Total SA closed on its acquisition of oil and gas unit Maersk Oil, making it the second-largest operator in the North Sea, as the deal will enable the French company to boost its existing positions in the U.K. and Norway and enter Denmark.
At 160,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day this year, production from the recently acquired Maersk Oil assets is expected to increase to more than 200,000 boe/d by the early 2020s, Total said in a March 8 news release.
The deal, valued at about $7.5 billion in shares and debt, places Total behind Statoil ASA as the largest operator in the North Sea and is expected to result in projected company output of about 500,000 boe/d from the North Sea by 2020, according to Total.
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Acquired assets in the deal with Maersk Oil's parent, A.P. Moller-Maersk A/s, include an 8.44% stake in Norway's Johan Sverdrup complex, an almost 50% interest in the U.K.'s Culzean gas and condensate field, and a 31.2% stake in Denmark's Tyra gas field.
Total said the deal will provide the company with "high-quality and low-breakeven assets." The company also expects synergies of $400 million a year from the Maersk Oil transaction.
Following a recent string of deals, this latest transaction further strengthens Total's position in Algeria and in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
In January, Total signed a deal to acquire Samson Offshore Anchor LLC, in a bid to expand its footprint in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Samson Offshore Anchor holds a 12.5% interest in four blocks covering the Anchor discovery approximately 140 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The agreement also included a 12.5% interest in nearby exploration block Green Canyon 761, in which Total already holds a 25% stake.
In September 2017, Total entered into seven exploration prospects in the Wilcox and Norphlet plays in the central Gulf of Mexico and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, respectively.
Total and Chevron Corp. in January announced a significant oil discovery at the Ballymore offshore prospect in the Gulf. Total said the recent find was the company's largest yet in the region and supported its new exploration strategy put in place since 2015. Total subsidiary Total E&P USA Inc. owns a 40% stake in Ballymore.

