UAE- TAQA to acquire BP's North Sea assets for USD1.3b 

(MENAFN) Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (TAQA) announced that it will pay USD1.3 billion to acquire several North Sea assets from BP, reported Arabian Business.

The company noted that the acquisition will expand its access to North Sea output, home to the global oil benchmark Brent, adding that in just 4 years, it invested more than USD3 billion in the UK, including USD1.2 billion of tax payments.

TAQA said that it will buy BP's interests in the Harding field, which is 70 percent, in Maclure field 37.03 percent, and in Devenick field 88.7 percent, with the three located in the Central North Sea.

Moreover, TAQA will raise its non-operated interests in the Brae area and associated transport infrastructure, including the SAGE system, Forties-Brae and Forties-Braemar pipelines.

The announcement follows a visit made by UK's Prime Minister David Cameron to Abu Dhabi amid reports BP was set to loose its major role in the UAE's oil sector due to stressed relations between the two countries.

It is worth noting that the sale means that BP could still win back its position in the UAE, where it played a major role since the start of the oil industry in the early 1930s.