Oil and gas company Tullow Oil has completed the acquisition of Shell UK and Esso Exploration and Production UK's entire producing interests in the Schooner and Ketch gas fields in the North Sea.
The deal, announced in December, is worth £200m and has been financed through bank debt and internal resources.
Tullow says the agreement will strongly enhance its strategic position in the Southern North Sea, and in particular in the Caister-Murdoch System. The Schooner and Ketch fields have been in production since 1996 and 1999 respectively.
The gas from the fields is transported to the Theddlethorpe terminal via the Caister-Murdoch System infrastructure, in which Tullow has a 17% interest.
Chief executive Aidan Heavey said Tullow would be starting a programme designed to increase production and reserve recovery at the fields in the coming years.
