North Sea oil firm RockRose Energy taken over at £243m

The company that operates part of the Brae oil and gas field in the central North Sea has been taken over, with a valuation of £243m.

RockRose Energy, which has a share of the the Foinaven field west of Shetland, has been bought by Viaro Energy, also based in London.

It has plans to extend further in the UK offshore sector.

The deal has been agreed by the boards of both companies and still has to be approved at shareholder meetings.

Shareholders with 35% of RockRose shares have agreed to the deal.

This follows a severe downturn in the industry, resulting from the sharp drop in oil prices beginning in March.

The share price of RockRose fell from 2,230 pence in January to a low point of 483 on 18 March.

Along with the oil price, it recovered to 1,130 by the end of last week, and the deal has been struck on 1,830 pence.

The company was formed in 2015, taking advantage of the low price of assets in UK and Dutch waters, after prices had fallen steeply from mid-2014.

Last year, it bought a share in the BP-operated Foinaven field from Marathon Oil, also taking on an operating role in the Brae complex in the central North Sea.

It has non-operating stakes in the Nelson, Howe, Blake and Ross fields in the same region.

It has non-operated interests in several fields in the southern North Sea, bought from Sojitz Energy in 2017.

'Future growth'

Viaro Energy is primarily an energy trader, but is building up its asset base in oil, gas and chemical processing.

While based in London, it has offices in Dubai and Hong Kong.

Francesco Mazzagatti, chief executive of Viaro Energy, said: "We have ambitious growth plans in the UK continental shelf and we believe that RockRose's producing assets, its staff, its commitment to health and safety, the environment and best-in-class operational procedures, will be an ideal platform from which to grow our presence in the UKCS.

"I'm extremely pleased that RockRose's senior management team has agreed to join us as they share our vision for future growth."

Andrew Austin, executive chairman of RockRose, said the agreement followed careful reflection.

"It has been an exciting journey since RockRose was founded five years ago," he said.

"However, for the benefit of all stakeholders, now is the time to move on and allow RockRose to continue to flourish with new backers."

Source: BBC

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