GIC, private equity partners in S$624m North Sea investment

SINGAPORE — Sovereign fund GIC has teamed up with Blue Water Energy of the United Kingdom and Blackstone Energy Partners of the United States to invest up to US$500 million (S$624 million) in a new company in one of the largest private equity investments in North Sea oil and gas, the companies said yesterday.

Headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, the new company, Siccar Point Energy, will explore, develop and produce oil and gas — initially focusing on the UK Continental Shelf — as it seeks to build a portfolio of producing and commercial reserves. The investing companies did not provide a breakdown of the proportion of their investments beyond saying that affiliates of Blue Water and Blackstone are leading the deal.

Siccar Point chief executive Jonathan Roger, a North Sea oil and gas veteran who was formerly managing director of Norway’s Centrica Energy Upstream, said the timing is right for the firm, as larger competitors are cutting back on spending and consolidating their global asset portfolios.

“We believe that selective capital deployment and efficient operations can deliver attractive returns in this environment,” he said.

GIC’s investment in Siccar comes after it ploughed in another £16.6 million (S$34.4 million) into UK fuel cell manufacturer Intelligent Energy Holdings in June to add to its original US$63 million investment.

Brent crude oil prices have fallen 7.5 per cent this year, but have stayed above the US$100 a barrel mark, while losses deepened in recent weeks amid a supply glut.

In late trading yesterday, Brent crude was down 0.3 per cent on the day at US$102.89 a barrel. Despite the losses, oil prices are finding support from geopolitical tensions, especially in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday called for talks on the statehood of southern and eastern Ukraine, while his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko said his country was close to all-out war with Russia. The escalation could result in new Western sanctions against Russia, the world’s biggest oil producer, although those imposed so far have not directly hit energy supplies. WITH AGENCIES