed that the management team of Pipeline Technique will be retained.

India's HPCL is planning the acquisition of MRPL which has hit a cash hurdle at the moment. The parent company of HPCL, ONGC, wants to go for cash instead of a share-swap, informed the sources. ONGC acquired HPCL for Rs 36,915 crore last year. However, all this time HPCL has been talking about the acquisition through the Oil Ministry and media and is not yet ready with a concrete proposal.

Partners Group, a Swiss private equity firm will acquire CapeOmega for nearly $1.34bn. CapeOmega is a Norwegian midstream infrastructure company which was incorporated in 2014. MD of Partners Group Private Infrastructure Europe said, "Partners Group welcomes the opportunity to partner with a well-respected and experienced management team to realise the associated infrastructure expansion potential for CapeOmega in one of Europe’s key natural gas supply hubs”.

Energy giant Shell has informed about its ongoing talk with BP to procure its Shearwater oil and gas field stakes in the British North Sea. The cost of acquisition will be $250 million. In Shearwater, Shell holds 28% stake, BP has 27.5% and the remaining 44.5% stakes are held by ExxonMobil. The gas export capacity of Shearwater at the time of peak production is expected to be 70,000 boped.

Northern Oil and Gas signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Williston Basin properties of VEN Bakken. The assets which will be acquired by the company are expected to produce approx 6,600 boed during the second half of 2019. The seller is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Flywheel Bakken. CEO of Northern said, "This transaction furthers our stated goals of allocating capital to generate free cash flow in low commodity prices".

According to the reports, the Khobar-based Arabian Drilling Company (ADC) is ready to acquire the drilling business of Schlumberger in Saudi. Arabian Drilling Company is an alliance between the Industrialization & Energy Services Company which is a Saudi Joint Stock company and Services Petroliers Schlumberger S.A. Further, the ADC website confirms that Services Petroliers Schlumberger owns the rest 49 %.