Slaughter and May is advising Centrica plc and its 69% subsidiary, Spirit Energy, on the sale of Spirit Energy’s entire portfolio of Norwegian oil and gas assets and the Statfjord field in two linked transactions for headline consideration of $1.076 billion plus a deferred commodity price linked contingent payment. Spirit Energy is selling its interests in the Statfjord field (Norway and UK) to Equinor and its remaining interests in Norway, which include interests in 8 other producing fields, to Sval Energi, a company backed by HitecVision. The transaction, which is a Class 1 transaction for Centrica, is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
The transaction represents a significant step towards Centrica delivering on its strategy to decarbonise its portfolio and reduce its exposure to oil and gas exploration and production, and will result in a 92% reduction in Spirit Energy’s oil and liquids reserves and a 38% reduction in its gas reserves.
In connection with the transaction, Centrica and its joint venture partner in Spirit Energy, Stadtwerke München, have renegotiated the terms of their existing joint venture arrangements to reflect the fact that Spirit Energy is being transitioned to a low-cost, gas focussed production company primarily focussed on using cash to meet and de-risk its decommissioning obligations.
Slaughter and May are supporting the in-house legal team at Centrica of Raj Roy (Group General Counsel & Company Secretary), Sarah Carter (Head of Legal, Corporate and M&A), James Dickinson (General Counsel, Secretariat and Corporate Services), Geoff Allen (Senior Legal Consultant Corporate M&A) and Jasmine Murphy (Legal Counsel).
Daisy Jones / Trainee, Kathryn Martin Cussons / Trainee, Will Morris / Trainee