Cairn Energy and consortium partner Cheiron Petroleum Corporation have acquired a portfolio of upstream oil and gas production, development and exploration interests from Shell Egypt and Shell Austria in the Western Desert of Egypt.
Capricorn Egypt, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cairn, acquired 50% of the assets, with the remaining 50% acquired by Cheiron subsidiaries.
The acquisition value, which is subject to completion adjustments, is $323m net to Cairn, with additional contingent consideration of up to $140m over four years, if certain requirements are met.
The gas-weighted portfolio, in a region with strong demand growth, offers low cost production, near-term development, owned infrastructure and “significant exploration potential”, according to a statement.
Cairn has appointed Dr Eleanor Rowley as managing director for Egypt. She joins from TotalEnergies, where she was exploration vice president for the Middle East, Caspian, North Africa and Southern Europe.
Simon Thomson, chief executive of Cairn, said: “The addition of the Western Desert assets to our portfolio is an important first step in expanding and diversifying our producing asset base, alongside offering significant exploration potential.
“We look forward to working alongside our partners to deliver the attractive growth opportunities the assets provide.”
Edinburgh-headquartered Cairn has been listed on the London Stock Exchange for 30 years and has explored, discovered, developed and produced oil and gas in a variety of locations, as an operator and partner in all stages of the oil and gas lifecycle.
Cairn's exploration activities have a geographical focus in the North Sea, North and West Africa and Latin America, underpinned by interests in production and development assets.
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