Some 30% of Dragon Oil’s (LON:DGO) minority shareholders have so far accepted the 750p per share takeover offer from Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC).
ENOC, which already owned 54%, today revealed it has now secured acceptances representing 14.5% of Dragon’s total share capital, and added that at least 2.3% of additional acceptances had been pledged.
The deadline for the offer has now been extended until August 28. ENOC now needs around 10% more of Dragon’s total share capital in order to push ahead with its plans to de-list the company.
Premier Oil (LON:PMO) chief executive Tony Durrant said he was content that first half 2015 production came out at 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boepd), slightly ahead of expectations.
Output came from the UK, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam where the Premier operated Chim Sao field continued to outperform.
Hurricane Energy (LON:HUR) has expanded its North Sea footprint with the addition of two new blocks in the West of Shetland region. Both areas had been identified by Hurricane as having the potential for a basement oil prospect, provisionally named Warwick.
Warwick is believed to be similar to Lancaster, the group’s flagship asset, which has been successfully tested and will be developed. The new acreage is also expected to offer the potential for the existing Lincoln prospect to be extended.
Shell (LON:RDSB) and British Gas owner Centrica (LON:CNA) between them announced 12,500 job cuts.
UK energy utility SSE (LON:SSE) acquired a 20% stake in a new gas field in the West of Shetland area of the North Sea.
SSE is paying French major Total £565mln (US$876mln) for the stake in the project, called Laggan-Tormore, which comprises five wells and an onshore gas plant on the Shetland Islands. The operation is due online in the coming months and will ramp up to produce 500mln cubic feet of gas per day.
Enegi Oil (LON:ENEG) told investors that engineering group Arup has been signed up to the marginal field consortium. Alan Minty, Enegi’s chief executive, says Arup is the ‘final essential member’ of the consortium.
Together the consortium is exploring new approaches to better develop offshore oil fields which under traditional development scenarios are deemed marginally economic. By deploying innovative engineering it is hoped that the economics of such projects can be transformed, and that significant additional oil and gas reserves can be unlocked.
The initial focus has, thus far, been on marginal fields in the North Sea.