TAQA Looking to Sell Oil & Gas Business

TAQA, a UAE-based oil company with assets in the UK North Sea, said Wednesday it had initiated a strategic review of its oil and gas operations,   including the possibility of selling some or all of them.

"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. 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 said.

TAQA said it had since 2005 built a high-quality portfolio of upstream and midstream operations in the UK North Sea, the Netherlands, Canada, and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. 

The portfolio includes onshore and offshore exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; gas storage; and oil & gas processing and transportation.

 In the first half of 2021, production across the portfolio totaled more than 124,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and generated revenues of AED 3.4 billion (US$937 million) with a net income of AED 533 million ($145 million).

"Following the launch of TAQA’s new strategy in March of this year the company’s growth will be focused on significantly growing its utilities business both in the UAE and internationally," the company said.

In recent TAQA-related news, the company in August had Heerema Marine Contractors remove the topside of its Brae Bravo platform in the UK North Sea, as part of the platform decommissioning.

Over its 33-year lifetime, Brae Bravo produced more than 500 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The Brae Bravo platform, first commissioned in 1988, is located 191km (119 miles) east of Sumburgh Head, Shetland in block 16/7a. Prior to the removal of the topsides, the platform consisted of a topside weighing 36,000 tonnes and a jacket substructure weighing 22,500 tonnes.
Following the installation of the platform in 1987, the first oil was achieved on 13th April 1988 and reached a peak production of 94,567 boepd.
In December 2017 production ceased from the native wells, on July 6, 2018 production ceased from third-party subsea tie-backs. After that, the platform was disembarked in July 2019.