Energean excludes Norway unit from Edison deal

Energean said it had agreed to exclude Edison E&P’s Norwegian subsidiary from its takeover deal, and cut capital expenditure guidance as oil companies wrestle with a slump in prices amid the coronavirus crisis.

The deal, originally worth $750m, will now cost Energean a gross $284m after ditching Edison’s Algerian assets in April. Edison's UK North Sea subsidiaries, including interests in the Glengorm and Isabella gas-condensate discoveries, would now be kept, after a $250m deal to sell them to Neptune Energy fell through in May.

Capex guidance was cut to $760m - $780m from $840 million. This decrease is despite the inclusion of $25m -$30m spending on UK North Sea assets and therefore reflected a further $85m - $110m cut to underlying guidance, Energean said.

Israel-based Energean agreed the Edison deal last July, which would see it grab producing assets in Egypt, Italy, Algeria, the UK North Sea and Croatia, development assets in Egypt, Italy and Norway.