A Middle East firm which has a big North Sea business has indicated it may exit the industry amid the transition to a less carbon-intensive energy system.
The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, which is known as TAQA, announced yesterday that it has initiated a strategic review of its oil and gas operations.
The group said: “The review will assess strategic options for the oil and gas division and the optimal course for its future development, while taking into consideration the evolution of the global energy industry as it transitions towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.”
It added: “All options will be considered, including the sale of some or all the assets, or the retention and development of the assets within the TAQA Group.”
The company has been a significant player in the UK North Sea for some years.
READ MORE: North Sea industry leaders insist new developments are vital amid Cambo furore
The North Sea business run from Aberdeen operates eight platforms and has stakes in a range of fields, including the Brae area assets north east of Aberdeen. It also has interests in the Brent system pipeline and the Sullom Voe terminal on Shetland.
In its 2020 annual report the group said its UK business TAQA Bratani had 870 employees. The European business produced an average 35,000 barrels oil equivalent daily. It includes operations in the Dutch North Sea.
The group said it will focus on significantly growing its utilities business both in the UAE and internationally. These include power generation and water desalination operations in the UAE.
READ MORE: US giant sells bumper North Sea portfolio amid shake-up in area
A range of overseas firms have sold North Sea assets in recent years. Private equity investors have provided backing for firms that have been expanding in the area through acquisitions, such as NEO Energy.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel