Harbour Energy in merger talks with Talos - report

According to Reuters, Harbour and Talos - which operates in the Gulf of Mexico - have been holding on-off talks for around six months, but negotiations have ramped up in recent weeks.

Citing one unnamed person familiar with the matter, Reuters said a deal would give Harbour the opportunity to list in New York. Harbour is looking to diversify overseas and scale back its UK investments, after the government imposed a windfall tax on British oil and gas producers. It launched a review of its operations in January, and in April told staff it expected to cut around 350 onshore jobs because of the levy.

Harbour has a market value of around £2bn, while Talos is valued at around $1.8bn. Terms have not been confirmed, however, and the sources told Reuters there was no certainty a deal would be reached.

Neither company has commented on the report.

New York-listed Talos closed 5% higher on Tuesday, and by 1100 BST on Wednesday, London-listed Harbour had put on 4% at 250p.

Should a deal go ahead, it would be the second announced this year by a North Sea operator, with AIM-listed rival Hurricane Energy currently in the process of being acquired by Prax Exploration & Production after accepting an offer worth up to £249m in March.