* TAQA aims for 50-60,000 boepd by 2012 from North Sea
* Production now around 45,000 boepd (80:20 oil:gas)
* Eyes more acquisitions, including exploration licences
(Adds detail, comments throughout)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi-owned energy company TAQA Bratani Ltd plans to boost North Sea oil and gas production by buying up mature oilfields and greatly increasing their efficiency, the head of the company's UK arm said on Thursday.
TAQA, the UK arm of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC
The Brent system, responsible for transporting around
100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, is a key production stream
and an important part of the pricing benchmark used to value
billions of dollars of oil around the world. "We want to rule the North Sea, of course," said Managing
Director Leo Koot, outlining an ambitious, long-term strategy. He explained, more seriously, that he hoped the company
would increase UK North Sea output steadily from its current
level of about 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd),
which is split into roughly 80 percent oil and 20 percent gas. "A realistic target for us, we would hope by 2012, would be
to have a build up in production to between 50,000 and 60,000
boepd," he told Reuters in an interview. "That is where we hope
to plateau for a few years barring any additional acquisitions." TAQA's Dutch arm this week bought a 15 percent stake in
North Sea assets from a group including U.S. major Chevron Corp
. It has already amassed more than $2 billion in North Sea
assets since its foundation in 2005 and plans further growth. "PATIENT MONEY" Koot said TAQA, more than 70 percent owned and controlled by
the government of Abu Dhabi, rated Aa2 by Moody's and backed by
sovereign wealth, aimed to double to a $40 billion-$60 billion
company by between 2012 and 2016 from almost $25 billion now. TAQA aims to hold 40 percent of its assets upstream in
activities such as oil and gas production, 20 percent mid-stream
in pipelines and gas storage and 40 percent downstream in areas
such as electricity and water production. TAQA now has extensive North Sea assets with a portfolio
that includes pipelines, platforms and subsea satellites. "Because we are such a young company, the only realistic way
to grow is through acquisitions. But that strategy is changing
now because we have a healthy asset base. From now on it will be
strategic acquisitions," he said. "There are a few northern North Sea exploration licences
around. We are looking to take those on to see if there is any
undiscovered oil, plus mature assets, which may be abandoned, to
see if we can get production from redeveloping infrastructure." Koot said small upstream companies had shown they could get
more out of mature oilfields than the large major oil companies. "Nearly all of them have managed to double production from
those facilities," he said. "The majors have had these assets in
their possession for a long time, maybe 25 years, and for them
these assets are old toys," he said. "Complemented with a strong
financial backing, we are able to enhance production." Koot said he believed 15-25 billion barrels of oil
equivalent was still available in UK North Sea reserves. "We see good solid business potential in the North Sea." He declined to discuss returns on investment but said oil
prices were now sufficient to make North Sea oil production
profitable and he had continued to invest despite the downturn. "The best way to describe a sovereign wealth fund is that it
is patient money ... we are there for the long haul," he said. "With our commitment and financial backing we have been able
to invest counter cycle. So by the time oil prices recover we
are going to be sitting there with a healthy portfolio."
(Reporting by Christopher Johnson; editing by Anthony Barker)