TotalEnergies and Shell are among the companies interested in buying a majority stake in the Shenandoah oil and gas field that is being sold by Beacon Offshore Energy and HEQ Deepwater.
Per a Reuters report citing unnamed sources, other interested parties in the 51% stake include BP, Repsol, and Chevron. The heightened interest in the offshore field comes amid the unprecedented supply disruption in Middle East oil and gas, amid the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran.
Beacon Offshore Energy is financially backed by Blackstone, while HEQ Deepwater is owned jointly by Quantum Capital Group and Houston Energy. The third stakeholder in the Shenandoah field is Israeli Navitas Petroleum, which holds 49% in the project.
The ultradeep-water Shenandoah field reached its planned production rate of 100,000 barrels daily late last year, boasting just 75 days from first oil to target production rate. “Reaching full capacity so quickly after first oil underscores the capability of the Shenandoah system and the team operating it,” a spokesman for Beacon Offshore Energy, the operator, said at the time.
Future plans at the time involved ramping up production capacity to 140,000 barrels daily early this year and drilling two more development wells.
Bids for the 51% stake of Beacon Offshore Energy and HEQ Deepwater are expected over the next few weeks, the Reuters sources said, with some suggesting that other bidders might emerge, including from the Middle East. They added that some potential bidders might ultimately decide against submitting a bid.
Alternative oil supply has become paramount over the past month as hostilities between the U.S. and Israel, and Iran have cut off a sizable chunk of the world’s crude oil and natural gas supply, with replacement hard to come by due to the amount of oil that needs to be replaced, at over 11 million barrels daily in oil alone.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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