BP sheds CATS pipeline stake for $486M

BP has agreed to sell its stake in Central Area Transmission System (CATS) pipeline to Antin Infrastructure Partners for $486 million. 

Antin will acquire BP’s 36.22% share of the CATS system.

According to Reuters, the sale of CATS system is expected to conclude before the end of the year and it is a next step in BP’s $10 billion 2014-2015 disposal programme.

The Antin CATS management team will be led by Andy Hessell. He was most recently VP Commercial Operations North Sea and Angola at BP.

Last year, BG Group also sold its stake in CATS system to Antin for £562 million. Once the BP sale is completed, Antin will own 99% of CATS.

CATS is a natural gas transportation system from the North Sea to the terminal located in Seal Sands, Teesside in England. It is a combination of pipeline and processing facilities operated by BP that transports and processes gas on behalf of over 20 customers, including most of the major North Sea gas producers.

The CATS pipeline begins at a riser platform adjacent to the BG operated Everest gas field in the Central North Sea and transports gas some 404 km (250 miles) to the CATS processing terminal in Teesside.

According to BP, CATS can handle more than 48 million Standard cubic meters of Natural Gas per day.

Mark Crosbie, Managing Partner of Antin Infrastructure Partners, commented, “We are delighted to
have reached this agreement with BP. Having seen firsthand the strength of the CATS operation and
the potential for growth, we have decided to increase our share in the business. We have exciting plans
to grow and develop CATS through additional investment. CATS has a strong and skilled workforce and
Antin IP’s priority is to retain and develop employees through the transition and beyond. We are
delighted Andy has agreed to come on board as Managing Director and have no doubt that he will be
an excellent leader of the business.”

According to Stéphane Ifker, Partner of Antin Infrastructure Partners, “Investment in infrastructure
such as CATS is key to government and industry’s aim to maximise the economic recovery and realise
the considerable potential of the UK Continental Shelf. We look forward to collaborating closely with
our partners in industry, government and the Oil and Gas Authority to operate in one of the most
promising areas of the North Sea.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff