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LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell said
on Friday it had agreed to acquire BP's 27.5% stake in
the Shearwater North Sea gas field, raising its stake in the
field to 55.5%.
Shell, which operates the Shearwater hub, exercised its
right of first refusal to the stake after BP agreed last month
to sell its stake to Tailwind, a private oil producer backed by
commodity trader Mercuria.
"This is part of a multi-year strategy, following a number
of earlier growth projects, to strengthen Shearwater’s role as
an important gas hub for UK energy supply," a Shell spokesperson
said.
"The move reflects Shell's strategy of focusing our upstream
activities on fewer, existing positions to generate material
returns for shareholders and to fund the growth of our new
low-carbon portfolio."
BP did not respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso, editing by Louise Heavens)