ABERDEEN-based Faroe Petroleum has completed the acquisition of a 10% interest in the East Foinaven field west of Shetland which is operated by oil giant BP.
Faroe handed Japan's Marubeni Oil & Gas $22.5 million (£14.5m) for the stake, which also includes a 0.5% interest in the West of Shetland Pipeline System.
The price was lower than the $32m mooted when the deal was signed in September because the deal was effective from the beginning of 2012 and the sale price adjusted by the net income received by Faroe since then.
Faroe chief executive Graham Stewart said: "We are very pleased to broaden our production base further through the acquisition of the East Foinaven interest, which boosts and diversifies our oil and gas production portfolio.
"East Foinaven is a good quality, long life producing oil field which provides significant upside potential in one of our core areas.
"The transaction is very tax efficient for Faroe Petroleum, providing shelter for both past and future tax losses in the UK and is in line with our strategy to grow our production base in order to fund the company's very active exploration programme."
Faroe is about to start another period of exploration drilling starting with the Snilehorn well in Norway at the end of the third quarter of the year, followed by another five wells into 2014.
Jack Allardyce, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said: "Originally announced in September 2012, completion was a formality, albeit a somewhat protracted one.
"While the indicative price is not low the associated cash flow will be tax free for the foreseeable future given the company's significant tax loss position in the UK.
"We therefore believe the acquisition to be value accretive to Faroe, while the possibility of additional upside could further enhance the economics."
The East Foinaven field was discovered in 1995 and produced its first oil in 2001.
It is located 118 miles west of Shetland.
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