Total has signed a deal to acquire 100% of Chevron Denmark from Chevron for an undisclosed price to increase its stake in the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC).

The deal will add Chevron Denmark’s 12% stake in the Danish Underground Consortium to Total, which already has a stake of 31.2% in the Danish North Sea business. Chevron Denmark’s stakes of 12% in Licence 8/06, and 7.5% in the Tyra West pipeline will also be transferred to Total upon closing of the transaction.

The French oil and gas giant entered into the Danish Underground Consortium through the $7.45bn acquisition of Maersk Oil in 2017.

Total North Sea and Russia senior vice president Michael Borrell said: “Following the completion of the Maersk Oil acquisition, this deal is a great opportunity to further expand our presence on the Danish Shelf and increase our interest in an asset operated by Total. We will further benefit from the ongoing redevelopment of the Tyra field.”

“This new transaction demonstrates our commitment to the development of the DUC and to the expansion of Total’s presence in Denmark.”

Total acquisition of Chevron Denmark will be based on approval of partners and the relevant authorities.

The Danish Underground Consortium also features Royal Dutch Shell with a stake of 36.8% and Danish state-owned Nordsofonden, which owns a 20% stake.

The consortium, which began production in 1972, operates 15 fields as of now. All the 15 fields, that are located in the Central Graben sector of the North Sea, contribute nearly 90% of the Danish oil and gas production. Last year, the average production of the consortium was 182,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).