NEO Energy is to acquire independent oil and gas company Zennor Petroleum Limited (Zennor), which includes a portfolio of assets located in the Central and Northern North Sea and an experienced team with a strong operational track-record.

This announcement follows the circa USD 1 billion agreement NEO and HitecVision signed last month, which sees NEO acquire a major portfolio of non-operated oil and gas assets in the Central and Northern North Sea from ExxonMobil.

Through the acquisition of Zennor, NEO will take ownership of a quality portfolio of assets centred around the strategic Britannia and ETAP production hubs, with organic near-term growth prospects from sanctioned projects including the operated Finlaggan tie-back, scheduled for first production later this year, and a series of future development opportunities including the operated Greenwell and Leverett projects (tie-backs to Britannia), and Murlach (tie back to ETAP). This acquisition will increase NEO’s portfolio of operated asset providing greater control and capital allocation flexibility. The Zennor portfolio adds circa 40 mmboe of reserves and more than 90 mmboe of un-risked resource to NEO.

This acquisition will further diversify and balance NEO’s producing asset base with the newly acquired assets bringing NEO’s oil-to-gas weighting to around 60/40. The combined entity will align with HitecVision’s target to halve the carbon intensity of its energy producing portfolio companies by 2030.

The agreed terms include a total consideration of up to USD 625 million, including deferred and contingent payments. The asset portfolio acquired has limited exposure to decommissioning liabilities, with the majority of the Britannia liabilities covered by a former owner.

Following completion of the transaction, the Zennor team will join NEO, increasing headcount to over 180 people. This deal delivers a combination of two highly complementary teams, particularly enhancing NEO’s technical and operating skills and capabilities.

Russ Alton, CEO of NEO Energy, said:
“This transaction provides a further immediate uplift to NEO’s production and resource base with several high-quality follow-on development opportunities. This follows closely on from our agreement with ExxonMobil and is a further demonstration of the scale of our ambition in the UKCS, with a clearly defined target of achieving 120,000 boepd in 2023. We are excited to welcome the Zennor team, whose capabilities complement those in NEO today. Our combined teams will operate a large asset portfolio providing us with greater control and flexibility to maximise value and to invest in further expanding our asset base in the UKCS.”

John Knight, Senior Partner at HitecVision, added:
“This deal creates a company with a very distinctive growth profile and a high level of stable and operated production into the mid 2020’s. This is a unique profile among large oil and gas companies in the UK and it resembles what HitecVision and ENI have achieved in Norway with Vår Energi. In HitecVision we have deliberately invested both via M&A and organic growth through the cycle to create companies like Vår, Sval and NEO. The European offshore oil and gas industry has many exciting opportunities for growth, with increasingly low CO2 emissions built into that growth. It is a sunrise industry that contributes to the climate agenda when approached with a positive and determined mindset. In the world of energy production, it is possible to have two thoughts in mind at the same time.”

The transaction has an effective date of 1 January 2021.

About NEO Energy

NEO Energy is an independent full-cycle North Sea operator in the UK Continental Shelf backed by HitecVision. NEO is focused on combining value creation from the prospective North Sea basin with high Environmental, Social and Governance standards. It has a high quality, sustainable asset base with a significant scope to grow production organically, by extending the life of its assets, and through acquisitions, to achieve production of 120,000 boepd.

About HitecVision

HitecVision is a leading private equity investor focused on Europe’s offshore energy industry, with USD 6.7 billion under management. HitecVision is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, with other offices in Oslo and London.

About Zennor Petroleum

Zennor Petroleum is an independent UK based oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, appraisal, development and production of hydrocarbons on the UKCS. Its assets are located across the Central, Northern and Southern North Sea. Zennor is an established UKCS operator and currently has production of around 5,000 boe/day.
The Company is focussed upon identifying low-risk appraisal and development opportunities, building upon its core ETAP and Britannia production hubs and the Zennor-operated Finlaggan Field development, scheduled for first production in 2021.