Harbour Energy to buy Wintershall Dea's upstream assets for $11.2bn

Harbour Energy surged on Thursday after saying it has agreed to buy the upstream assets of German oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea from shareholders BASF and LetterOne for $11.2bn.

The target portfolio includes all of Wintershall’s upstream assets in Norway, Germany, Denmark, Argentina, Mexico, Egypt, Libya and Algeria as well as its CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) licences in Europe. The Russian assets are excluded.

Harbour said the deal is expected to transform it into "one of the world's largest and most geographically diverse independent oil and gas companies", adding material gas-weighted portfolios in Norway and Argentina and complementary growth projects in Mexico.

The company will also benefit from an increased reserve life and improved margins with lower operating costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity.

Harbour Energy chief executive Linda Z Cook said: "Today's announcement marks Harbour's fourth major acquisition and the most transformational step yet in our journey to build a uniquely positioned, large-scale, geographically diverse independent oil and gas company.

"The addition of Wintershall Dea's assets will increase our production to over 500 kboepd, extend our reserves life, and enhance our margins and cash flow, all supporting enhanced shareholder returns over the longer run.

"Importantly, the acquisition also advances our energy transition objectives by shifting our portfolio towards natural gas, lowering our GHG emissions intensity and expanding our CCS interests into new European markets."

At 1520 GMT, the shares were up 30% at 316.90p.