Phillips swaps United Kingdom continental shelf assets with BP

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Phillips Petroleum Co.’s United Kingdom division has signed an asset exchange agreement with ARCO British, a wholly owned subsidiary of BP, relating to interests in four license blocks on the United Kingdom continental shelf.

Under the agreement, announced June 21, Phillips will swap its 62.74 percent interest in Block 22/28a — which contains the Kate/Tornado discovery — for BP’s 21.38 percent interest in Block 30/2a, and BP’s 100 percent interest in Block 30/1b, excluding the Kessog discovery. Block 30/2a and Block 30/1b contain the 30/2-1 Palaeocene discovery, which straddles both blocks. Phillips also will receive 0.45 percent of BP’s interest in the Britannia field unit, bringing the company’s interest in that unit to 7.23 percent. In addition, Phillips will receive an undisclosed cash payment. The agreement is subject to approvals by the Department of Trade and Industry and partners.

“This is an excellent agreement for Phillips, enabling us to both strengthen our position around our core assets in the Central North Sea and increase our equity in Britannia, a valuable part of our production portfolio,” said Henry McGee, vice president of the company’s European division. “Block 30/2a borders Block 30/2c, the location of our Jade field, which is tied in to our J-Block infrastructure. We consider this an area with high exploration potential.”