Total to conquer the North Sea: the French oil company has announced the acquisition of the Danish Maerks Oil & Gas. The deal has a total value of $7,45 billion. Maerks will receive 4,95 billion in Total e shares the French giant will take on Maersk's debt valued at 2,5 billion dollars. As part of this operation, Total will issue 97,5 million shares for Moller-Maersk which will represent 3,75% of Total's capital. The closing of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of 2018.
The industrial effect for Total will be a immediate increase in reserves and production, thanks to the many active wells and those under exploration that the Danish company has between Norway, the United Kingdom and Denmark (with Copenhagen as Total's new operations center for the region).
In detail, the French expect "the addition of about 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent of reserves, an additional production of 160 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2018 which will grow to more than 200 barrels by early 2020, operational, commercial and financial synergies for over 400 million dollars a year" as specified in the press release which postpones the deadline for obtaining the necessary authorizations to the first part of next year and close the whole operation.
Competition with Shell, Statoil and the other strong oil companies in the Northern Europe basin will grow, where the French now become the second operator as annual production, as happened in 2016 after the merger between Shell and BG.
