Parkmead secures flow of oil with a £6.8m North Sea deal
editor:
0131-620 8462 North Sea driller Parkmead yesterday moved to swell its revenue stream and fund its exploration programme as it tripled its stake in the established Athena oil field.
the Aberdeen-based firm, which is run by Dana Petroleum founder tom Cross, is buying a further 20 per cant stake in the field from German outfit EWE for $11.2 million (£6.8m).
Cross – who has been building up Parkmead through a series of acquisitions since selling Dana for almost £2 billion in 2010 – said: “this is Parkmead’s most important deal to date. Increasing our oil production threefold from the Athena field will deliver major growth in the company’s revenue and cashflow.”
Production from Athena averaged about 9,000 barrels of oil per day in the second quarter of 2013, but the field is currently producing at a reduced rate after hitting operational difficulties.
operator Ithaca has a work programme planned for 2014 to raise production back up to normal levels.
Parkmead said its increased interest in the field “will provide the company with significant growth in production revenues and operating cashflows”, and “fits perfectly into Parkmead’s strategy to become a key exploration and production player in the North Sea”.
the company already owned 10 per cent of Athena following its acquisition of Lochard Energy earlier this year. the latest acquisition will therefore treble Parkmead’s stake to 30 per cent.
the firm will pay EWE $8m in cash and hand over $3.2m-worth of new Parkmead shares, based on the closing