LONDON, June 21 -- Phillips Petroleum Co. UK Ltd. and BP PLC subsidiary ARCO British Thursday agreed to exchange interests in four license blocks on the UK Continental Shelf.
Phillips will swap its 62.74% stake in UKCS Block 22/28a, home to the Kate/Tornado discovery, for BP's 21.38% interest in Block 30/2a and 100% interest in Block 30/1b -- excluding the Kessog discovery.
Blocks 30/2a and 30/1b are straddled by the 30/2-1 Palaeocene find. Block 30/2a borders Phillips' Jade field, which is tied in to its J-Block infrastructure, and is an area of "high exploration potential," according to Henry McGee, vice-president of Phillips' European division.
In addition, Phillips will take 0.45% of BP's stake in the Britannia field unit, raising its share to 7.23%, along with an undisclosed cash payment.
"This is an excellent agreement for Phillips, enabling us to both strengthen our position around our core assets in the central North Sea and increase our equity in Britannia, a valuable part of our production portfolio," said McGee.
