UAE's TAQA to sell Dutch upstream assets amid strategic review

UAE's energy and utilities company TAQA plans to sell its Dutch upstream assets as part of a strategic review of its oil and gas portfolio amid a focus on developing its renewables business.

"As part of the review, the company had been exploring the potential sale of certain of its oil and gas assets," TAQA said in a July 5 statement. "It has been concluded that TAQA's oil and gas portfolio will be retained, except for the upstream assets in the Netherlands where discussions are ongoing."

TAQA didn't disclose which upstream assets it plans to sell or a timeline for the sale.

"The timing and details of the sale of our upstream assets in the Netherlands will be communicated as and when necessary, in compliance with our disclosure obligations," a company spokesperson told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

TAQA has Bergen II production area in the Dutch province of North-Holland, which consists of production locations in Bergen, Groet and Schermer, according to its website.

The Bergen Drying Facility is the central gas processing and compressing facility.

It also has P15 and P18 infrastructure, located 35 km northwest off the coast of Hoek van Holland. The infrastructure consists of oil and gas production facilities, including central P15-ACD complex and other production platforms where condensate, oil and gas are transported to shore by pipelines.

The P15-ACD complex is a hub for treating and processing of third party oil and gas, where around 15 oil and gas fields have tie-ins to P15, according to the website.

Dutch gas storage

"Our decision to seek a buyer for the upstream assets in the Netherlands is based on the nature of the assets and the relatively small contribution the assets make to TAQA group earnings," CEO Jasim Thabet said in the statement.

TAQA also operates Gas Storage Bergermeer, one of two gas storage facilities operated by the company in the Netherlands. The facility provides 46 TWh of seasonal storage capacity.

TAQA also has a 36% stake in Peak Gas Installation, or PGI, an underground natural gas reservoir used to store and deliver natural gas to meet peak demand from the Dutch national grid. PGI uses the Alkmaar gas reservoir located near the city of Alkmaar and is situated approximately 2,200 meters underground.

Other shareholders in PGI are Dutch state-owned energy company, EBN (40%), Dana Petroleum Netherlands BV (12%) and RockRose Energy (12%).

"Our midstream assets, including our two gas storage facilities, will be retained," the spokesperson said.

Under its 2030 strategy, TAQA plans to expand its UAE power generation capacity from 18GW to 30GW in addition to adding 15GW internationally. By 2030 the company's power generation portfolio will be at least 30% renewables, up from the current 5%.

TAQA also has signed contracts to take a controlling stake in the renewable business of Masdar, which is owned by sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. TAQA will own Masdar's renewables business alongside Mubadala and state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. Masdar is targeting to have over 50GW in power capacity by 2030.