MAJOR oil and gas producers have lodged bids for North Sea-focused Siccar Point, writes Scott Wright.

Chrysaor, RockRose and Equinor, which have all ramped up their presence in North Sea this year, are understood to have tabled first round bids for Siccar, which has also attracted an offer from HitecVision, a private equity fund. Bids ranging from £1.2 billion to $2bn in value were reported to have been received, though it is understood that some offers may relate to parts of the Siccar portfolio, and some for the business as a whole.

Siccar, which is backed by private equity players Blackstone and Blue Water Energy, has been testing the water with regard to a potential since July.

The company’s portfolio includes stakes in the Corona Ridge Area west of Shetland, where it holds a 70 per cent operated interest in the Cambo field. It was reported by Reuters this summer that Siccar had invited companies to review data on the Corona Ridge Area as it looked to sell down part of its stake in Cambo. The report added that Siccar hoped interest in Cambo would spark offers for the entire portfolio.

In March, it stoked excitement in the industry when it launched a drilling programme to target two major prospects off Shetland.

Siccar declined to comment last night.