Serica Completes North Sea BKR Deals

UK independent Serica Energy said November 30 it has completed the acquisition of all interests pending in the Bruce, Keith and Rhum (BKR) fields from BP, Total, BHP Billiton and Marubeni.

Representing the vendor of the largest interests, BP North Sea regional president Ariel Flores said: "Bruce, Keith and Rhum have been an important part of BP's North Sea story and Serica are taking on a first-class team of people who know these assets well. We wish the team at Serica the very best for the future."

Serica chairman Tony Craven Walker said: "Undertaking four simultaneous and interconnected transactions has not been easy and we are grateful for the support from BP, our field partners, the UK government and the OGA to help us overcome the various challenges and bring this to a successful conclusion." 

The transaction with BP necessitated securing a US waiver in respect of an Iranian state NIOC subsidiary's retained 50% interest in the Rhum field. Now completed, Serica's stakes in the Bruce, Keith and Rhum fields are respectively 98%, 100% and 50%. BP, Total and BHP are retaining decommissioning liability for existing facilities of their stakes in the BKR assets.