Tullow continues North Sea gas disposals with Dutch sale

Oil and gas group Tullow Oil is to sell its interests in two blocks offshore Netherlands for €62.7m (£50m) as it continues to shed off its gas assets in the North Sea.

The FTSE 100-listed firm has entered into an agreement to sell its Dutch subsidiary to AU Energy, part of Mercuria Energy.

By the time of completion, Tullow Netherlands will hold all of the group's interest in the L12/L15, Q4 and Q5 gas blocks. These comprise seven licence interests and six developed fields producing 1,500 barrels of oil equivalents net to Tullow.

As such, the company said that its guidance for North Sea production will need to be "revised appropriately" once the sale completes, expected early next year.

"The sale of the Tullow's interests in Blocks L & Q is a further step towards the group's planned divestment of our North Sea gas assets in order to focus our business on conventional light oil," said chief executive Aidan Heavey.

He said that the previously-announced $75.6m sale of part of Tullow's interests in the UK Schooner and Ketch unit to AIM-listed Faroe Petroleum is on track to complete before the end of 2014.

Meanwhile, the divestment of the company's remaining UK and Dutch gas assets is "progressing well", Heavey said.