The big oil firms continue to divest noncore North Sea assets. But the region’s frontier developments are keeping the area a key centre for new investment. Total announced the $388mn sale of a clutch of non-operated UK assets amounting to 22mn bl of oil equivalent (boe) of proven and probable reserves to UK gas firm Centrica in February. Centrica also paid $223mn to ConocoPhillips in January for a 15.17pc stake in the cross-border Statfjord field (WPA, 3 February, p10). BP said last year that it was seeking a buyer for gas fields in the southern UK North Sea with combined output of 30,000 boe/d, along with pipeline infrastructure, although it has yet to secure a deal.
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