By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 22 -- Wintershall Nederland BV, The Hague, has inked a deal to acquire Clyde Netherlands BV from ConocoPhillips. Neither Wintershall nor ConocoPhillips would disclose the value of the deal. Wintershall Nederland is a division of German firm Wintershall AG, a wholly owned unit of BASF AG. ConocoPhillips predecessor Conoco Inc. acquired Clyde through its acquisition of Calgary-based Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. in mid-2001 (OGJ, June 4, 2001, p. 36).
Clyde operates largely in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. "Acquiring Clyde is a major step in the implementation of our growth strategy," said Reinier Zwitserloot, Wintershall CEO. "Germany and the southern part of the North Sea traditionally represent a key region for us and form the basis for the development of our technological core capabilities," he added.
Wintershall said that its asset portfolio is "well matched" with Clyde's. Also, the deal will double Wintershall's production in the Netherlands and its Dutch reserve base, the company said. "At the same time, Wintershall will emerge as the third largest producer in the Netherlands, and will strengthen its position as Germany's largest (exploration and production) company."
Wintershall said that it plans to focus on expanding its Dutch operations into a "center of expertise" for its offshore activities. "Our goal is to show substantial progress in creating a joint company by the beginning of next year," Zwitserloot said.
Wintershall said that it expects the deal to close as soon as possible but that the acquisition is subject to approval by German and Dutch competition authorities.