AN Austrian oil and gas firm is ramping up its investment west of Shetland in a $2.65bn (£1.7bn) deal with Norway's Statoil.

OMV will double holdings in two bumper fields as part of what it described as a "significant North Sea investment".

In its biggest deal ever, OMV, will increase its holding in the giant Rosebank field off Shetland to 50% from 20%. OMV expects Rosebank to come onstream in 2018 and to produce at up to 50,000 barrels oil per day.

The Austrian company is increasing its holding in the Schiehallion field, which is being redeveloped by BP, to 11.76%, from 5.88%.

It is also acquiring minority stakes in the Gullfaks and Gudrun fields off Norway from Statoil and options for exploration licences in northern waters.

OMV's chief executive Gerhard Roiss said it was acquiring significant positions in developments at the heart of the company's North Sea growth region.

"The transaction will provide a huge boost to OMV's strategy and will be a key factor in achieving our 2016 targets," he said.

The acquisition provides further evidence of the enthusiasm shared by a range of the industry's big guns for the area west of Shetland. This is relatively under-explored by comparison with some parts of the North Sea.

Firms such as BP, Shell and France's Total are investing huge sums developing new assets in the area. Chevron, an American oil and gas giant, has a 40% stake in Rosebank.

An OMV spokesman said the company believes west of Shetland is one of the top-growth areas offshore UK.

OMV noted it is substantially increasing its reserves and strengthening its presence in stable members of the OECD club of rich countries through the deal.

Based in Vienna, OMV has interests in some countries which have been affected by political instability, including Yemen and Libya.

The company's exploration and production effort has been concentrated historically on Austria and Romania.

Production was flat in Austria and fell 2% in Romania last year.

Statoil said the deal would allow it to crystallise gains it has generated through its exploration and development work and to raise funds to invest in other assets. "Through this transaction, Statoil captures value created through asset development and unlocks capital for investment in high return projects in core areas," said chief executive Helge Lund.

The company is leading the £4.5bn development of the Mariner heavy oil field east of Shetland.

Statoil said the transaction would also allow it to develop a partnership with and share in the expertise offered by OMV.

The Austrian firm has developed skills in using new techniques to boost the recovery of oil from onshore fields. OMV has been active in the UK North Sea since 1990, when it acquired a stake in the Beryl field in the Northern North Sea.

The company sold its 5% stake in Beryl for $118m last year to an undisclosed buyer under a plan to focus UK North Sea activity on the area West of Shetland.

It acquired 17.5% stakes in the Tobermory and Bunnehaven discoveries West of Shetland from Statoil, in exchange for a 30% stake in the Mariner East find.

OMV sold a 1.5% stake in the Boa field to Aberdeen-based Bridge Energy for $18m.