Euroil: Ineos picks up Danish assets for $150mn

The UK’s Ineos announced on March 18 it had reached a deal to buy the Danish arm of US oil firm Hess for $150mn.

The move comes months after Ineos closed its $5bn takeover of BP’s petrochemicals division. Ineos also controls upstream assets off Denmark, Norway and the UK.

Through the deal the company will acquire a 61.55% stake in the Hess-operated Syd Arne oilfield, adding to the 36.8% share it already has. It will also pick up an extra 4.8% position in the Solsort oilfield that it operates. The transaction is scheduled for closure in the third quarter, subject to Danish government approval.

In its statement, Ineos said it expected to unlock operational and cost synergies through the deal with its existing Danish assets. Besides shares in oil and gas fields, Ineos is also leading the Greensands project, which aims to permanently store up to 8mn tonnes per year (tpy) of CO2 in the Siri area, where oilfields have ceased production.

Hess, meanwhile, plans to use the proceeds from the deal to pay for its operations in Guyana.

Over in the UK, the government unveiled its long-awaited Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy last week, pledging over GBP1bn ($1.4bn) in funding to cut carbon emissions,

The strategy “sets a vision” for the world’s first low-carbon industrial sector, and will create and support 80,000 UK jobs over the next three decades, while bringing down emissions by two thirds over the next 15 years. It will provide support for existing industry to help it decarbonise, while encouraging new low-carbon industries to emerge.

The bulk of the funds, some GBP932mn, will go towards reducing emissions from public buildings in England, while a further GBP161mn will be allocated to nine green technology projects in Scotland, South Wales and the North West, Humber and Teeside in England.

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