Enquest agrees with BP on Thistle decommissioning

Under the terms of this agreement with BP:

• EnQuest will receive US$30 million in cash in exchange for undertaking the management of the physical decommissioning and making payments by reference to 3.7% of the gross decommissioning costs of the Thistle and Deveron fields when spend commences, subject to a cap of £57 million. EnQuest’s current estimate of its exposure to decommissioning costs is lower than the US$30 million cash being received.
• EnQuest will also have an option, exercisable over a 12 month period, to receive a further US$20 million in cash in exchange for making additional payments by reference to 2.4% of the gross decommissioning costs of these fields, subject to a cap of £42 million.

The transaction aligns the interests of the parties involved in the production and decommissioning phases, reflecting the industrial logic for the operator to undertake the decommissioning of these assets.